bennison@clt.DEC (Victor Bennison - DTN 381-2156) (01/05/86)
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When middle names became fashionable among the common people of America,
they only certainly didn't always reflect the maiden name of the mother.
In the typical family which had say 5 to 10 children, certainly not every
child bore his mother's maiden name as a middle name, though frequently one
of them did. But I disagree completely that the use of middle names among
the common people had much to do with desires for prestige. Perhaps
among the upper crust, but not among the common people. I think it had
something to do with feelings of egalitarianism after the American
Revolution, and I think it had something to do with the burgeoning
population of the U.S. and a desire for individuality. At any rate, the
fad caught on and has never died. I believe that, by and large, middle
names were selected 1) to show respect and admiration for other people,
or 2) because they sounded distinguished, or 3) because they sounded nice
with the first and last name. If the mother's maiden name were used, it
was usually not to maintain prestige, but to show admiration. Frequently
other grandparents names were used as well, and frequently relatives first
names were used for children's middle names. Also, another common occurence
in the late 1700's and early 1800's that is not very prevalent today, is
for the child's first name to be the LAST name of a relative. I run across
that practice all the time. Here are some examples, all from the early
1800's, culled from some of my family group sheets on the Loop family:
ARNOT MONROE LOOP where Arnot is a grandmother's maiden name and
Monroe is the mother's maiden name.
WILLIAM HENRY WEBSTER LOOP probably just a distinguished sounding
name, possibly from some acquaintance or local figure.
ESTHER JOSEPHINE WHITFIELD probably just nice sounding.
DEWITT CLINTON LOOP Dewitt Clinton was a respected political figure
of some kind at that time.
THEODORE MURRAY LOOP Murray was father's first name.
PHILYER LOOP Philyer was grandmother's maiden name.
JOHN LAWRENCE LOOP probably just nice sounding.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LOOP you guess this one.
FERNANDO DECORRELLO LOOP your guess is as good as mine, his parents were
of German and English stock.
Vick Bennison
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