Using 'Aristotle' is Only Logical

Middle names are important to genealogists, but often more important to the individuals who wear them. Just ask John Aristotle Phillips, who runs an identity- and age-verification service.

"Why do I use my full name?" he repeats after I obligingly ask the obvious question. "Do you know how many John Phillipses exist in the US? I do. There are 3,621. There are 853 born between 1950 and 1960 and 282 born in August. There's only one John Phillips born on August 23, 1955. There's only one John Aristotle Phillips." [Link]

The Importance of Middle Names

Tim Horsch of Jackson, Michigan—owner of The Loyal Handyman General Contracting—seems always to be in trouble with the law. Just last Sunday he was reported to have been sentenced to six months in jail for criminal sexual conduct. Except it wasn't Tim Horsch of Jackson who did the crime and will do the time, but his distant cousin Tim Horsch of Jackson.

Timothy Michael Horsch is 40, works as a contractor, and stands about six feet tall. Timothy James Horsch is 39, works as a contractor, stands about six feet tall, and is due to spend 180 days somewhere up the river.

Timothy M. Horsch's mother once had to come to her son's rescue when the police arrived at their door, ready to arrest the wrong man.

After she explained the two had different middle names, the officers apologized and left.

Leo Lalonde, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections said it isn't the first time two names have been confused, but it usually happens with more common names.

"What can be done about the confusion, I don't know," Lalonde said. "It would be different if it were a John Smith." [Link]

All the more reason to keep the middle names of your ancestors straight. You wouldn't want your great-grandfather Alphonse Terwilliger Capone confused with his distant cousin.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Nothing's Short for "Aloysius"

Nicknames are sometimes a source of confusion for genealogists, but really they are quite easy to understand. Just remember that "Rick" is a nickname for "Richard," when it is not serving that purpose for "Frederick," of which "Fred" is the usual diminutive, and so also of "Alfred," which more often is shortened to "Al"—also a nickname for "Albert," though "Bert" is sometimes preferred, as it is for "Bertram."

"Elizabeth" is always shortened to "Lizzie"—except when "Eliza," "Liza (or Lisa)," "Liz (or Lis)," "Lizbeth (or Lisbeth)," "Libby," "Beth," "Bess," "Bessie," "Betsey," "Betty," "Ella," "Ellie," "Elsa," or "Elsie" is used.

One should also be aware of non-standard nicknames used in some regions. In my own neighborhood there lived men called Squeak, Pinky, Porky, Wimpy, and Booger—only one whom answered cordially to his nickname.

You can check for your own family's nicknames at Edgar's Name Pages.

What Lies Beneath What's In Between

The use of middle names became popular here in New England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries—so popular that, allegedly, one gentleman asked his town clerk to insert middle initials into his children's birth records, to keep up with the current fashion.

Genealogists will often find the surname of an allied family hidden in a child's middle name: President John Quincy Adams was named for his great-grandfather, John Quincy; Franklin Delano Roosevelt's mother was Sara Delano. A middle name could also serve as a second given name, as with Presidents Thomas Woodrow Wilson and John Calvin Coolidge. This was sometimes done to distinguish a father from a son of the same name, but just as often was done to suit the preference of the bearer.

The genealogist should not make the mistake of assuming that a surname used as a child's middle name was always that of an allied family. It was common practice in the early Republic to name children for heroes of the Revolution and the Founding Fathers. Thousands of boys were named for George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, and thousands more were given the middle name "LaFayette." Many children were named for regional celebrities—usually statesmen and war heroes—requiring that the genealogist be familiar with the historical background of the area and era she is researching. If a child was named for a living figure (as was my great-uncle Theodore Roosevelt Dunham, born in 1908), this is a sure indication of the parents' political or cultural interests at the time.

A few of the men for whom children were named in my corner of Maine:

Elbridge Gerry (signer of the Declaration from Massachusetts, and Vice President under Madison)
Hannibal Hamlin (Vice President under Lincoln)
William King (first Governor of Maine)
Enoch Lincoln (Maine Governor and Representative to Congress)
Albion Keith Parris (Governor and Senator from Maine)
Virgil Delphini Parris (Congressman from Maine)

I have also run across an Isaac Watts (named for an English preacher and hymn writer), a few John Miltons, and one Edgar Allan Poe. I have met in my research Albert Gallatins and Winfield Scotts, Martin Luthers and John Wesleys. But very few Benedict Arnolds.

More Reading:

• Naming Patterns—Barking up the Wrong Tree
• Naming Ways in Concord, 1639-1850