Kirk asked:
When did the use of middle names become common, or even begin, in
Colonial Virginia?
---

My research in colonial Virginia, covering many thousands of names,
has turned up only a very few instances of a second Anglo "Christian"
name before the Revolution. Only a handful of people gave their
children two forenames before the mid-18th century, and except for a
small number, the names are all the full name of a relative (usually a
maternal grandparent or great-grandparent). The exceptions I have
recorded are Fortius Quintus TARPLEY (living 1738), Richard Henry LEE
(1732-1794), George Richard TURBERVILLE (1741-1797), John Augustine
WASHINGTON (b. 1735) and his cousins George Augustine and William
Augustine, Henrietta Maria NEALE Bennett Lloyd (living 1675), Ann
Catherine TAYLOE Ball (b. ca. 1690), Sarah Ellen CHINN (b. before
1726), Hannah Philippa LUDWELL Lee (1737-1784), Maria Judith PAGE
Randolph (b. ca. 1712), and Anna Barbara MCCARTY Fitzhugh Crump
(1700-1737); the latter's name was often spelled as one word
(Annabarbara). Some people consider Mary Ann to be two names, but it
was commonly spelled as one. There may have been a "Frances Sinah"
SPANN (b. ca. 1708), also recorded as Francine-- no reliable
contemporary evidence proves her name.

(Bear in mind that Germans traditionally used two forenames; my
comments apply to Britons and Virginians of British ancestry.)

John Davis Snow of Fredericksville Parish in 1767 could well be named
for a relative named John Davis. It would not be unusual for him to be
called John Snow in most records. There is also a slight possibility
that he was known by two surnames because of adoption or illegitimacy.
In a few cases, people baptized under the mother's surname (either
maiden or married) later took on a stepfather's or biological father's
name, and some used the former surname as a middle name.

I am always interested in finding any authentic record of a colonial
Virginian with two forenames or named for someone outside the
family. The latter custom seems to have begun during the Revolution
and picked up steam around 1800, with prominent political and military
figures usually chosen for the honor. In the 19th century it was very
common.

Please note that many 18th-century people who have two forenames
attributed to them acquired the "middle" name in the 19th or 20th
century when descendants expected them to have two names and sometimes
just assigned one to ancestors with a deficiency. Always seek original
records before you accept a middle name before the Revolution.

Kathleen Much
[log in to unmask]

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html