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This was posted on the Coon Mailing list.
18th Century Pennsylvania German Naming Customs.
Many modern researchers mistakenly attempt to gather and record data on
individuals living in the 1700's, using our 20th century naming customs and
rules. Many also attempt to 'translate' the seemingly ponderous and often
almost identical names of a family group into their modern English
equivalents. On learning that Johann=John, and Johannes=Hans=Jack, they
immediately record them as cutsey 'Johnnies', and omit any 2nd christian
name or initial.
WRONG! Bad move! Especially with 'John', and a major stumbling block in
research, as many already had this done as they stepped off the Ship in PA.
Rule 1: Record the Full Germanic Baptismal Name, and record any aka or
'family' name.
Johann Frederich Hock/Hoke was NOT John F. Hoke, he was Frederich Hoke.
Peter Heinrich Hock/Hoke was NOT Peter H. Hoke, he was Heinrich (or more
likely Henny) Hoke.
Maria Clara Hock/Hoke was NOT Mary C. Hoke, she was Clara Hoke.
Anna Maria Smyser Hock/Hoke was NOT Anna M. Hoke, she was Maria Hoke, and
her mothers Surname was Smyser.
Why? Because they used their 17th Century Germanic Naming Rules! Their
Christian naming system was 1.Saint 2. Secular 3.Maternal. The Saint was
dropped after Baptism, and from then on, to the 'Secular' World and their
Secular Records (!) they were known by their Secular or Middle name. Family
would have used a 'diminutive' or nick-name from this Secular name.
1. At baptism, if two given names were given to the child :-
(a) The 1st. given name was the child's SPIRITUAL, or 'Saint's' name,
originally developed from Roman Catholic tradition and continued by the
Protestants in their baptismal naming customs.
(b) The 2nd. given name was the SECULAR or 'call' name, which is the name
the person was known by, both within the family and to this rest of the
world.
(c) If a 3rd name was given, this was usually to record their Maternal
lineage or maternal distinction.
The SPIRITUAL name, usually to honor a favorite saint, was usually
repeatedly given to ALL the children of that family of the same sex. In a
family that preferred the Saints names of Johann and Maria:-
ALL the boys would be Johan Adam, Johan George, Johan Peter, Johan Jacob,
etc., and ALL the girls would be named Maria Barbara, Maria Margaretta,
Maria Elizabeth, Maria Catherine, etc.
But after baptism, these people would NOT be known by the SPIRITUAL name of
Johan, Philip, Anna, or Maria, etc., but by their SECULAR name, that we
would think of now as their middle name.
Thus the above examples would be known respectively as Adam, George, Peter,
Jacob, Barbara, Margaretta, Elizabeth, and Catherine in all LEGAL and thus
SECULAR records.
Many 19th. & 20th. Century researchers, fall into the trap of translating
the seemingly ponderous German names of their 17th. & 18th. Century
subjects to their simpler modern English equivalents, and translate the
wrong one!
This translation of the full Germanic Baptismal Name is in itself a mistake
for later accurate recognition of an individual.
Johan or John is the most common example of this, as the saint's name Johan
or John in particular was heavily used by many German families for their
male offspring. Thus Johan Adam is often translated by researchers to John,
and the Adam omitted in records.
But the child's secular name was John, IF and ONLY IF, at baptism he was
named ONLY John, usually Johannes, with NO second given name.
Consequently, many researchers new to German names, on finding a baptism
record of a Johan Adam, mistakenly spend a lot of time looking for a 'John'
in legal and census records, when in fact after baptism, he was known to
the secular world, by his secular name of Adam.
Similarly, on reading county histories, etc., especially those written by
individuals in the 20th century, you may find that the author refers to a
'John', and while you are really looking for a 'George' the history sounds
familiar. Further research may very well turn up that this person was
really not a 'John', but Johan George. Thus all his 18th century records
are recorded under the name George, not John, and after checking the data
and related facts you may find this is really a story about your missing
George.
2. The term "Senior" and "Junior" following a name did not necessarily
imply a father and son relationship, as it does now.
It could have been an uncle and nephew who had the same name and lived near
each other. It could be a grandfather and a
grandchild living together, where the father has died. It could even be
two unrelated individuals with the same name but of
different ages who lived near each other. So to help friends and business
associates keep track of who-was-who in their
discussions and records, they added on the "Sr." or "Jr." which merely
meant the older and the younger, respectively.
3. The term cousin was widely used to mean an extended family, not the
specific legal definition we understand it to be today.
4. It was a common practice in some German families to name the first
born son after the child's paternal grandfather and the second born son
after the maternal grandfather. Here are several more detailed naming
patterns practiced by some families.
Pattern A :-
1st son after the father's father 1st daughter after the mother's mother
2nd son after the mother's father 2nd daughter after the father's mother
3rd son after the father 3rd daughter after the mother
4th son after the father's father's father 4th daughter after the father's father's mother
5th son after the mother's father's father 5th daughter after the mother's father's mother
6th son after the father's mother's father 6th daughter after the father's mother's mother
7th son after the mother's mother's father 7th daughter after the mother's mother's mother
Pattern B :-
The pattern B for the sons is the same as the above, but this pattern for
daughters was different
1st son after the father's father 1st daughter after the father's mother
2nd son after the mother's father 2nd daughter after the mother's mother
3rd son after the father 3rd daughter after the mother
4th son after the father's father's father 4th daughter after the mother's father's mother
5th son after the mother's father's father 5th daughter after the father's father's mother
6th son after the father's mother's father 6th daughter after the father's mother's mother
7th son after the mother's mother's father 7th daughter after the mother's mother's mother
Pattern C :-
1st son after the Paternal Grandpa (father's father) 1st daughter after the Paternal Grandmother (father's mother)
2nd son after the Maternal Grandpa (mother's father) 2nd daughter after the Maternal Grandma (mother's mother)
3rd son after the father's oldest brother 3rd daughter after the mother's oldest sister
4th son after the father 4th daughter after the mother
Whenever a duplicate name occurred in these patterns, the next name in the series was used. If a child died in infancy the name was often reused for the next child of the same gender.
If you are lucky enough to find a family with a lot of children, who strictly followed one of these naming patterns, then it may give you useful clues to determining the possible names of family members in earlier generations.
5. An "in" or "en", added to the end of a name, such as Hockin and Hocken, are Germanic language name suffixes denoting an unmarried female or male respectively. Thus the correct spelling of the last name in the example would be 'Miss' Hock not Miss Hockin, and Master Hock not Master Hocken.
I hope that the above information will be of assistance to individuals researching 18th Century Pennsylvania-German namesand records.
For additional information on "German-American Names" consult the book by that name written by Professor George F. Jones published by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD.
For additional information on German names, consult the 1967 book written
by Hans Bahlow. The English version titled "Dictionary of German Names" was
translated by Edda Gentry. It was published in 1993 by the Max Kade
Institute for German-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Madison WI.
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