Use of patronymic for "middle" name.
I once again have somebody on Findagrave insisting I add a patronymic middle name to someone, Eelje Voork (1840-1845), even though her birth record and 56 other records list only her first name, Eelje, not Eelje Jans. (I've been told the Dutch don't really have middle names, just multiple first names.) His argument is that patronymics were used before 1900. I've rejected his edit twice, but he tried again. Anybody care to weigh in?
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Well he/she is wrong! Not everybody had a Patronomic Last Name at Birth. In the Netherlands we don’t use a Middle Name. I could sent you the explanation on the use of patronymic naming as being used for example on WikiTree.
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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Dutch_Naming_Convention
If you look at this document you see all the details about it.
One general remark, the poorer the people, the more often they used patronomic naming. And after 1812 everybody had to choose a Last Name. But never ever we have used a Middle Name
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Thanks! He's not referring to a patronymic last name. It was 1840 and their surname was Voork. He just insists that Eelje Voork, daughter of Jan Jacobs Voork, should be recorded as Eelje Jans Voork because her father was Jan and she was born before 1900. I say if Eelje is the only first name on the civil registry birth record and on every record thereafter, then Jans should not be added. I also say there's no law, rule or requirement for adding such a patronymic just because it's before 1900. I just decided to check to see if anybody here had other opinions.
I know the Dutch don't use middle names and Jans (if added) should be an additional first name, but unfortunately Findagrave has a field for middle name and that's where a lot of Americans want to put this type of patronymic.
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Hi Douglas,
I wholeheartedly agree with the your opinion and Margreet's . The concept of "middle name" is unknown and therefore unused in The Netherlands (and in many other European countries as well).
Referring to 1900 as some significant date of change in the way names were recorded is not right, nothing changed then.
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this could be the person
https://www.openarchieven.nl/gra:ccd9a7ac-d54d-ff68-4f8d-c7095c546bbc
en there is only 1 firstname Eelje - looking at the scan
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