Why Franz as a first name?
Most of my male relatives in the 1800's in Germany have Franz as a first name:
Franz Peter Schmitt
Franz Sabastion Schmitt
Franz Conrad etc.
While my female relatives start their first names with Maria.
Is there a reason for this?
Thanks,
Margie
Commenti
-
Look at the naming patterns among the generations - Franz could have been a name passed from father to son, maybe also from an uncle or cousin. The name may have been "reused" if a first child by that name was deceased before the second child got the name. It may also be a geographic thing - I know lots of people in my Bohemian research were named Franz Joseph after the monarch.
As far as Maria is concerned, it was very common to use a saint's name for the first name, then some other name for the middle name. So you'll see lots and lots of Johann [Somebody] and Maria [Someone] in the records. The person was then generally known by the second (or possibly third ) name to avoid confusion.
1 -
Franz was a very popular name until the mid of the last century, in particular in the southern catholic areas (Bavaria and Austria); the same for Maria. In Austria it was also the Emperor's name (Franz Karl, Franz Joseph).
1 -
Keep in mind that the system of First name and Middle name, which you are used to in English speaking regions, does not apply in most German speaking regions. Here often the same first name (like Franz or Maria) is regularly used, sometimes for generations ... the "middle name" is the important one. If you read church records, consequently, the "first name" often is abbreviated with just one or two letters - like "A = Anna" and "Hs = Hans".
1
