Question about the German naming process in the 1800's

LBartsch

I have a few questions about how children were named back in the early 1800's. According to the source I have, the first son was named after the father's father and first daughht after the mother's mother. Then there's a logical progression from there for other children.

1. Was the name given to the child the first name or the middle name of the elder relative?
2. Was this naming process strictly adhered to or was it simply optional?

Thank you …

Ulrich Neitzel

@LBartsch

As always with rules: There are exceptions. In this case, in my experience, the exceptions are more common than following the rules. The answer to question 2 is therefore clearly "optional".

It is important to understand that the concept of “first name” and “middle name” does not exist in Germany. Children were/are given one or more names at baptism. How many depends on the cultural customs of the time and place. For example, at the end of the 19th century in Prussia, it was common for children to have three or even four given names. One of these (often but not necessarily the first) was used as a “Rufname” (call name) by which the bearer was known in everyday life. One of the others could be a name with a family tradition, e.g. the name of the parent or grandparent, or the name of the godparent. However, there were no fixed rules for this.

Further back (before 1800), it was common for the child to be given the name of the baptismal sponsor (godparent) as first or only name.

LBartsch

Thank you. This was exactly what I was looking for