The traditional Scots naming system (Based on text from the Find My Past and Scotland’s People websites) The Scots have for many centuries followed a relatively simple set of rules when assigning given names to their successive children. While these traditional naming patterns were not followed by all families, they were widespread enough that a basic understanding can be useful when you need help in your hunt for Scottish ancestors. The system is discussed below with reference to the family of Joseph Irvin and Jane Thomson (blue text). Scottish boys' naming patterns The traditional patterns used when naming Scottish boys were as follows: The family's first son was named after his paternal grandfather. John Irvin (b 1848) was named in this way. The second son was named after his maternal grandfather. The second son could not be named in this way as his maternal grandfather is also John so instead he was named Joseph after his father as the third son would usually have been. The third son was usually named after his father. As the third son option has been used the name George may come from elsewhere in the tree. The Scots seemed to like complicating matters back in the day, as there was yet another set of naming patterns that used the names of ancestors rather than the parents' siblings. This "ancestral pattern" was outlined by U.S. family historian, John B Robb, in his 2012 paper; "The Scottish Onomastic Child-naming Pattern". According to Robb, the pattern for boys follows the one above until the third son where it then became: The family's third son was named after his father's father's father. This would mean that Joseph Irvin’s grandfather was George - to be investigated. The fourth son was named after his mother's mother's father. This would mean that Jean Thomson’s grandfather was Hugh - to be investigated. The fifth son was named after his father's mother's father. The sixth son was named after his mother's father's father. The seventh through tenth sons were named after their father's four great-grandfathers. The eleventh through fourteenth sons were named after their mother's four great-grandfathers. Scottish girls' naming patterns Similarly, for girls, it is common to see: The family's first daughter was named after her maternal grandmother. Janet Crawfurd Irvine’s maternal grandmother appears to be Jean but the first child’s name is strange in that, so far, I haven’t found any Crawfurd link. This could be an indicator to John Irvine’s first marriage. Janet is called Jessie in the 1861Census and marriage certificate. The second daughter was named after the paternal grandmother. Jane Hendrie Irvine seems to be named after her mother or her maternal grandmother as the first child should be according to tradition. Was this a mistake in understanding the 'system' or was this a consequence of 'bucking the system' when naming the first daughter? The third daughter of the family was named after her mother. Marion Lamont Irvine could well have been named, as the second daughter should have been, after her paternal grandmother. If so, this is good evidence to back up the suspicion which sent me on this trail, i.e. John Irvine and Marion Lamont were Joseph Irvine’s parents. According to Robb, the pattern for girls follows the one above until the third daughter where it then became : The family's third daughter was named after her mother's father's mother. Helen Thomson Irvin, the fourth daughter, may well have been named according to this system as the third daughter - to be investigated. The fourth daughter was named after her father's father's mother. Mary Irvin may well have been named in this way as the fourth, rather than the fifth daughter. The fifth daughter was named after her mother's mother's mother. The sixth daughter was named after her father's mother's mother. The seventh through tenth daughters were named after their mother's four great-grandmothers. The eleventh through fourteenth daughters were named after their father's four great-grandmothers.