35 generations of first names

I’ve been doing some genealogy research of one side of my family starting with my great-grandfather, and some of the threads I’ve followed have extended as far back as 35 generations. There are some FABULOUS names in here so I thought I’d do a little analysis. The complete list of names will be at the bottom of this post.

This genealogy starts in Texas with my great-grandfather and great-grandmother both born between 1900-1910. It moves east gradually, eventually ending up in the Virginia and Rhode Island colonies in the 1600s, and then is mostly English with a couple threads of Welsh and German.

I grouped together names that are just different spellings of the same name or very similar variants.

Male names: 44 “unique” names, 140 names total

Most common:

John (27) William (24) Thomas (13) Robert/Robertus (9) Richard (8)

Female names: 46 “unique” names, 108 names total

Most common:

Elizabeth (11) Margaret/Margred (10) Mary/Maria (9) Agnes (6) Ann/Anne/Anna (6) Isabella/Isobel/Isabell (6)

You’ll notice there are more men total than women; unfortunately there are a lot of “unknown” and “wife of X” entries as you get a few generations back. Women tend to be the ones lost to history.

Right off the bat, I think it’s really interesting how much more the men are clustered into a few really common names. There are almost three times as many Johns as there are Elizabeths, both being the most common for their respective gender. I expect at least part of it is due to naming sons after their fathers more commonly than naming daughters for mothers. I also would’ve expected Mary and its variants to be the most common women’s name, so I think it’s interesting that it only clocks in at number 3.

Most recent names: Luther (went by middle name Spurgeon) and Jonnsya (1900s)

Oldest names: Alfred and Aelizea (1050s)

My favorite one-hit wonders for men: Dellorian Eldridge Granderson Godfrey Radulphus Ransom Thanklord

My favorite one-hit wonders for women: Aelizea Alianore Drusil Jocosa Jonnsya Lettice Mabilia Mansilia Petronell Roisia

The more recent generations of men tended to have weirder or more unique names, whereas the interesting women’s names are a bit more spread out.

Complete list of men:

Abraham Adam Alan Alfred (2) Benedikt (2) Benjamin (2) Clarence Dafydd/David (2) Dellorian Dudley Edmund Edward (4) Eldridge Elias George Gilbert (2) Godfrey Granderson Hans Harry Henry (4) Hughe/Hugh (4) Isaac James (2) John (27) Luther Michele Morgan Nicholas Payne Radulphus Ransom Reginald Rhys Richard (8) Robert/Robertus (9) Roger (5) Samuel Seth Simon (2) Thanklord Thomas (13) Ulrich William (24)

Complete list of women:

Aelizea Agnes (6) Alice/Hawise/Alicia (3) Alma Amy Ann/Anne/Anna (6) Blanche (2) Catherine/Katherine/Catharina/Catrin (5) Cecily Dorothy Drusil Elizabeth (11) Elinor/Alianore (2) Gertraud Giovanna Grace Hannah Hillary Isabella/Isobel/Isabell (6) Ivetta Jane (5) Joan (3) Jocosa Jonnsya Joyce Lettice Louise Lucy Lydia Mabel Mabilia Mansilia Margaret/Margred (10) Margery (3) Mary/Maria (9) Matilda Mildred Nancy Petronell Retta Roisia Rose Sabrina (2) Sarah (4) Serena Susan

I hope someone finds this at least a little interesting! I had fun with it and I highly recommend digging in your ancestry if you can to find some gems.