52 Ancestors Week 26: Middle

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 26's theme is "Middle." (It seems appropriate for being halfway through!) Middle names. Middle children. Middle of the country. How might you interpret "middle"?

Wow. The year is half over? I, like many, will not be NOT sad to see this year go. To say 2020 has been a roller coaster is a wee bit of an understatement. At least we can say that even in this dark time, we've seen the best in humanity. Sometimes. Now than that's over with, we shall discuss the middle. How am I going to interpret this one? Hmm....

Let's talk for a bit about middle names. They first came about in the Middle Ages because Europeans couldn't decide between naming a child after a saint or giving them a family name. These days if your parents called you by your middle name after your first name you were in trouble. If they used all three names in rapid succession, you were dead where you stood. Not that that's ever....happened to me or anyone else named "Christopher".

Vincenzo Ferraiolo, grandson of Vincenzo.

I have noticed something interesting when it comes to Italian middle names. Sometimes a child will have not one but TWO of them. Or even three! Take Vincenzo Gregorio Francesco Ferraiolo for example. He was a 3x great-grandfather of mine and was born in San Pietro a Maida on November 21st, 1847. He had a sister named....get ready for this mouthful: Caterina Maria Concetta Marianna Ferraiolo who was born in 1840.

If you're thinking that these naming conventions are similar to Spanish and French naming conventions, you'd be right. It's a very Catholic thing to give a child more than one middle name. But, did you know that this tradition can help you figure out the possible names of a person's ancestor? It's true. Check this out.

Vincenzo and Caterina here had a grandmother named Marianna Russo who was born around 1780 in the same town. It's a tradition in Italy to name a child after an ancestor or two or three. Sometimes the oldest male child is named after the grandfather. Sometimes tradition is put aside after the seventh or eighth kid is born.

Marco James Ferraiolo

There's no doubt about it. Having a child with a ton of middle names can be very helpful when it comes to genealogy. If you have a brick wall, those names can lead you to who the parent or grandparent of the child might be. Of course you could be way off. It's just a thing to keep in mind if you find someone with a really long series of middle names.

I will admit that it won't always break down a brick wall. It will still give you a clue and it's something to think about as you dig through records.

Even today, middle names are a hint as to what certain ancestors' names may have been. My grandfather was Marco James Ferraiolo. He clearly didn't have the name "James" as he was born in Italy. Ah, but do you remember the blog where I discussed how Vincenzo became James? Somehow Vincenzo became James even in middle names, too. It's weird and very complicated.

Still, the name "James" has been passed down in my family. It's my brother's first name and now his oldest son carries the tradition.

Middle names remain very useful in field of genealogy and I don't mean that just as a Catholic guy with Italian and French-Canadian ancestors. I mean in general. Sure some of them can be long. But, they can help you break a brick wall and help you gain insight of why someone was named the way they were. Think about that the next time someone middles or third names you!

See ya next time!