Naming children
Posted by Gayle on July 24, 1998 at 15:01:36:
I have a question about naming children, especially for all you folks over here on L&T who are real experts on the Regency period.
In P&P, JA gives Mr. Darcy the Christian name of "Fitzwilliam" which was his mother's maiden name. Was this a common practice in Regency England at the time? I know from genealogical research I've done on my own family in the SE USA, it is fairly common here, dating back to the mid 1800s. Very often, the mother's maiden name will be used as a Christian name (or a middle name and not used) for one of her sons, though not always her eldest son. Another popular tradition seems to be naming sons for one or both of their grandfathers, and then naming them after brothers of the parents. Same tradition works with girls. In my mother's family, the names "Sarah" and "Kathryn" alternate down through the generations as a woman will name her daughter after her own mother - so Grandma Sarah has a daughter named Kathryn and a granddaughter named Sarah and a great-granddaughter named Kathryn, etc.
I guess what I'd really like to know is this - did Lady Anne follow a tradition in naming her son Fitzwilliam Darcy? Thanks!
- I've wondered about this too Courtney Lynne 21:23:42 7/24/98
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- Names Linden 04:51:22 7/25/98
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- Names Linden 04:51:22 7/25/98
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