Visualizations : Scottish Naming Patterns

First son named after father’s father
Second son named after mother’s father
Third son named after father
Fourth son named after father’s oldest brother
Fifth son named after 2nd oldest brother or mother’s oldest brother

First daughter named after mother’s mother
Second daughter named after father’s mother
Third daughter named after mother
Fourth daughter named after mother’s oldest sister

This is the rule but – being a rule – there were exceptions. The first and second born sons were sometimes reversed – mother’s father first then father’s father. If so, the first and second born daughters were similarly reversed. Children were named to honour or remember another relative or after the minister or doctor. If a child died in infancy the next child of the same sex was often given the same name.