Nicknames and Naming Patterns: Why Polly Was Mary and Patsy Was Martha
Old nicknames that look nothing like the formal name, traditional naming patterns that can predict grandparents' names, and other naming customs that can help or trip you up.
Names are your main search key in genealogy, but our ancestors didn't always use them consistently. A woman might be Mary in her baptism record, Polly in the census and Molly on her gravestone. Understanding nicknames and naming customs helps you recognize the same person in different records, and sometimes predict the names of an earlier generation.
Nicknames that don't look like the name
Many traditional nicknames came from rhyming or sound changes that are no longer obvious:
- Polly and Molly for Mary
- Patsy and Patty for Martha
- Peggy for Margaret
- Sally for Sarah
- Betsy, Betty and Eliza for Elizabeth
- Nancy for Ann or Agnes
- Sukey for Susanna
- Jack for John
- Dick for Richard
- Hank for Henry
- Ned and Ted for Edward
Look up many more in our Nickname Finder. When searching, try both the formal name and every likely nickname.
Middle names and switching names
- Many people went by their middle name. John William Smith may appear as William in every record after childhood.
- Germans often used the second name. Johann Georg was known as Georg, Anna Maria as Maria. See Tracing German Ancestors.
- Initials and abbreviations were common in records: J. W. Smith, Wm. Smith, Jno. Smith. See our abbreviations list.
- Immigrants anglicized given names: Giuseppe to Joseph, Wilhelm to William, Katarzyna to Katherine.
Traditional naming patterns
In many cultures, families named children after relatives in a predictable order. A common pattern, especially among Scottish families and also used in England, Ireland and elsewhere:
- First son after the father's father
- Second son after the mother's father
- Third son after the father
- First daughter after the mother's mother
- Second daughter after the father's mother
- Third daughter after the mother
If a family followed this pattern, the names of the first two sons and daughters may suggest the names of all four grandparents. But many families didn't follow it, or followed it loosely. Use it to generate hypotheses, then look for records to confirm them.
Other naming customs to know
- Reusing a name: when a child died, a later child was often given the same name. Two children named John in one family usually means the first one died. Don't merge them.
- Surnames as given names: a child might carry the mother's maiden name or a grandmother's surname as a first or middle name, a strong clue. See Finding a Woman's Maiden Name.
- Patronymics: in Scandinavia, Wales, the Netherlands and elsewhere, a child's surname was formed from the father's given name, and changed each generation. See Scandinavian Ancestors.
- Spanish naming: people in Spanish-speaking countries traditionally carry two surnames, the father's first and the mother's second. See Mexican and Hispanic Ancestors.
- Jewish naming customs: Ashkenazi Jews traditionally named children after deceased relatives, never living ones, while Sephardic Jews often honored living grandparents. See Jewish Ancestors from Eastern Europe.
- Junior and Senior didn't always mean father and son. See Telling Apart People with the Same Name.
Unusual names are a gift
An ancestor named Keziah, Zebulon or Philadelphia is much easier to trace than one named Mary or John. When a family is hard to find, search for its most unusual member.