Scottish Naming Patterns

In Scotland the following naming pattern was traditionally used for given (Christian) names and it can be useful in searching for family members.

Sons - (1st) Father's father's name; (2nd) Mother's father's name; (3rd) Father's name.

Daughters - (1st) Mother's mother's name; (2nd) Father's mother's name; (3rd) Mother's name.

This order is not a fixed, no-exception, order. For example, a recent death might have pushed someone to the top of the naming queue, or two or more of the people in the list might bear the same name. The later situation sometimes resulted in a second, or even a third child called by the same name. This also sometimes occurred because the previous child(ren) of that name had died.