Thursday, June 6, 2013

What's in a Name?

Well, I was a bit stumped by today's writing prompt, which asks if I was named after anyone in my family tree. As it so happens, I was not. But I am fascinated by the naming patterns I have come across while researching my family history. My mom's maiden name was Crusham, and her father was named Michael. His father was also named Michael as was his grandfather and great-grandfather. I have only been able to research Michael Crusham back to 1811 in Ireland so there may be more Michaels that I don't know about. My mom also had a brother named Michael, but he broke the chain and did not name either of his sons Michael. One of his siblings named a son Michael and there are others named Michael Crusham in the tree, but not in the direct line of father to son. Still, having five generations of Michael Crushams is pretty impressive, I think. Looking at naming patterns can sometimes help when you hit a brick wall in your family research.

Michael J Crusham





Michael A Crusham

Michael J Crusham

1 comment:

Mrs. Wryly said...

They all wanted to be like Mike... Sorry, couldn't resist.

It seems that your parents went with a popular name at the time. I think it's a very good one for you!