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Like surnames, your ancestors' first names are essential for enriching and understanding your genealogical tree.
A real fashion phenomenon, original choice or inherited name, deciding how to name a child is never easy for parents.
A little etymology lesson: the first name, from the Latin "praenomen", designated since ancient Rome a name placed before the surname to distinguish individuals.
At the origin and within small groups, only the name (what we might consider today as a first name) was enough to define a person's identity. It was only when this was no longer sufficient that surnames and nicknames appeared.
Until the end of the Middle Ages, in France, one wore a personal name, or a baptismal name (often that of one of the saints of the day of birth) followed, if necessary, by a name to distinguish oneself: according to geographical origin, place of residence, lineage, profession... The surnames we know today are most often derived from these means of distinction.
Thus, the "distinction name" took the unique place of the name and baptismal names became first names.
Religion long held an important place in the choice of first names. For a long time, parents stuck to the names of Saints, and the Catholic Church ensured that "profane or ridiculous" names were not given to children until they published lists of authorized names.
The law of 11 germinal an XI required parents to give a first name from calendars or historical figures. And in April 1966, the first relaxation, regional first names, compound names, derived from nicknames or taken from mythology were authorized.
Today and since the law of 1993 which allowed significant diversification of first names, influences are much more numerous and international. The law even allows inventing a first name as long as it meets the criteria of the Civil Code and does not go against the child's best interests.
Civil officers have always had the power to accept or refuse a first name at the time of birth registration.
First names also have the power to tell stories, our story. Over the generations, first names are passed down, transformed and carry within them the stories of traditions, culture and family life. They are the witnesses of the evolution of our family through time.
First names are therefore vectors of family traditions, cultural origins, importance of historical events, migrations, generational trends and religious celebrations. The names of godparents and godmothers as well as nicknames and diminutives are just as useful for understanding the past of our ancestors.
It is not uncommon in genealogy to find the same first name from generation to generation. Several reasons explain this phenomenon: cultural and traditional heritage, respect for ancestors, religious practice, perpetuation of memories following a death, sense of belonging or even time-saving.
In genealogy, it is always important to understand the nuance between the baptismal first name and the usual first name. You may have already found different first names for the same person in civil records. The baptismal first name is the first name that can be found in the baptism record or birth certificate. Meanwhile, the usual first name is the one by which the person is commonly known and called on a daily basis. This distinction is essential to ensure the accuracy of your genealogical research and avoid identification errors (homonyms).
As we mentioned a bit earlier, it is important to avoid identification errors concerning your ancestors. Indeed, at a time when first names were fewer and passed down from generation to generation, confusions can be numerous. It is by being rigorous in your research and by multiplying sources (birth records, marriage records and other registers) that you can ensure the identity of an ancestor.
Other challenges may also present themselves, such as orthographic variations on the same first name or even the use of different but close first names (for example: Gilette and Gilonne, Perrine and Petronille, Yvonne or Guyonne...). Also, you may be confronted with abbreviations in some registers. If this is the case, it is sometimes difficult to know that "Jn" is the abbreviation for Jean, "Mie" for Marie or "Mte" for Marguerite... It is therefore important to read an act several times, to verify and cross-check sources, but also to seek help from the genealogical community in reading an old act if necessary.
For further information, you can consult these few resources:
- prenomstat.com : the website for statistics on first names given in France from 1920 to 2020
- insee.fr : the classification of first names in France since 1900
- Nelly, ancestor of Poitou : a case study, first names and genealogy, by the blogger of the same name
- The saga of first names : statistical studies of first names in the genealogy of Hervé Fauve
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