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ArchivesRe: Why so many JOHANNs in the Bach family?
in reply to a message by Andy ;—)
I'm not sure about the Bach family in particular, but if you consider the royal family of Austria, all of the women had "Maria" in their first name although the only two I can think of off the top of my head are Maria Teresa and Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette).
My guess is that as they were Catholic (the Hapsburgs and the Bachs), the tradition of the time was to name each child with a major Biblical name (ie Johann or Maria) and then call them by their second name. I guess it would be similar to the Catholic tradition of taking a saint's name at the first communion, but back then the parents did it for them and put it at the beginning of the name, rather than the end.
Anyways, like I said, I don't know for sure but that is my educated assumption.
My guess is that as they were Catholic (the Hapsburgs and the Bachs), the tradition of the time was to name each child with a major Biblical name (ie Johann or Maria) and then call them by their second name. I guess it would be similar to the Catholic tradition of taking a saint's name at the first communion, but back then the parents did it for them and put it at the beginning of the name, rather than the end.
Anyways, like I said, I don't know for sure but that is my educated assumption.
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