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ArchivesGerman 1500-1700?
I have been doing some of my ancestry and I find in some families it appears that many of the children have the same first name but different first names, but they are all living at the same time (not for example, children named after children already passed).
In one family I have multiple Johanns and Hans'. Is this pretty typical of the time period?
In one family I have multiple Johanns and Hans'. Is this pretty typical of the time period?
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Replies
Short answer: yes, it is.
Somewhat longer answer: Except for some regions, it is untypical to have living siblings with *exactly* the same name. So, in most cases the name is re-used when a child has died, or there is differentiation between the sibling by the second name (like Johann Sebastian vs. Johann Emmanuel).
The exceptional regions lie in the centre of modern germany (Thüringen, parts of Hessen). Here differentiation between siblings was done with bynames like Großhans (big Hans, meaning the older brother) and Kleinhans (small Hans).
Somewhat longer answer: Except for some regions, it is untypical to have living siblings with *exactly* the same name. So, in most cases the name is re-used when a child has died, or there is differentiation between the sibling by the second name (like Johann Sebastian vs. Johann Emmanuel).
The exceptional regions lie in the centre of modern germany (Thüringen, parts of Hessen). Here differentiation between siblings was done with bynames like Großhans (big Hans, meaning the older brother) and Kleinhans (small Hans).
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