A name is one of the first gifts we receive from our families, and often it reflects the values and experiences of our parents. It’s considered an honor for a parent to name a child after someone else.
Most often, the namesake is a member of the family or a close friend. Other common namesakes derive from a parent’s favorite book, film, artist, or even vacation spot. As you research your own family tree, you may find a famous name among your relatives — but that doesn’t necessarily mean you were related to a famous person.
In the 19th century, it was common for parents to name a child after an unrelated but prominent person. During the Civil War, parents often named their children after a military officer. This custom is perhaps best known from Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone With the Wind, in which the widowed Scarlett O’Hara names her eldest son Wade Hampton Hamilton, after late husband Charles’ commanding officer. Another of Mitchell’s characters, Melanie Wilkes, names her son Beauregard, after P. G. T. Beauregard, a Confederate general.
Occasionally, one of these “exact namesake” children would himself become famous. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, better known as The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald, was named for the lyricist behind America’s national anthem. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was named for Martin Luther, the German religious reformer (as was his father). Industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick was named for politician Henry Clay.
Perhaps the most common inspirations for exact namesakes were U.S. Presidents. Though unusual today, many parents patriotically named their children for the Commander in Chief. Two famous examples are inventor George Washington Carver and baseball Hall of Fame legend Grover Cleveland Alexander.
With the high incidence of political scandals today, it’s hard to imagine parents being eager to give a child the full name of a sitting president. And the use of a famous person’s full name is decidedly out of fashion for baby naming. But movie characters, sports stars and the shelves of the local library will continue to provide first names of future generations. Just ask the next generation of Hermiones, Bellas and Dereks!
—Melanie Linn Gutowski