Family Names
Family surnames arose from a variety of different sources.
Patronymic - this was where the surname was based on a fathers name and examples of children of someone called Donald could be Donaldson, McDonald and O'Donald.
Occupations - this was where a surname was based on a persons occupation and examples include Smith, Taylor and Wright.
Descriptions - this was where a name was based on a persons characteristics and examples include Small, White and Little.
Geographic - this was where a name was based on where a person lived or came from and examples include England, Sutherland and Glasgow.
Clan based names - this is where members of a clan adopted the surname of the Clan Chief as their surname even if they were not descended from him. This may have been done for protection as being a member of a large powerful clan gave more protection from enemies than if you belonged to a smaller weaker clan.
Emigraion and Migration affected names - this is where a surname was modified or changed when a family has moved from one country to another to make the pronouncement of their surname easier or to conceal their origins.
First Names or Christian Names
Historically many families had a traditional way of naming their children, for example in Scotland the naming pattern would be as follows:
The first son was named after the father's father.
The second son was named after the mother's father.
The third son was named after the father.
The fourth son is named after the mother's mother's father.
The fifth son is named after the father's mother's father.
The sixth son is named after the mother's father's father.
The seventh to tenth sons are named after the father's great-grandfathers.
The eleventh to fouteenth sons are named after the mother's great-grandfathers.
The first daughter was named after the mother's mother.
The second daughter was named after the father's mother.
The third daughter was named after the mother.
The fourth daughter is named after the father's father's mother.
The fifth daughter is named after the mother's mother's mother.
The sixth daughter is named after the father's mother's mother.
The seventh to tenth daughters are named after the mother's great-grandmothers.
The tenth to fourteenth daughters are named after the father's great-grandmothers.
The above were not always followed exactly but provides a general pattern of how the children were given their names. If a child died at a young age then it was not uncommon for a subsequent child to be given the deceased child's name.