Lundberg Single Firstname for Daughter Christina

[Bob Hayes]

In researching my Lundberg ancestors in mid-1800s Stockholm, I found that just about all had a first and middle name, like Louisa Fredrika, Mathilda Carolina, Sven Edvard, etc.  Out of all of the family members in several generations, only one, Christina Lundberg (born Dec. 29, 1843 in Stockholm), is shown with just a first name.
 
Maybe this is a silly question, but was not having middle name something unusual?
 
Thanks for any information.

[Eva Leksell]

We don't have anything like middle names in Sweden. Just first, second, third name etcetera. Most often you are called by your first name but it is not at all unusual to use the second or third name as tilltalsnamn (what you are actually called). You can't tell just by looking at the names if for example your Louisa Fredrika was called Louisa or Fredrika.
 
If children in the 1800's had one or two or even three names depended on things like the family's social and geographical position, traditions, ambitions and so on.

[Judy Olson Baouab]

Bob,
 
I have LOTS of Swedish ancestors with just one given name. Some have two given names. Some have three given names. We discussed this on the Sweden Rootsweb list and the record (on that list only) was either five or six given names. Maybe some had even more given names than that.
 
I think the earlier the time period, the more likely they just had one given name, but surely there were many exceptions to that too. I'm hardly an expert on Swedish naming customs. Maybe local customs had something to do with the number of given names, but that is just a guess on my part.
 
This site has several articles about naming customs in Sweden. Perhaps your question will be answered there.
 
http://www.rootsweb.com/~swewgw/
 
Follow this pathway.
 
Facts --> Names and Naming Practices
 
This question is not silly. I look forward to comments from the Swedes.
 
Judy

[Bob Hayes]

Thank you Eva and Judy.  Glad to hear my question is not silly.  I would not have asked, except I thought it was odd that Christina had just one given name, while everyone else in her extended family had at least two.  I'll check the link provided.

[olle anderson]

One input:
 
Born 1942, I was given 3 first names:
Olof Sven Oskar
Olof after my mothers father (my morfar)
Sven after my father
Oskar after my fathers father (my farfar)
 
My own children (born 1969 and 1974) were named
Annika Maria
Annika a new name and Maria after my mother
Thomas Olof
Thomas a new name and Olof after myself.

[Ingela Martenius]

In the really old days only one first name was used.
 
The first to give their children two names were noble families; the earliest examples can be seen around 1600.
 
During the 18th century the custom of two names slowly spread, from the nobility and gentry to the clergy and town-people and finally to country-people. First more well-to-do farmers, later more or less everybody and finally, during the late 19th century, it became the norm to have several first names.
 
There were great variations between different parishes, no doubt in many cases due to the vicar. In some parishes it was mostly girls that were given two names, in other parishes it was the boys, in some parishes practically everyone had two names and in some parishes you only very rarely see two names.
 
From the mid 19th century there was an explosion of having two or three (or more!) names; the names were quite often VERY fancy and untraditional - even Royal names were in common use. English names like Jenny (cf our famous opera singer Jenny Lind) became popular along with French and German names, also names from the Old Testament (previously quite uncommon, sometimes regarded as offensive even). The reason for this was that everyone suddenly realized that however poor you were, you were free to give your children posh names. And probably - though I have no proof of this - the vicars had been given instructions to allow people to give their children these names. Because still today you are not allowed to call your children whatever you want and it was of course a whole lot stricter in the old days.
 
There has however always been those that have only one name. In the 1970's there was something of a fashion giving children only one name but these days we're back to two or three names. Very often your real first name (the one that is actually used) is your own name, meaning that your parents really thought this one through and decided that you looked like a Michael or a Patricia or whatever - but your second (third etc) name is apt to be a family name, Anna after grandmother or Peter because all the first-born sons are called that. Much like Olle Andersson here describes his family!
 
An added thought: sometimes - in the 18th, 19th century - you see that one child has only one name and all its siblings have two or three names. Then, usually, that child was born very sickly and not really expected to live so they didn't waste names on it - but of course sometimes it survived anyway. This is also the explanation when you see two grown children, siblings, with the same name (it's very uncommon but it does occur).
 
Ingela