Naming Practices

John Cameron O’Brien

Professor Lynn Raymond

UWRT 1104-002

2/22/2019
 Naming practices within families has been something that has always interested me

because they provide so much insight to a family’s traditions and way of thinking. It is just

fascinating to sit there and wonder where/how someone got their name and why that name was

chosen. What is the importance of the spelling? Why do some cultures not have a middle name?

Why so some cultures have multiple people named the same name? These are the types of

questions that absolutely fascinate me and drive me do to more intensive to research to find out

the answers.

As you may know, my name is John Cameron O'Brien III. I am named after my dad who

was named after my grandpa on my dad’s side. I used to sit and think that my parents didn’t want

to have to think of a name for me, so they just used my father’s name and put that on the birth

certificate. I now know that my name has much more meaning than I originally thought it did.

While I never got the chance to really meet my grandpa (the only memory I have of him

is him calling me a little girl and me getting upset because I am most defiantly a boy), I have

been told my lots of my family members that I remind everyone of him because of how

mischievous I am as well as my hair (he didn’t have much hair from what I remember of him).

This shows that the name has a connection between the two of us the connection has not been

broken even though he passed away many years ago.

I have also been told my father that the name Cameron is a huge name up in Nova Scotia,

Canada which is where my family immigrated to from Ireland. This is driving me to do more

current research on the topic to see if that is where my grandfather’s name came from. If that is

where my grandfather’s name came from, then that is where my name came from because it just

trickled down the family tree.

 These are the questions that I am being able to ask myself through this genealogy project

and it has absolutely fascinated me because the research just drives more questions and the

insight that I have received through my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles has been

amazing. It is crazy how just your name can cause you to find so much out about your family and

the history behind your family.