Sarah von AllmenJul 16, 20225 min read52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 28.Week 28 – Character. Although my immediate family stuck mainly to traditional names for their children, some more distant branches chose...
Sarah von AllmenJun 19, 20223 min read52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 24.Week 24 – Popular name. I imagine that like me, most family historians have found themselves at some point sighing at the lack of...
Sarah von AllmenJun 2, 20222 min readJubilate!Like it or loathe it, royal anniversaries – like royal births – have had a noticeable influence on the naming of British children. It’s a...
Sarah von AllmenMay 12, 20222 min readA name to live up to While all names have a meaning, in the past some were apparently given to children in order to encourage them towards a better way of...
Sarah von AllmenApr 30, 20223 min readWhat were they thinking of?We tend to think that the quest for unusual and original baby names is a recent phenomenon, but history proves otherwise! Certain modern...
Sarah von AllmenApr 23, 20223 min readLost in translationAfter writing about some mysterious spelling changes of surnames for my last 52 Ancestors blog, I went on to think about those who...
Sarah von AllmenApr 16, 20223 min read52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 15.Week 15 – How do you spell that? This week’s prompt immediately struck a chord with me, as I frequently have the impression that my...
Sarah von AllmenFeb 14, 20212 min readIn the Name of LoveSt Valentine has been associated with romantic love since at least the late 14th century, and many of us will be marking 14 February with...
Sarah von AllmenDec 24, 20192 min read"I name this child..."The relatively uncommon surname Christmas was originally – as you might expect – a nickname for someone born or baptised at Christmas and...