30th September 2026
There are a couple of inadvertent errors in The Line of Sixteen: Searching for my children’s great, great grandparents in terms of the traditional naming of sons in Scotland.
In the footnote on page 53, when discussing the repetition of the name Peter McBride in the family story, I state that “the first-born son was given the name of the father”.
Likewise, on page 67, when discussing the family of my great (x3) grandfather Alexander Kerr (or Ker, 1801-1862) on the Isle of Arran in the early years of the 19th Century and after noting that he had three younger siblings – John (born in 1803), Mary (1805) and Finlay (1808) – I wondered if there had been “…an earlier – and deceased – child called Finlay, as Finlay Kerr/Ker was the name of Alexander’s father and, following tradition, this would have been the name given to Finlay and Grace Kerr’s first-born son”.
What I should have said, of course, was that the tradition was for the first-born son to be named after the father’s father i.e. the new-born’s grandfather. This tradition – and that for other births within a Scottish family – is clearly described in a short article on the Findmypast website (www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/help/traditional-scottish-naming-patterns).
In my defence, I could argue that it is reasonable to suggest that the various Peter McBrides did throw me off course. My great grandfather Peter McBride (born in Rutherglen in 1861) was the son of Peter McBride (born in Glasgow in 1829), who was the son of Peter McBride (born in Port Glasgow in 1797)… The defence is not particularly strong, however: only the last of these was a first-born son (with a father called Neil and, indeed, with a grandfather called Peter).
The correction does not change any of the names that have been identified in An Ordinary Spectator for the Scottish branches of the family tree.
The Findmypast article suggests that the second son of Finlay and Grace Kerr – Alexander’s brother – would have been called John after Grace’s father (which is the case as he was John McKillop) and that the third son would have been called Finlay (which is also the case).
Meanwhile, the nomenclature for Alexander’s sister – Mary Grace Kerr – is consistent with the traditional naming pattern on the female side. Her grandmother was Mary Brown (who married John McKillop). It was their daughter, Grizel (or Grace), who married Finlay Kerr and was the mother of Alexander, John, Mary and Finlay.
Similarly, in the next generation, the first-born daughter of Alexander Kerr and his wife Janet Shaw (1811-1899) was Catherine Kerr (1831-1868), who was my great (x2) grandmother (and the second wife of the Peter McBride born in Glasgow in 1829). Her grandmother was indeed another Catherine, though with – as if the story were not already confusing enough – the maiden name of McBride. (Catherine McBride married Archibald Shaw in the Kilbride parish in 1809).
Alexander Kerr and Janet Shaw had four daughters before the birth of their first son. The second daughter was named Grace (again as the tradition would suggest, as this was the name of Alexander’s mother, Grizel/Grace). The first son was called Finlay, which of course was the name of Alexander’s father.
It is at this point that the tradition seems to have broken within the Kerr line, as Alexander and Janet’s second son was named John, rather than the Archibald that would have followed as the name of Janet’s father.
This takes us neatly to the fundamental caveat that applies to this whole discussion, as summarised on the Findmypast site:
Of course, these patterns should only be used as a rough reference guide as no two families are the same. In many cases, there will be no rhyme or reason behind the names chosen for your ancestors. Plenty of families didn’t care about traditions and named their children after dear friends, celebrated public figures, like the many occurrences of Florence Nightingale, or even popular local ministers.
The main implication of my correction from father to grandfather in the naming of Scottish first-born sons is that I have no need to search for the birth and early death of another Finlay as the first-born son in the household of Finlay and Grace Kerr.
Indeed, what the correction also tells me – and this is new information in my research – is that, in the absence of any older brothers for Alexander Kerr, his grandfather – i.e his father Finlay’s father – was also an Alexander Kerr (or Ker).
Unfortunately, the records of the Old Parish Registers that are in the Scotlandspeople database (Scotlandspeople.gov.uk) do not include an entry for the birth of Finlay Kerr (or Ker) in Bute during the period from 1740 to 1785.
However, there is a tantalising entry for the birth of an Alexander Kerr to Finlay Kerr and Margery Kelso in the Kilmory, Shiskine and Lochranza parish in October 1746. This could be the father of the Finlay Kerr who married Grizel/Grace McKillop, though I have no firm evidence for this – yet. As the summary table below reveals, it is one of several details to be followed up on the Isle of Arran side of the family history.
Summary: My family history on the Isle of Arran
Great (x5) grandparents
Alexander Ker/Kerr married ???
Son: Finlay Ker/Kerr
John McKillop married Mary Brown in Kilbride parish in 1761
Daughter Grizel/Grace McKillop (1766-?)
John Shaw married Lillias Kennedy in Kilbride in 1779
Son: Archibald Shaw (c1782-1865)
??? McBride married ?? Hunter
Daughter: Catherine McBride (1782-1862)
Great (x4) grandparents
Finlay Ker/Kerr married Grizel/Grace McKillop (1766-?)
Children: Alexander Ker/Kerr (1801-1862), John Kerr (1803-?), Mary (Grace) Kerr (1805-1850), Finlay Kerr (1808-?)
Archibald Shaw (c1782-1865) married Catherine McBride (1782-1862) in Kilbride in 1809
Children: Janet Shaw (c1811-1899) plus 6 others
Great (x3) grandparents
Alexander Ker/Kerr (1801-62) married Janet Shaw (c1811-1899) in Kilbride in 1831
Children: Catherine Kerr (1831-1868), Grace Kerr (1834-?), Margaret Kerr (1837-?), Janet Kerr (1840-1918), Finlay Kerr (1845-1887), John Kerr (1848-1886), Mary Kerr (1855-1884)
Great (x2) grandparents
Catherine Kerr (1831-1868) married Peter McBride (1829-1896) in 1860
