THE DUTCH CUSTOM OF CHILD NAMING

Those days, most of the time, the two eldest sons were named after both the grandfathers. Usually the eldest is named after the paternal grandfather and the second son would be named after the maternal grandfather.

However, the eldest is sometimes named after the maternal grandfather because of the grandfather's distinctive social position, wealth or was deceased.

There were also cases when the eldest son was even named after the mother's first husband if she were a widow.

For the girls, it was natural for the two eldest daughters to be named after their grandmothers.

If a child died, almost always the next child of the same sex was given the same name.