Download or read book Christian Names in Local and Family History written by George Redmonds and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2004-04-13 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surnames have always provided key links in historical research. This groundbreaking new work shows that first names can also be highly significant for those tracing genealogies or studying communities. Standard works on first names have always concentrated on etymology. George Redmonds goes much further: he believes that every name has a precise origin and history of expansion, which can be regional or even local; up to c. 1700 it may even have centred on one family. This text fully explores the implications of this belief for local and family history, and challenges many published assumptions on the historical frequency of first names.