Again, while these naming patterns weren’t always followed exactly (especially if there were only one or two children, in which case the father’s relatives took precedent in the naming of the children), they were followed pretty closely. If you have an Irish immigrant ancestor, for example, and do not know anything of their parentage, you can use this naming pattern to get ideas of what to look for in your search.

If you have established whole Irish families in your family tree, look at the naming patterns. You will probably see something quite similar, and maybe even exactly like the one above. When you use it to tease the names of unknown parents and grandparents out of your Irish family tree, you may be surprised with just how accurate it is when you finally get the documentation that proves the previously unknown names.