I have a genealogy mystery question for you! Those who are interested in Sephardic Genealogy will know that traditionally Sephardic Jews often named their children following a strict naming pattern:
1. Firstborn son named after paternal grandfather
2. Second son after maternal grandfather
3. First daughter named after paternal grandmother
4. Second daughter after maternal grandmother
5. Next child after the paternal uncle or aunt,
6. Next child named after maternal uncle/aunt,
7. And so forth (Malka 77-78).
Yet, in the Portuguese Jewish cemetery of Amsterdam, we find a relatively larger number of men named Abraham v'Abraham (Abraham son of Abraham) while only 14 men who were Moses were Moses v'Moses (Moses son of Moses) (out of 27,764 records).
How might we explain why more men named Abraham seem to have been named for their fathers?
A prize will go to the person who posts the best answer below in the comments!
For answers to this question and others, join me for a two-part Jewish genealogy workshop in Seattle on Mercer Island on Monday Jan. 9th with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State.
Part 1: Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews in the Americas, 1620-1820
Part 2: Tracing Family History Through Architecture.
RESOURCES CITED:
Malka, Jeffrey S. Sephardic Genealogy. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu Inc., 2002.
Photo detail of the gravestone of Abraham, son of Benjamin Senior (1727) by Laura Leibman, from the Beth Haim Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
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Can You Solve This Genealogy Question?
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