Naming patterns are an extremely useful tool for finding your ancestors. I relied on them to find an ancestor's death which had been particularly elusive. Using naming pattern rules I was able to discount most of the possibilities, leaving an entry which turned out to be the correct one. They can, however, also create confusion. Before relying completely on the naming pattern relevant to your line of research, I recommend you read Barking Up The Wrong Tree. While this page relates mainly to US genealogical research, it's definitely an eye-opener to other possible naming methods!
General Naming Pattern ...
First son was named after the father's father.
Second son was named after the mother's father.
Third son was named after the father.
Fourth son was named after the father's oldest brother.
Fifth son was named after the father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother.
First daughter was named after the mother's mother.
Second daughter was named after the father's mother.
Third daughter was named after the mother.
Fourth daughter was named after the mother's oldest sister.
Fifth daughter is named after the mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest sister.
English and Welsh Naming Pattern ...
First daughter was named after the mother's mother.
Second daughter was named after the mother's father's mother.
Third daughter was named after the mother.
Fourth daughter was named after the mother's oldest sister.
First son was named after the father's father.
Second son was named after the mother's father.
Third son was named after the father.
Fourth son was named after the father's oldest brother.
Irish Naming Pattern ...
First son after father's father
Second son after mother's father
Third son after father
Fourth son after father's oldest brother
Fifth son after mother's oldest brother
First daughter after mother's mother (or father's mother)
Second daughter after father's mother (or mother's mother)
Third daughter after mother
Fourth daughter after mother's oldest sister
Fifth daughter after father's oldest sister
Scottish Naming Pattern ...
First son was named after his father's father
Second son was named after his mother's father
Third son was named after his father
First daughter was named for her mother's mother
Second daughter was named for her father's mother
Third daughter was named after her mother
Other daughters were named after other family members
Old German ...
The first name of each daughter was usually the first name of the mother. The first name of the son was usually the first name of the father. Often the middle name of each child was the name of the baby's baptismal sponsor and they were usually called by his/her middle name. For a more indepth explanation of German naming practices, please go to This and That Genealogy Tips on Naming Patterns #2,
Early Dutch ... see "Scottish Naming Patterns above.
Norwegian Naming Patterns ... see Norwegian Naming Patterns by Johan I. Borgos
18th Century PA German Naming Pattern ...
First son after the father's father
Second son after the mother's father
Third son after the father
Fourth son after the paternal grandfather
Fifth son after the maternal grandfather
Sixth son after the paternal grandfather
Seventh son after the maternal grandfather
First daughter after the mother's mother
Second daughter after the father's mother
Third daughter after the mother
Fourth daughter after the father's father's mother
Fifth daughter after the mother's father's mother
Sixth daughter after the father's mother's mother
Seventh daughter after the mother's mother's mother
There are a couple of variations of the above pattern. For more details, please see 18th Centuy PA German Naming Customs.
Sephardic Naming Pattern ...
First son is named after his paternal grandfather
Second son is named after his maternal grandfather
Third son is named after his paternal great-grandfather
Fourth son is named after his maternal great-grandfather
Daughters are similarly named after their grandmothers and great grandmothers.
Italian Naming Pattern ...
First son is named after father's father
Second son is named after mother's father
Third son is named after father's brother
Fourth son is named after mother's brother
First daughter is named after father's mother
Second daughter is named after mother's mother
Third daughter is named after father's sister
Fourth daughter is named after mother's sister