I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: July 11, 2026

Five Nathaniels: A Name That Ran Through My Britton Family

Prompt: “We all have many names (given, middle, surname, nickname) in our ancestry, whether we know all of them or not. Do you have “A Name That Runs in Your Family”? Is there a first name — or nickname — that keeps repeating generation after generation in your tree? Share the name, the pattern, and your best guess as to why it stuck.”

Five Nathaniel Brittons

For me, there is no question which name to discuss this week. I am descended from five men named Nathaniel Britton.

• Nathaniel Britton, my ninth great-grandfather, born 1625 in Batcombe, Somerset, England, died 1684 Staten Island, Richmond, New York
• Nathaniel Britton, his son, born 1666 Staten Island, Richmond, New York, died 1729
• Abraham Britton, his son, died by 1729
• Nathaniel Britton, his son, born by 1729, died 1792
• Nathaniel Britton, his son, born ca 1755 New York, died in 1843 on Staten Island, New York
• Nathaniel Britton, his son, born 1793, died in 1841 on Staten Island, New York

Why Did the Name Persist?

The names appear many times in different branches of the family, but here I am discussing only my direct ancestors.

The five Nathaniels span six generations, with Abraham creating a one-generation break in the pattern. Abraham died before his father; his name does not appear to have been used again in my direct line, while Nathaniel resumed with his son and continued for another three generations.

My best guess is that later generations took pride in their connection to one of Staten Island’s early European settlers and preserved his name as a family tradition. Nathaniel is also a biblical name, which may have added to its appeal.

When the Pattern Ended

My most recent Nathaniel had a son named Cornelius Britton. Cornelius then named one of his own sons Cornelius rather than Nathaniel, bringing the Nathaniel pattern in my direct line to an end.

The younger Cornelius had sons named Willard, Frank, and Henry with his first wife. With his second wife, he had a son named Neil, who died in infancy. I do not know why the family stopped using Nathaniel. Perhaps Cornelius simply preferred other names, or perhaps carrying a name that had been repeated for so many generations had begun to feel like a burden.

Because Cornelius is also a biblical name, the change may have reflected a shift in family preference rather than an abandonment of biblical naming.

The Mixed Blessing of a Family Name

Following the Nathaniels through my family tree made me think about the mixed blessing of being named after an ancestor.

My grandmother, a granddaughter of the younger Cornelius, was named after her aunt. She hated the name Edith, which she considered old-fashioned even in 1913, when she was born. The aunt, however, was well loved, so the name had been chosen with affection.

When I named my own children, I chose subtler connections. Each child’s first initial and middle name honored someone in the family, while the first name belonged entirely to the child.

An old map of Staten Island, rendered by ChatGPT

AI Disclosure

I used AI tools to help organize and edit this post. The genealogical research, family stories, interpretations, and conclusions are my own.