What's In a Name?

[darkerhorse]

An ancestral couple living in rural Sicily in the 1700s appear to have followed the naming convention of first born son named after the paternal grandfather, but not other naming conventions for their other 7 children.

Was this common - just following for the first son?

The grandparents all had rather common first names, nothing unusual.

The name of the first born son also happens to have been the name of the town's martyr saint so I suppose even he might not even have been named for the grandparent.

If the children weren't named for the other three grandparents, then is it more likely the first son was actually named for the saint and not the paternal grandfather?

[MarcuccioV]

You could be on the right track. In our commune, the patron Saint was Aloysius of Gonzaga -- so the most common male name is Luigi (by far). The parish is Santa Maria Maggiore, so Maria tops the female list. I've seen the example you mention a few times. My guess is they were thinking of the Saint rather than the grandparent...

[darkerhorse]

Four of the 8 children were sons. I took a quick look at the four sons and it's a mixed bag. The traditional naming convention definitely wasn't strictly followed by this family, but the names of the saint and the paternal grandparents were used, just not always in the expected order.