Page 12 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

NOTES ON THE NAME "POOT" AND DUTCH NAMING TRADITIONS

The name Poot is pronounced to rhyme with "boat". If you make it rhyme
with "boot" you just might feel one in the rear! The word "poot" is usually
translated to mean "leg", although it is occasionally translated as "paw" or
even as "to plant". American mispronunciation caused the family of J.W.
Poot to change the spelling of their family name to "Poat".

In the next few pages, the Dutch naming traditions are explained as they
relate to the names of the children and ancestors of Jan Willem Poot and
his wife Fredrika Sophia Vink. The Netherlands regions where the names
are found are identified. Spelling variations of the family names are
shown. Finally, the number of people named Poot and other ancestral
names is discussed.

Initially, genealogy research on the Poot family was hindered by the fact that
Jan has been a very, very common name for Poots to give their boys. It was
quite a task to sift through the hundreds of Jans and try to determine which
records were relevant. For any particular Dutch surname, there tend to be
many people with the same given name. This is a result of the Dutch
tradition of naming the first children born after their grandparents and great-
grandparents. The usual pattern is as follows:

1. First son, named after the father's father;
2. Second son, named after the mother's father;
3. Third son, named after the father's paternal grandfather;
4. Fourth son, named after the mother's paternal grandfather;
5. Fifth son, named after the father's maternal grandfather;
6. Sixth son, named after the mother's maternal grandfather.

The same method was used for naming the daughters, except that they
began with the mother's side first. The first daughter was named after the
mother's mother; the second daughter after the father's mother and so on.
This was only a tradition and there are many variations to be found. Instead
of naming after a grandparent, sometimes the name of an aunt or an uncle
was used. If a relative died soon before the birth, then their name might be
used out of respect.

Willem Frederik Poot appeared to be the eldest son, followed by Abraham.
The Dutch naming tradition suggested Willem and Abraham as W.F.'s
grandfather's names, but they were actually Jan Poot and Abraham Vink.
Research later revealed a previously unknown firstborn child named Jan
Willem Frederik Poot who died at the age of five months. This is consistent
with the naming tradition, although it does not explain the choice of Willem
for a middle name. Willem had become a popular name with the Poot's
during the 1800's apparently to honor King Willem.

-Name of Poot - page 1 -