Men
The most common men's names were: Adam, Alexander, Conrad, Georg, Heinrich, Johannes, Nicolaus, Philip, and Peter. Uncommon men's name were: Carl, Christian, Christoph, Daniel, Friedrick, and Martin.

Conrad and Carl were frequently also spelled Konrad and Karl. The same person could have their name spelled with a "C" or a "K" on different documents in the USA or Canada. It is simply a matter of how the name was translated or written down, it makes absolutely NO difference if it is a "C" or a "K". Always look for both spellings if researching a Conrad or Carl.

The men's naming system used in Yagodyana Polyana was unusual by today's standards and can significantly affect genealogy research if not understood. If a male was given two names at birth, the first name was the baptismal name. It was usually Johan(n) for John the Baptist. Other saints names were used including Georg and Heinrich. These "first" names were not used in everyday life in Russia. The name the person actually went by was their "second" name. So if a male was named, Johan Heinrich at birth, he went by Heinrich in Russia. His name could appear as either Johan Heinrich or Heinrich on a Russian census. It often varied from census to census. Another example would be Georg Peter. He would be commonly know as Peter but his name could appear as George Peter or Peter on a Russian census. The only name that was not used in combination with another name was Johannes. This was always a single name. Actually nicknames were used everyday but these were not on any documents.

What first name did they use when they came to America? This is where it gets confusing, they could use either name or both. It was perhaps more common for them to use their second name. So Johan Heinrich could show up on a passenger ship list as Johan, Heinrich, Johan Heinrich, John, Henry or John Henry. The same would be true of naturalization records. Lets suppose the man in this example went by Henry in the USA. It was entirely possible, even likely, there was more than one Henry Weitz in his community. He would therefore add an initial to his name on his naturalization records to distinguish himself from other Henrys. He might put Henry P. Weitz on his naturalization form. It often said "P" initial only. (It could be any initial, "P" was just an example). It would be incorrect to assume "P" stood for Peter or Philip, it meant nothing. So here is an example of a man born as Johan Heinrich Weitz in Russia later known in America as Henry P. Weitz. He might as easily ended up as John H. Weitz although this was probably less common.

Women
The most common women's names were: Anna, Catherine, Elisabeth, and Marie. Thats correct, just four names, talk about confusing!

Uncommon women's name were: Sophia, Eva, Juliana, Magdalena and Margaretha.

The women's naming system in Yagodnaya Polyana was very different that that of the men. Nearly all women were give two names, and they were commonly known by their first name or their first and middle name. Examples would be Anna Marie, Anna Catherine, Catherine Elisabeth, and Marie Catherine. Marie Elisabeth was often referred to as Marilies and Catherine Elisabeth often became Katrilis. Elisabeth was used as a first name less often. It was exceptionally rare that a first name would be dropped and the middle name used alone although it occured sometimes with Eva Catherine.

Once again, like the men's names that start with a "C", Catherine could be spelled as Katherine on any documents. Probably the "K" was more common. So a Catharina Elisabeth born in Russia could be known as Katherine or Kate or Katie in the USA. Maria or Marie would become Mary. Anna would become Ann or Annie.

WebMaster: Patrice Miller © copyright 2004