Home > Just for Kids > What's In a Name? > Borrowing Famous Names

If you were named after someone else, then you may share something with your ancestors. Once you start looking into the names of other family members, you might find some surprises. Sometimes our American ancestors liked to name their children after famous people of the time, such as Lord Nelson (that was one child's first name in New England in the 1830s) or George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson. Do you have any names such as these, or other famous people from another culture other than the United States, in your family history? Find out!