Keeping the name alive

During a social outing today, someone mentioned how keen she was to keep her link to the Huguenots alive by using her long-ago family surname as a second given name for her daughter.

It reminded me that Ann Pierssené (pictured left, looking so wonderfully French although born in London) had the same thought back in 1766, when she married Thomas Fatt at St George's Bloomsbury in London. Ann's surviving children were baptised as Thomas Pierssené Fatt and Stephen Pierssené Fatt. Two of Stephen's Pierssené Fatt grandsons later dropped the Fatt surname and reverted to Pierssené as the family name.

It's food for thought. It's far too late for anyone in my own family to use Pierssené as a given name - until the next generation comes along. But other descendants of the Pierssené family might like to consider this unforgettable and rather distinguished French name as an option when naming their children.

Remember, the book Pierssené, a Huguenot Family of London is available through BookPOD.