Doctor Butterworth Holden was my great grand uncle. He was born in 1860, the youngest son of George and Ellen Holden and the younger brother of my great grandfather George Henry Holden(see Family Tree). His birth certificate confirms his ‘given’ names. The four most popular surnames in Victorian times were Smith and Jones followed by Williams and Taylor. For forenames it was John, William, James and George. So, the name of my great grand uncle, on the face of it, seems unusual and distinctive, possibly even unique. This article explores the three elements of his full name, looking at what genealogical research and family history can tell us about its origin and source.

 

If we begin with Holden. According to Ancestry.com it means “from a hollow” (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/name-origin?surname=holden). Also, Holden appears to be a common surname in Lancashire. The web site House of Names suggests that Lancashire is “the great home of the Holdens” (https://www.houseofnames.com/holden-family-crest). Holden was an estate in the parish of Haslingden and a family of that name sprang from the place in the 13th Century. From here it branched off in the 16th century to the Holdens of Todd Hall in the same parish. Another notable Holden family, also Lancashire based, was that of Henry Holden (1596-1662), an English Roman Catholic priest and author, and the son of Richard Holden, owner of a small estate at Chaigley, near Clitheroe. Of course, in the fulness of time the name has spread far and wide. We have Holden Cars in Australia, a subsidiary of General Motors, and according to the website Forebears (https://forebears.io/surnames/holden) it has the highest density of use in the Isle of Man! Interestingly, it also has become used as a forename; for example, Holden Caulfield in Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.

 

As regards my own family the Holden link with Lancashire is strong one. Census returns reveal that a majority of my ancestors were employed in weaving in some capacity or other, mostly in and around Blackburn. Perhaps most notably my great grandfather worked his way up from a weaver to become a significant manufacturer in Blackburn (at Paterson Street Mill and Havelock Mill); subsequently passing the business onto to his three sons. Turning to my great grand uncle’s second forename: Butterworth. Reference to the family tree (see Figure) reveals this was the maiden name of his mother, Ellen. Referring again to the web site House of Names the surname Butterworth was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times. “The roots of the Anglo-Saxon name Text BoxButterworth come from when the family resided in the settlement of Butterworth, which was found in the parish in Rochdale in Lancashire (https://www.houseofnames.com/butterworth-family-crest).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As regards middle names more generally, the National Institute for Genealogical Studies report that during the 19th century the fashion of bestowing middle names became more widespread. They suggest that this gave parents a means of perpetuating more family names, “particularly out-of-fashion ones unusable as a first name” (NIGS, 2012). This would seem to square with the use of Butterworth for one of George and Ellen’s children, though quite why an earlier child was not so named remains something of a mystery. Interestingly, my great-grandfather and grandmother (George H and Mary) also used Butterworth as the second forename for their second son Alfred. However, no further use is made of the name. And so, to ‘Doctor’. This is where things get really interesting. The use of ‘Doctor’ as a forename is replete with myth, legend and folklore. The first thing to be said is that it was not as uncommon as might first be thought. Simon Youngi reports that the mid 1800s in Blackburn saw the highest use of ‘Doctor’ as a forename - 18 in the period 1851-61. The folklore kicks in when we consider the possibility that the use of ‘Doctor’ was linked to the birth of a son being the ‘seventh son of a seventh son’. The legend here is that such individuals were imbued with special or even magical powers. It is perhaps best captured in the Iron Maiden lyrics: Today is born the seventh one Born of woman the seventh son And he in turn of a seventh son He has the power to heal He has the gift of the second sight He is the chosen one So it shall be written So it shall be done (Iron Maiden, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) Doctor Butterworth is indeed the seventh son of George Holden’s nine children – see family tree. However, he clearly is not the seventh son of a seventh son. His father is the first born with eight siblings (five brothers and three sisters). Indeed, highlighting the lack of evidence to support the myth Simon Young argues that his research suggests: firstly, that ‘Doctor’ was used as Christian name in the nineteenth century and that it was used particularly in and around Blackburn. secondly, that whilst most ‘Doctors’ were indeed seventh sons there was no prima facia evidence of them being the seventh son of a seventh son. In the specific case, then, of the use of ‘Doctor’ by my family it offers no real challenge to the conclusions of Young. Yet questions remain as to the decision made by George and Ellen in respect of their youngest child. As noted above genealogical research suggests forenames were generally speaking a matter of conscious decision making on behalf of their parents. As regards Butterworth the rationale is clear – to maintain and honour the mother’s maiden name. We can only speculate about the use of ‘Doctor’. Was it aspirational - the hope being that this child would escape the traditions of employment in weaving and become a professional of some sort? Possible, but surely unlikely. The most likely explanation would seem to be that, in the mid 1800’s, and whether steeped in legend or not, it was somehow deemed ‘appropriate’ and ‘suitable’ to name a seventh son ‘Doctor’. Of course, as is evident from the family tree, Doctor Butterworth was only 1 when he died – cruelly denied the opportunity to be the mystical healer of folklore legend!! He is buried in Blackburn Old Cemetery along with his father, mother and two of his siblings. Whilst his siblings and indeed the next generations of Holdens have their stories and achievements as a legacy, little Doctor B has only his name. But does not this name, rare and distinctive, give Doctor Butterworth Holden a memorable legacy imbued with just a hint of lasting magic?