Irish name Donatus

[DocDAve]

Hi,
I am trying to trace a Daniel, born in Southwark 1828, son of John Downes(Duane) who was born in Charleville and migrated to Southwark.

I can not find a Daniel as father of John (thinking naming patterns)in Charleville/Ballyay

However there is a Donato/Donatus

Are there any examples that people know of where Donatus was anglicised to Daniel ?

[Lesley Robertson]

Were they Catholics?

[DocDAve]

Yes they were one entry says Donato

[Lesley Robertson]

Daniel may simply have been trying to fit in, rather thank have an obviously latin forename..

Don't rely too hard on naming patterns - it's when you do that you find that you had a rebel in the family!

[DocDAve]

It is hard to trace the Charleville/Ballyhay ancestors. ( no baptisms until 1826)
I appreciate what you say about the patterns - it's tempting to use them and extrapolate back

Take it you mean John was naming him Daniel, rather than Donatus but what do you make of the anglicisation possibility

[Lesley Robertson]

No, I was thinking that Donatus might have decided to change to Daniel to fit in... It was relatively easy back then to call yourself whatever you wanted.

[DocDAve]

I'm a little puzzled by that - perhaps you imagine that Donatus came over to England but he didn't as far as I know

Trouble is there is no adult called Daniel Duane in Charleville so I am seeking help with if Donatus ( whose son was John) was anglicised to Daniel by John and his wife

[DocDAve]

Lesley - the penny has dropped I think - you meant that Donatus in Ireland called himself Daniel

[Lesley Robertson]

If he hated the name, he might have changed as soon as his circumstances allowed.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Many RC baptism records for the 1700s and 1800s were compiled in Latin. So a Patrick would appear in the register as Patricius, James as Jacobus, Ellen as Helena, and so on. Some names didn’t have a Latin equivalent and in those cases the priest just used his imagination and created a bit of cod Latin, some might say. So Donataus – which I have not encountered before – might be something a priest created. (Doesn’t mean the family used that name. Just that’s what the priest wrote in the register). Patricius in the register would have been Patrick to his family and so on.