In tracing my family geneology, the same names were used over and over, which, by the way, makes it pretty difficult to distinguish between family members. My great grandfather was Jacob, his Dad was Steven, Steven's Dad was John, John's was Jacob, Jacob's was David etc. Add to this the fact that each son's siblings were named Jacob, Steven, John, with the occasional Elbert or Charles thrown in. This practice, which probably went back to 1600s Scotland, stopped in the twentieth century. It's apparent though that the tradition had been to name children in commemoration of their ancestors, and as a way of showing continuity in the family lineage. It's a bit of a shame that this tradition has been abandoned in favor of giving boys trendy names like Travis, Dylan or Cameron.