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Four centuries of fashionable names for boys and girls – which ones are on your tree? Names that may seem quaint and quirky now might once have been the height of fashion for your ancestors. This issue we look at those that have stood the test of time as well as those that were just a passing fancy. The choices made can give surprising insights to your family’s values. Do you have a 19th-century Florence at the time of the admirable Miss Nightingale, or a Puritan ‘Fight the Good Fight’? Or perhaps generations of Thomases, Williams, Georges and Jameses – in the top 10 for boys in 1700 and still there today – revealing a more traditional bent. Roy Stockdill’s article (page 15) will certainly get you thinking about your ancestors’ names in a new light. And if your tree needs some new names and branches, our article on finding birth, marriage and death records has essential ideas to help you do this, free of charge and online. Enjoy the search! Plus, Family History Bookshop Catalogue 2012!