I find it so sad when I am looking at census records to see children who have not been named, some who appear to be closer to two yrs old, but most often they are infants under one. I wonder, were they sickly as newborns and thought not to live? Was there a family disagreement on the naming of the child? Why would you not name your child?

Sometimes you can connect who they are with birth registrations or a later census, and I feel good that they lived and did indeed receive a name. But then there are the times that “no name” disappears from the records. This saddens me that a life was here, was probably wanted, loved and held close once, and then they are gone.

In the 1920 census for NC, I found 193 references to children “no name” or “name not given” , 1910 there are 311, in 1900 there are 196 and yet in 1860 there are only 28. I wonder how many will be found in the 1940 census, and what caused this to happen much more often in the 20th century than in past?

Just wondering, as I look through the census records for signs of life of my ancestors and learn their stories.