George Patton IV - Family Name

Family Name

Patton was the fourth in his line to be named George Smith Patton. His great-grandfather, the first George Smith Patton, was a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in 1864, at the Battle of Opequon. Patton's grandfather, born George William Patton in 1856, changed his name to George Smith Patton in 1868, in honor of his father. He was the only one of the four not to serve in the military (although he, like the other three, attended the Virginia Military Institute). Patton's father was the renowned George Smith Patton, Jr., the World War II general most famous for his command of the Third US Army in Northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945.

Though given the name Junior, Patton's father was actually the third George Smith Patton. For this reason, Patton was christened George Patton IV. Following his father's death in 1945, Patton changed his legal name to George Smith Patton, dropping the Roman numerals. His eldest son, technically the fifth George Patton, is also known as George Smith Patton, Jr. General Patton's young grandson, who still is living, has given interviews on the History Channel and the Military Channel, recalling his family heritage.