# Are there any real 7th sons of 7th sons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121 "2015-08-06T02:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/1 "2015-08-06T02:09:10Z")
Folklore holds that a 7th son of a 7th son has “special powers.” > **[Seventh son of a seventh son](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_son_of_a_seventh_son)** > > The seventh son of a seventh son is a concept from folklore regarding special powers given to, or held by, such a son. To qualify as "the seventh son of a seventh son" one must be the seventh male child born in an unbroken line with no female siblings born between, and to a father who himself is the seventh male child born in an unbroken line with no female siblings born between. The number seven has a long history of mystical and biblical significance, such as seven virtues, seven deadly sins In... I am just wondering if there are any real-life examples of such an occurrence. Clearly it would be rare, especially today with smaller families more common. But with the billions of humans who have lived and died, a 7th son of a 7th son must have been born at least a few times. I’m not interested in the “special powers” hoo-hah, just if there are any documented cases - especially of the variety mentioned in the cite above, that is, with no intervening female siblings. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/2 "2015-08-06T02:33:12Z")
Heck, I’m not sure what the exact count would be once you remove the very-few sisters, but I know a megafamily where the two parents were from megafamilies; the three groups of children were at least a total count of 9 and none reached 3 daughters, my classmate was one of the 2 daughters out of 10. Since we don’t have that 7th son thing we just saw it as a curiosity. My own dad didn’t end up having enough siblings for that because Nature intervened, but his dad was 7th of 10 (6th of 8 if you only count the boys) and dad was 3rd of 5 (3 of 4 if you remove my aunt). Back when a woman who didn’t die in childbirth could spend more time pregnant than not, having that many children wasn’t terribly uncommon; what was uncommon was having them reach adulthood. From what I’ve heard of the 7th son idea, the second is not part of the requirement. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/3 "2015-08-06T02:52:33Z")
Your Wikipedia link gives three examples: Perry Como, (1912–2001), 20th century American crooner Lyle Lewis Aley, (1914-1963) pioneer radio announcer Len Dawson, (1935-present), quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/4 "2015-08-06T04:12:40Z")
The first I ever heard of the seventh son thing was back fifty years ago when I was a child. There was a news story, from the UK I think, about a guy who was the seventh son of a seventh son, and people were coming to him for advice or blessings or something, because of his supposed powers. As said, it can happen but is rarer now because of smaller families. I shudder to think, but how many sons do the Duggars have, or their ilk? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/5 "2015-08-06T04:15:42Z")
IIRC, Glen Campbell is. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/6 "2015-08-06T07:07:29Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I shudder to think, but how many sons do the Duggars have, or their ilk? And their descendants! Nineteenth son of nineteenth son! ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/7 "2015-08-06T08:08:59Z")
Willie Dixon. Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/8 "2015-08-06T11:34:34Z")
[Georgie Fame](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es7mk19wMrk)! Curiously, or maybe not so curiously given this performance, it only managed to reach number 25 in the UK charts. 😉 I’d say it was SFW but it includes the Pan’s People dance troupe in skimpy costumes. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/9 "2015-08-06T11:41:12Z")
My maternal grandmother was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. My great-great grandfather returned from the Civil War and bought land at the edge of town, expecting to have sons and reap the postwar expansion. The economy went bust instead; he kept contributing only X chromosomes; and the family fortune never materialized. But we’ve always carried an air of lost gentility. ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/10 "2015-08-06T12:38:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Your Wikipedia link gives three examples: > > Perry Como, (1912–2001), 20th century American crooner > Lyle Lewis Aley, (1914-1963) pioneer radio announcer > Len Dawson, (1935-present), quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs At least as far as Perry Como is concerned that is a myth. Como was a seventh child but only one of his elder siblings, Domenico, was a brother. (from [Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record](https://books.google.de/books?id=V2orAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=was+perry+como+a+seventh+son&hl=de&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q=was%20perry%20como%20a%20seventh%20son&f=false) by Malcolm Macfarlane,Ken Crossland.) ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/11 "2015-08-21T20:10:35Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Your Wikipedia link gives three examples: > > Perry Como, (1912–2001), 20th century American crooner > Lyle Lewis Aley, (1914-1963) pioneer radio announcer > Len Dawson, (1935-present), quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs Following the links to the source material for Len Dawson in the wiki article we find that he is the “seventh son of seven sons”, which I interpret to mean only that he had six older brothers but not that his father was also a seventh son. So, only part way there. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/12 "2015-08-21T20:29:27Z")
When I was a kid (this is back in the late 50s or early 60s) my minister was one. Because of this, when he was born his parents didn’t give him a first or a middle name - just initials. So his official name was D. W. White. His wife called him “Dub”. He was a pretty cool guy, actually. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/13 "2015-08-22T00:13:19Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > When I was a kid (this is back in the late 50s or early 60s) my minister was one. Because of this, when he was born his parents didn’t give him a first or a middle name - just initials. So his official name was D. W. White. > > His wife called him “Dub”. > > He was a pretty cool guy, actually. My Dad was a seventh son; I’ll have to see if his father was. ---
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/14 "2015-08-23T03:57:16Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > When I was a kid (this is back in the late 50s or early 60s) my minister was one. Because of this, when he was born his parents didn’t give him a first or a middle name - just initials. So his official name was D. W. White. > > His wife called him “Dub”. > > He was a pretty cool guy, actually. This makes me curious why did they not have a name or him? Im not getting that. On the digression tip, anybody ever heard of a seventh son joint? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/15 "2015-08-23T04:38:32Z")
My grandfather was a 7th son. I don’t know if he was a 7th son of a 7th son. My great-grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher and people wanted my granddad to pray with them or lay hands. It really bugged him growing up. He avoided the church scene after becoming an adult. Mostly because he had so much religion shoved down his throat and also the 7th son thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/16 "2015-08-23T05:27:37Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > When I was a kid (this is back in the late 50s or early 60s) my minister was one. Because of this, when he was born his parents didn’t give him a first or a middle name - just initials. So his official name was D. W. White. > > His wife called him “Dub”. > > He was a pretty cool guy, actually. My father’s name was W. H… His family called him Dub. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/17 "2015-08-25T17:05:33Z")
So the chances would just be .5^14 times the proclivity to have at least seven children, right? I can’t imagine that’s to uncommon. The modern trend for smaller families is relatively recent. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/18 "2015-08-25T20:36:18Z")
A while ago there were some news articles about the President of Argentina, who customarily “adopts” seventh sons.[Link.](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/president-of-argentina-adopts-jewish-godson-to-stop-him-turning-into-a-werewolf-9946414.html) Nothing about the fathers being seventh sons too, though. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/19 "2015-08-26T01:45:18Z")
I am the first daughter of a second daughter of a third daughter. Which means…uh…nothing, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-real-7th-sons-of-7th-sons/727121/20 "2015-08-26T01:55:58Z")
Well… Possible straight… (Hey, you’re here & we appreciate that…)