Each such name had originally been the childhood name of the founder of the family (so for example, the name Takechiyo had been the first Edo-period Shogun, Ieyasu TOKUGAWA's name, while Gorota had been the Owari branch progenitor Yoshinao TOKUGAWA's, Chofukumaru the Kishu branch founder Yorinobu TOKUGAWA's, Tsuruchiyo the Mito branch forefather Yorifusa TOKUGAWA's, and Inuchiyo the Kaga Domain patriarch Toshiie MAEDA's), and each was passed down from family head to the son being groomed as heir, becoming their childhood name in turn; this passing down continued from generation to generation.
これらはそれぞれの家の初代当主の幼名であり、（たとえば竹千代は江戸幕府初代征夷大将軍徳川家康の、五郎太は尾張藩祖徳川義直の、長福丸は紀州藩祖徳川頼宣の、鶴千代は水戸藩祖徳川頼房の、犬千代は加賀藩祖前田利家の幼名である）これらは子孫のうち後を継ぐべき嫡男の幼名にもなり、代々受け継がれていった。