A name study can often be very helpful in solving brick walls through the grouping of families and using the process of elimination. It can also help us understand family dynamics and how our ancestors lived.
For instance, I've been studying family in Reading, PA. There were a number of people there with my brick wall ancestor, but they were all business owners or craftsmen and mine was a day laborer. I haven't been able to determine the relationship, but probably not siblings. But putting them all together, I've looked at their addresses and found some lived in the "nice" part of town and some not so much.