Heirloom of Wahl Family of South Dakota

My family possesses a silver and gold cup with the names of the eldest sons in succession going back to before 1703. It measures about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height. The full names and dates engraved are: RISS - 1703 Iver Mikkelsen - 1745 Mikkel Iversen - 1787 Iver Mikkelsen Wahl - 1829 Mikel Iversen Wahl - 1858 Iver Mikkelsen Wahl - 1886 Palmer Mikal Wahl - 1921 Michael Palmer Wahl - 1946 There are also initials of several people without dates, which precede 1703. My family would like to discover if this cup had any purpose other than preserving family names. Was it the custom during the 16th or 17th centuries (the time it was probably created) to give a son such a cup at baptism? We have been told that it may be a baptismal cup, but we have never been able to confirm this. If you know anything about such artifacts, please let me know. The Wahl family lived at Storval Farm in Namdelan for at least a few centuries and may still be there. I have already traced the genealogy of the Wahl family going back to the late 18th century. I'm mostly curious about the heirloom cup.