American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-03-29
From Pntnam's Monthly.
OUR GIVEN NAMES.
who gave you this name?'

who gave you this name|
MY sponsors in baptism
Then these sponsors have much to an
swer in this matter of naming, to say moth
irg of the obligations that they take upon
themselves.
The name of a person is a sound that
suggests the idea OF him. 1t is indssolu-
bly united with every notion of him; the
name and the man are more closely bound
than man and wife for even after death we
associate them together. How important
then is it that no one should suffer for his
nspe, that no unpleasant, ridiculous, or
infamous associations should be connected
with il, but rather that it should be honor
able and honored.
d. 1t is true that the fair Juliet, in pass
age ofte b quoted and oftener misquoted,
asks
whats in a nameP that which call rose,
BY any other name would smell as sweet
Very true; but we do not go to names for
smells, any more than to colors for music
And in the instance that she gives, what a
loss it would have been to the world, if the
word rose had not existed as the title of
the queen Of flowers; but instead of it such
common unmusical word as turnip or
squash had oeen selected by the founders
of the English tongue! What could poets
have done without such word? Where
would they have found rhymes for ii?
The queen of flowers should have name
ofbeautv, and she has it. We are not able,
at present, to say how many Of the modern
languages of Europe call this flower by a
name resembling rose or identical with it,
but we believe that all do which are based
in any degree upon the Latin tongue,
which is rosa, derivative and improve
ment upon the rodom of the Greeks. Juliet
is in very small minority upon this ques'
ton.
And we would strengthen our positionas
to the Importance of first names, by
quoting Sterne's remark that no one has
ever thought of calling child after Judas
Iscariot. Some come pretty nearit when
they select the name of Judah, which is
radically the same name as Judas, buthow
carefully do they stop there! Whatan i'm
mense difference does single letter, an
H for au make
We say given names, not Christian
names as is more common; for it is not ev'
cry one having a first name that has 8
Christian name, as we exemplifed in the
case of Mr.. Levi. who appeared as wit
ness before the Lord Mayor of London.
What is your Christian name, Mr.. Le
viz said that civic functionary.
L have not got any, my Lord was the
reply. i am a jew, but my first name j!
Moses
Various are the tastes in the selection o
a name for child-various are the mo
tives that influence the decision. Some
times rich friend or relation is to be con
ciliated, and therefore some barbarous des
jgnation is affixed to child that is thorr
in his side as long as he lives; and after all
the unfortunate may miss the expected
legacy. Sometimes the name of some dis
tinguished man is selected, to which the
life of the new wearer adds no new lustre
thus we see Geoage Washington and Johr
Wesley occasionally figuring in the police
reports as the names OF people arrested fol
riot or petty larceny. A classical taste in
spires others, who are not always very par
ticular in the names, provided they smacl
x.of the apcients, owing to which it happens