Litchfield enquirer., 1862-01-23
CHRISTIAN NAMES.

s,. CHRISTIAN NAMES.
 One of the most curious results of the regis tratiou of births, marriages and deaths in the State for the year 1860, which has just been completed, and which is now in the hands of the printer, is the AmericanizinY of the Christian names of the children of foreigners. It is well known the bestowal of three names is quite q modern fashion. and that previous to the present century. the practice was not common to christen . child with more than single name in addition to his family name. Now about on .half of all the children born in the State have two or more Christian names. Ten years since the number was still less, but now since our foreign element has fallen into our custom, double names, are becoming almost universal.
 But this is not the only change which the list of births shows. Our Irish citizens, who consti- tute 30 large portion of our population, are people, and are christening their children witn the most new Tangled cogn0mens. The Pa1rlcks and Michaels and Barneys of the boys and the Rri1pets and the Dorothys of girls have given nlace to s,ch names as Mary Caroline. Ellen Eu- ren;a. Minnie Eudora, Nellie Theresa, and the ike. For boys the names are less fanciful still they have changed. and names similar to those of the Americans have been adopted.
 Some of the grls' names are doubtless regard ed as improvements and as not inappropriate preserving, as they do, those of the saints and other holy persons. Such names as Honora Ce- ciia o 'Brien. or Theresa ImoginsM McQ Quiggan, or Mary Magdalena O'Sullivan, are admired. Per. haps the following are less admired; Josephine or Eva Evangeline Mulligan.
 But the changes in appelatives are quite as apparent among our own native population as among those of foreign births. Puitanical names disappeared long before the present cen. tury nevertheless, many scriptura ones remain. ed; and were quite common in the period of grandfathers and fathers but these have almost entirely vanished from our nomenclature, Abra- ham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Ephraim, Reuben and Ruth are now rare as single cognomens. Tim0- thy, Ephraim, Ruth and Dolly appear but once among the 4,60O births in the State during the year. while Jonathan, 50 peculiarly New Eug- land name, has entirely disappeared from our list of cognomens not one child having been christ ened by this name during the year. Then, again those fine names, as William, Edward and Thomas, are n:etamorphosed into WilIies. Ed dies, Tommys and the like; and those of Mary Hattie and Carrie.
 The names of heroes statesmen, poets, and saints are always favorite cognomens In look ing over this class, of the year mentioned, we find that of Byron to prevail. eight children hay. ing been so christened. Of George Washington there were six, of Benjamin Franklin, seven, oi Daniel Webster, Edward Everett and Napoleon each two, of Jefferson one. But there is one family of Jefferson from slave State who have christened their child John Brown.
 But it is in fancy cognomens that our registra- tion of births is particularly rich and poetical- Estelles, Minnies, Netties, Etties, Rosas. Lulas, Theresas. (by some spelled Terrecy,) Lillians, Coras, Idas, Elias, Mabels, and Minettas are abundant, sometimes single, but more frequently the names of Ann, Eliza or Maria are added Then we find, though not as often, the names of Josanna, Evangeline, Melissa Arabella, France. lia, Parthenia, Anastatia, Aurora, Ethelinda, Diana, Cinderilla Cleopatra, Flora, Etrida, Vic toria, and the like.
 There are seven Ida Mays and g great many Evas, showing that some novels have left their impress but of the following names there are fortunately but one each Cinderella Josephine, Mary Cinderella Prudence, Beula Theodore Hittie Lenelle Legg, Delight Shell, William Charles John Henry Lufft. There are others having five names, bnt as the initials only are given we omit them.
 Puritanical names have not entirely disappear. ed, as we find still in the returns those of Hopes till, Faith, Delight, Godspeed and Mercy nor have those of eminent divines and philosophers been forgotten. as there are few Luthers, Cal wins and Latimers, with now and then Milton, Seneca and Cyrenus.
 When the war is over, the names of military heroes will preponderate among our juveniles al though thus far there are few that are musical, or that the gcntler sex would call "pretty."- There is something grand in the names of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, !n Wellington and Napoleon, when used as Chris tian names, which the addition of third nane, such as many of our prominent literary men have, would not possess. We shall, therefore. have to drop the appellation of our heroes and confne ourselves to their surnames. which will do very well. lu the registration of births for the year following the war we shall doubtless have many such to record as Mcclellan Smith, Burnside Brown, Butler Jones, Blenker Bowen, Dupont Jenkins, Zagonyi Robinson, Ashboth Adams, &c.,. while Southern States will, in the same manner; preserve their Beauregsrds, Davises and Floyds.-Journal of Connserce