The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-11-02

The Curiosities OF Names.
We have drifted away forever from
the old days Of Roundheads, when pioul
old Barebones christeued nis SOL
Praise God" and his ueighbor called
his heir "Zeal.of the Lord" when an,
name of scriptural origin, however
clumsy, was deemed better than any
drawn from other sources, however
pleasant or appropriate it might be
when Parable" was made to do duty
as a prenomen, and when at least one
unfortunate boy was doomed to carry
as Christian name the decidedly rev.
olutionary injunction to "Bind-their-
kiugs-in-chains- -snd.their-nobles- with
liuks-otiron." But while we are GER
tainly in no danger OF relapsing into
the practices OF our Puritanical English
| forefathers in this regard We still do q
good many curious things at the font and
there are people walking about even in
this year Of grace, 1872, whose Christian
names are ANYTHING but Christian in
point OF seemliness. We have our.
selves known one or two queer speci-
mems OF personal nomenclature
"Christopher Columbus George Wash.
ipgton Marquis de Lafayette s."
sat next to US in a village school house
twenty-odd years ago, and little later
we knew young lady whose parents
had designated her az "Eveline Ann
Wilmington Matildy Shelly Newton
Jones W" In Amelia county.
Virginia, some ten or twelve years ago,
there were two negro children whose
names were, respectively, Hollywood
Cemetery" aud university of Vir-
ginis," and there is another colored
bov in Mississippi who made lis advent
during the early summer Of 1868, 10
consequence Of which fact his p,rents
have seen fl, to dub him Cause be
Fteehorn.
Most readers will think "Zata" a
curious irst name to bear, but its Cd lity
was increased tenfold by the addition OF
"Jeter" as the middle name o; the Vir-
ginian clergyman who bore and hon
ored the queer combination not many
wears since Another curious case was
that OF a Lyncnhurg merchant whose
name was "ValerIus" D,sliking it
very much, he always s,gned the initial
only. When it came to the naming OF
a son for him the old gentleman re-
fused to make the boy "Valerius," and
so named him simply "V," and "V" he
remains to this day.
Perhaps the odiestlooking name in
this country is that Of prominent
Arkansas Judge, who. for the sake OF
distinguishing himself from several
other persons having precisely the same
name az his own, writes the middle ini'
tial after the surname, aud is known as
William Conway B"
A very singular fact in regard to
names was discovered recently BY a sta
tis,ician, who finds from q careful ex-
animation of the official registry OF
births that very nearly two-thirds
(65 S92 per cent Of all the children in
England and Wales bear one or an-
other of TWENTY-FIVE Christrian names
OF these twenty-five names Mary
heads the list, and William" comes
next iu point OF popularity; then follow
john" elizabeth" Thomas" "
"Georye," &c with Arthur" "Alfred,
and Edward" at the tail Of the list.
But spite OF the popularity OF these
good old common names in England,
covering as they do about two thirds OF
the whole population, some very queer
appeIlations find room to put in an ap-
pearance among the remaining third ot
the population, and writer in an En-
glish magazine some months ago cited
from the official list quite number o.
them. From him we learn that one
boy is named "EIoi Lama Sabachtbani."
another is called "Scish," third bears
the uupronounceable as we'll as un-
christian name OF "Mabershalalhash
bss" One father has named his twins
"Boreas" and Zephyr" while another
calls his "Huz" and "Buz." There
is a "Vive TEmpereur." too
az we'll as "Shnoting Gallery,
on the register. But this is not
all In a single village were
,ound "Hosanua," Cain" Herd
| Whose father was probably preiudiced
against childreu), "Dr''lah," and "P"a
raoh." One girl is officially registered
"a "Smar, Nalty," and boy as Dirty
King" We do not readily recognize
the sex OF some oAhers which the
writer gives. such as Celestial Miller,
"Choice fickerel," "Amrable Reading,
Enough Pearson" (s thoroughly sat
isfied aort oi nams), ''Giddy Eiwards'
.Modeen Leges," "Holy Davies" Par
amount Pye," "Original Bigot Peele,
"Perfec, Sparrow" "Tempestuous St'n
GER" "Stubborn Porter" and, last and
worst of all, Singular Onion Gale
hawk"
In the light OF the official list from
which all these are taken. who shai
ssy that there is no truth In the story
OF the man named "Ne"," who called
| his frat born Something" because Il
was somethiua new, and his secouc
Nothing" because it was nothing
new P-Hearth and Home.
A Safe BI"wa open with Nttro'SS