The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1873-04-12
The Naming of Children.

One OF 1Eost common, FOOLISH and mischiev-
GUS habits ; that of naming babies after historic
charactew' or persons who have achieved con-
temporaneous distinction. The smaller the chance
the children have of ever achieving any resem-
blance to those with whose title they are crushed
from the first the greater the likelihood of the
bestowal of such titles. A narrow and ignorant
man, living in some rural and semi-civiized re-
gion, is more inclined to call his boy born under
every disadvantage of circumstances, after sume
celebrated poet or scholar, than wealthy and
cultivated citizen would be on whom fatherhood
had fallen. A woman to whom fate had always
been unkind, whom poverty and toll have vulgar
iZed bllndly reaches out toward the ideal by
stamping her graceless and commonplace dGugh-
ter with some name acquired from popular ro-
nance. 1t may be said that fair names may ex-
ercise favorable influence, and serve as models
and patterns for the namesake. So they may be,
if there be any similarity or concord between the
two but when there is not, when the two ma
lures are opposite, perchance antagonistic, the
heavy capital over-weights and weakens the
column. Names, to be beneficial and inspiring
to their bearers must either find or beget cor
responding tendencies
The injury William Shakespeare, John Milton,
George Washington, Daniel Webster and hun
dred others have done at the baptismal font can
never be reckoned. am sure hundreds of prom
Using and naturally clever boys have been spoiled
by indscretion of nomenclature. How can sen.
sitive and competent youth, with an ardent pro-
clivity 10 and many inclnations for literature,
| obey the bent of his inclination when everybody
| is aware that he is William Shakespeare Jones,
or Smith, or Brown, or anything else He inev-
itably shrinks from comparison, dreading lest his
efforts, creditable as they may be, should be made
contemptible thereby. Can healthy, impulsiVe,
warm .blooded lad, with George Washington
thrust upon him, be expected to accomplish any
thing, knowing as he must, that George WASH
ington has always been portrayed as the most un-
naturally perfect of mortals? Who shall say how
many retiring, cloistered natures have been..em
bittered by discovering in their first thinking
years how ridiculous their parents had made them
| by styling them Napoleon Bonaparte Of COURSE
they wrote their initials and then were perpetu
ally mortified to hear themselves called Hota Benz
Virgins, or Take Notice Simpson. Boys but
bling over with animal spirits, and fond OF adj
venture. have doubtless been driven TO vicou!
-extreL - having John Calvin or John kno>
tackled / their patronymics. The eEire law o
their being prevented them from imi'aling ihos'
ascetic theologians, and so they deliberately he
come prohigate from contradiction and from {
vague sense of the wrong that had becl put upor
them. fhave known Melancthons and Wilber
forces to be thieves, and Solomons and Solons IL
be circus clowns; and / make no question bu
the former went in disgust to the opposite ex
| treme, or that the latter were resolved to carica
ture the ancient sages by becoming the melan
| choly foos.- GALAXY.