The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-11-10
OurNasnes.


rycod old mat, ., who used 10 wear the "ioni
c1ay coat all bulioned down before" Gri
1aikin, however. the name by which pus'
A. sometimes called. Is "gray Maxim"
Maxim being pet dIminutive for Mary Of
or Matilda.
webaye number OF surDames from tht
old Norse personym Brodor, though th'
de,crip;iye element enters into many o
them through the adjective broad, Anglo
Saxon brad. Mr.. Broad may have been SC
called from hts massivei ess OF frame, as We
have from other peculiarities OF size the
Nessrs. Long. LsRgman, Legrand, Gram
{ the FINAL letter here being merely bard az
Short. Small, Little, Litteil, Liddell, Petit
Petty. and Pettus. But when we come Il
Mr.. Brodmsu German Breitm1n). we hest
tate whether 10 put him among DESCRIPTIVE
names or to consider him patronym o.
Bpdor. Brodie and Brody are evidently
dininutives OF Brodor, since IL would De az
Inconsistency 10 sfiix diminutiye syllable
70 su adjective like broad. Brady il proba
bly "broad island" though this, too. may
be a diminutiye. Brothers Is a possessivt
form OF Br0dOr, the d becoming aspirate as
1t does In the change Of the Anglo-Saxon
verb Qddrion 10 our gather" Brotherson
Is the full patronymic form, which may be
synonym OF Nephew, but is more likely
70 be descendant OF old Brodor.
Right here a short DEPRESSION may be al
lowed on relative surnames. We don't
know that the English poet Motherwell left
apy descendants; but when we come 10
relatives 10 a more remote degree we have
pieuty OF cousins Cousin, Cousins, Cou-
Gins, Copzzens, Cozne, and CoZZens. The
general name for relationship in Anglo
Saxon was Sibb in The abstract, and Si6bling
for the individual; Sibley with us Is fire.
quent surname, 10 which add the less com.
mon Sibbes and Sbson. Our common word
gossip l. curiously connected with the doc.
friue Of the Medieval Church that sponsors
In baptism contracted spiritual affinity
GOODS Si6) with the child for whom they
= stood. "Gossips," iu this sense, would
often be familiar with each other; hence
the word came 10 be applied 10 all persons
intimately acquainted, and finally to the idle
talk which would naturally find place In
the intercourse Of such. We find the word
used in its earliest sense by Selden in his
2oJte. Talk: Should great lady that was
invited to be gossip Il. e., grandmother), In
her stead send bel kltchen-maid, 'twould be
iiLtskeB."
The Saxops bad another word for "kins-
snaa''-vis., Ea1g--wbicE in accordance with
the general pfScii ice Of slurring final q or
scftening its cultural quality, appears as the
surname May with its possessive Mays. We
find in the Hundred Rolls "Bateman lie
Nay' and a Robert lie Nav" and "Rog-
er,a Maye" shows us that Mason i. not al
ways an occupation surname. Maycock is
pet diminutiye, "litile kinsman." But
Mayhem is not "kinsman Hugh: finding
"Adsmfl Maheu" in the Hundred Rolls,
and Mayeu de BasiDgbourne" in an old
writ OF Parliament, we take it to be for
Matthew. Mayo is Of course from the Irish
county. Meyer is the German for steward
or bsiliff, and proyincially the tenant OF
farm; Myers is the possesslve form Of it.
MAYER, Marie. and Mar. are derived from
the chief functionary Of q city: Wicklifie
has IL, "And to meyriS or Presidents and
TO kyngis ye shall be led for me."-Matt. x,
rs. MAR may sometimes be the Welsh
Mary.
Megson {" John i'll Mcgee" in the Hun
dred ROiis) and Mcggs are not, we think,
from mag, but from Margaret.
The Welsh word for "kinsman," car
(qqr), with lis English corruptions-ker,
cur, cor, gor--gives us such names as Cor
win and COrlett e. little kinsman }, and the
numerous patrOnyms and loconyms men
tioned in The Dispatch OF October 2lst.
TIE explanation of the great number OF
these derivatives is that the Angles and
Sax ns, on taking possession OF the island
in the fifth century OF our era, heard many
of the native Cymri addressed as scar" by
their knsmen, and naturally mistook the
VOL for proper name. and used II In
connection with their own words, hV and
6oR ('' bill') 10 form such locatlyes as Ca
ryi and Carroll, Corell, GorrelI, etc., and
with the Gaelic toch we have Carlock aud
Eartouuh-i { Carp. Lake - Carlow
may be "Carr's hidlo"-i. e., mound;
or IL may be "Carps how," from
fne Scandinavian h0ugr, synonymous with
the Anglo Saxon htdto. Carmen may
be, like Carson and Corson, a patro-
nym OF Carr, or II may indicate the
relation OF landlord and tenant. The
same may be said OF German and German.
Gorbam is. "Carr's home or settlement"
{komletj Carey and Carney are both for
s.Ca,r's isiand"; so Corey, CorDey, and
Kearney. Carnley and Gurley are Carr's
meadow" Carniick Is "Carr's ridge"
Csrow aud Caro- mean "Car's mound"
Kershaw is "Carr's held" and Garfield
may be the same.
Several OF the names In gar mentioned in
The Dispatch Of October 2lst are due, not
20 Carr, as intimsted in that article, but TO
.corruptions OF the personal name Gerard,
y
Carrot, GaretsoB, Garrett, Garrettson, Gar
retty. Clarity, Garry, Gerry, Gesry, Gary
(Cary), Carr Carr. GARRISON, Garrison,
Carson (Carson), Garside, Garriek, Carrie,
Garrish (possessivo easel. Garron ("littie
Gerard ~, etc. Corn, il not an original
bsptismal name, Is contraction OF Caron
gentle kinsman y; Corning extends the
name to embrace whole clan, this
being the purpose for which ing
was used by the Sax0ns. Cornett
Is double diminutive. In Carmac,
Cormac, and Cormsck we have the Gaelic
sAQc and the Cymric car Joined synony-
snously: McCarry shows the mac In its
more usual position. COrmick, like Car
mick, II probably shortening OF Car
michaei, "kinsman Micteal," or " MichaePs
descendant" Mccormick is an instance OF
80 excessive expression" by which is meant
&he employment Of two affixes TO denote the
same thing. The use OF car In combinations
with personal names is frequent: CaInick,
<'kiusman Nicholas or Nigel" CarneaI,
~ kIasman Neal, or Mel, or Nigel" where
the q il syncopated rs la Nelson from Nigel
son; Cornell may be the same II II is not
Cor +" Caron's-i. e., little Car's-hill y; Car
fixsu and CorrIgan tof which Cory and
Carr may be abbreviations, with the usual |
syucope Of % are from Egan or Regain with
she clan-prehx car. Similarly, Carlyiye, |
Coseorap, and many others.
But IL Is time We were returning TO our |
Morse friend Brodor. He evidently sur |
wives Ia our surname Browder, and by |
dropping the d, ~ IL done In the change OF |
Rsduiph 10 Ralph, we have Brewer, and |
&he still shorter Browe aud Brow, which Ia |