The Red Cloud chief., 1881-11-03
NAMING CHILDREN.

Is cast upon n grave.
NAMING CHILDREN.
There is a kind of physiogomy in the
names of men and women as well as in
their faces; our Christian names is our
self in our thoughts and in the thoughts
of those who know us, and nothing can
separate il from our existence. I'm
q~uestionably, also, there is a luck in
names, and a certain success in satisfy
ing the public ear. To select fortunate
names, the bona nonina of Cicero, was
a%nciently a matter of such solicitude
that it became a popular axiOm-'a
good name is a good fortune" From a
good name arises a good anticipation,
a fact nOvelists and dramatists readily
recognize; indeed, Shakespeare makes
Falstaf consider that 1.-THE purchase of a
commodity of good Names was all that
wasnecessary to prOpitiate goodfortunc.
Imagine two persons starting in life
rs rivals in any profession, and without
doubt he who had the more forcible
name would become the more familiar
with the public, and would. therefore.
in q business sense, be likely to be the
more successful. We all know that
there are anne that circulate among
us instantly, and make us friends with
their owners, though w have never
seen them. They are lucky people
whose sponsors thus cast their names
in pleasant and fortunate places.
1t is a matter, then, of surprise that
among civilized nations the generality,
even of educated people, are SO care
less on this subject. Now evil is rs
often wrought for want of thought as
for want of knowledge, and as n stimu-
liant to thought in parents the following
suggestions are offered.
It is not well to call the eldest son
after the father and the eldest daughter
after the mother. The object of names
is to prevent confusion. and this is not
attained when the child's name is the
same rs the parents. Nor does the adj
ditiOn of junior or senior rectify the
fault; besides, the custom provokes the
disrespectful addition of ''old" to the
father. There is another very subtle
danger in calling children after par
ents. Such children are very apt to be
regarded with an undue Partially. This
is a feeling never acknowledged, per-
haps, but which nevertheless makes its
way into the hearts of the best of men
and women. 1t is easier to keep out
evil than to put it out.
Ii the surname is common, the Chris
tian name should be peculiar. Almost
any prefix is ~pardonable to "Smith."
John Smith has no individuality left,
but Godolphin Smith really reads aris-
tOcratically. James Brown is no ono,
but Sequard Brown and Ignatius Brown
are lifted out of the crowd. Some peo-
pie get out of this difficulty by ~iterating
the name so as to compel respect.
Thus, Jones Jones. of Jones' Hall, has
a moral swagger about it that would be
sure to carry it through.
1t is often a great advantage to have
a very odd name, a little difficult to re-
member at first, but which when once
learned bites itself into the memory. For
instance, there was Jamsetjee Jeejee-
bhoy; we have to make q hurdle-race
over it, but once in the mind it is never
forgot.
Remember in giving anne that the
children when grown up may be in sit
uatiOns where they will have frequently
to sign their initials, and do not give
names that might i'm this situation pro-
woke contemptuous remark. For in
stance, David Oliver Green, the initials
make dog" Clara Ann Thompson.
the initials spell scat" Neither should
q name be given whose initial taken in
conjunction with the surname suggests
q foolish idea, as Mr.. p. Cox, or Mrs.
7. Potts.
1.-THE child is a boy, it may be equally
uncomfortable for him to have a long
string of names. Suppose that in adult
life he becomes a merchant or banker,
with plenty of business to do, then he
will not be well pleased to write
"Gecrge Henry Talbot Robinson" two
or three hundred times q day.
1t is not a bad plan to give girls only
one baptismal name, SO that if they
marry they can retain their maiden
surname: as Elizabeth Barrett Brown
ing, Harriet Beecher Stowe. This is the
practice among the Society of Friends,
and is worthy Of more general adop-
ton, for we should then know at once
on seeing the name of a lady whether
she was married, and If so, what her
family name was. In Geneva and many
provinces of France the maiden family
name of the wife is added to the sur.
I0IuC u TIC uUSOduu. t4luS, II u XudTIc
Perrot married Adolphe Lauve, they
would after marriage write their names
respectively, Adolphe Perrot-Lauve
and Marie Perrot-Lauve. The custom
serves to distinguish the bachelor from
the married man, and is worthy of i'm
i~tation; for if vanity unites in the same
escutcheon the arms of q husband and
wife. ought not affection to blend their
names?
Generally the modern lie" which
is appended to all names that will
admit of it, renders them senseless
and insipid. Where is the improve
ment in transforming the womanly
loveliness of Mary into Mollie. Imag-
me . Queen Mollie, or Mollie Queen Of
Scots! There is something like sacri.
lege in such q transformation. Take
Margaret. and mutilate the pearl-like
name into Maggie, and its purity like
o halo vanishes, and we have q very
commonplace idea in its stead. If we
must have diminutives, commend us to
the old style. Polly, Kitty. Lefty, Dol
w.. were names with some sense and
work in them, and which we pronounce
like a~rticulate sounds.
There is no greater injustice than
the infection of whimsical or unworld-
like name on helpless infancy; for, as ii
is aptly said: '.How many are there
who might have done exceedingly well
In the world had not their characters
and spirits. been totally N~soodsmxsed
into nothingf" -
It is certainly q grave question if in
the matter Of Christian names o re-
gard for the dead past should blind our
eves to the future comfort and success
Of our children. Why have we 30 many
Ceoree Washingtonse The nSme - 9
meat burden for anv boy. He viii a.