The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-10-01
OomicaI' German Names.


other European country, out Germans
do not seem to suffer from the miseres
Of eccentric nomenclature as do En-
glishmen, Frenchmen or even Italians.
Perhaps their difference in this regard
springs partly from their natural short
comings as far as sense of humor is
concerned, and partly from the deep
and solid dissatisfaction which is one
of their National characteristics. A
glance over the pages of the Berlin Di
rectory will enable any one acquainted
with the German language to pick out
hundreds of astonishingly incongruous
names owned by persons holding dis
tinguished positions in the official, COM
mercial and artistic circles Of the CAPT
tai No social class isexempt from this
quaint affliction. Illustrious mobiles are
often as ridicuously named as the hum
blest proletary. For instance. one of
the most ancient baronial families in
Prussia reioices in the designation,
"Gatekeeper of hell,h and the name of
the wealthiest Count in the German
Empire, literally rendered into our
vernacular, is ''Handle of Thunder
Marrow" To our apprehensions these
patronymics are no whit less nonsens-
ical and unfit for family use than the
utterly plebeian Bloodsausage,
'WhitecameP or 'TwoyearoldWild-
boar" that abound in the Fatherland;
but Germans see nothing funny or I'M
common in them, and are unfeignedly
surprised when the Intelligent foreigner
sojourning in their midst ventures to
hint that, in any other country, names
so extravagantly incongruous would in
evitably render life intolerable to their
luckless possessOrs, by reason of the
inexhaustible banter, chaff and satirical
comment they could not fail to sug-
gest to social wags and comic Journal
lists. .t..r.
The majority of the more high
sounding and poetical names that meet
the eye upon German shop-fronts or in.
the advertising sheets of the Teutonic
daily.press belongs to persons of Jewish
extraction. Not more than a couple of
centuries ago the German Israelite, as a
rule, was forlorn of family name. He
was either known by s. front name",
supplemented by that of his father, as
aaron ben-David, "or " Solomon ben.
Israel" or by some nickname owing
its origin to the nature of his occupa-
ton, or, perhaps, to conspicuous
physical popularity. This vagueness
in his denomination and his errant
commercial habits enabled him to dodge
the taX-gatherer, and gave the German
administration good deal of trouble
in dealing with him from a fiscal point
of view. 1t was therefore resolved to
make him distinctly identiiable by the
simple process of compelling him to
take family name, stick to it dur
ing his own life and transmit it by legal
act of registration to his children. No
restrictions were imposed upon him in
the. matter of choice, and his fowery
Oriental instincts prompted him to Sc
lect patronymics significant of things
beautiful or noble i'll nature, of great
provinces or stately cities, kinglv birds
and beasts, moral virtues and picturesque
thoughts. Hence the following names.
proper to German Israelite families of
all classes: Valley-of-Lilies, Mountain
of-Roses, +" Stone-of- Honor. Silesian,
Englishrnan, Warsaw, Viennese, Eagle,
Lion, Whale, Honorable. Pious. Humil-
ity. Trust God, Peace-of- Countries.
Rich-in- Virtue, Lovely Home, Holiday
Praise and many others as romantic or
idealistic as the foregoing. Alike astute
and artistic, the Jews of the Fatherland,
under stern compulsion to establish
their identity as rate payers. bestowed
upon themselves all the prettiest and
noblest patronymics the German Ian
guage could afford leaving to their
Christian compatriots The ugliest and
most ignoble. aat j r.
But there be other by no means un.
common German names, so intrinsical-
ly eccentric, anomalous and unreasona-
BILE that it is scarcely possible to account
TO one, self for their origin or appro-
priation by sane human beings. What
for INSTANCE, can have, 'beentthe motive
prompting son OF Teut to call himself
Observation-Disclosures, "Doornair' or
''Blstervillage. "7f From what queer
fancies or odd incidents did such names
as "Frothmountain, =" 'tCat' selbow.n
Panhandle" ''Horsedeceiver," ..Ti-
gerstreamn "Double flourish" esScis-
sorscorner' and .HDairybasin" derive
Their ratson d'etre2 Every conjecture |
have hitherto ventured Respecting the
genesis OF these astounding compound
itlOiOSdHNloS las. all DOunQ to saw.
been utterly lacking in verisimilitude.
Perhaps some of your readers NAV be
more successful than myself in divinine
the ''unde derivatur' of such perplex,
ing ''front-name" as, let us saw.
"Knuckleviliage." ]. cordially rec
ommend it to their attention and re.
search.
There is, indeed, an inexhaustible
wealth of puzzledom in German names.
Who, in the name of all that is august
and illustrious, should the senior royal
Duke of the Fatherland, near relative
of our own Queen, and own brother of
a deceased magnate whose statue
adorns fair Geneva, bear such a farcical
title as Brown, be silent?" OF what
heinous ofense. had the capital of a
tiourishing German Duchy been guilty
that it should have been subjected to
the perpetual punishment of so unpleas-
ant a designation as "Bowel Townp'
High Taxer" may seem appropriate
enough, as a descriptive family name.
to the supreme ruler of Germany, but
it is certainly open to objection as an
incessant reminder to the German peo.
pie of the least agreeable characteristic