The National tribune., 1881-10-29
ARTHUR ON FAMILY NAMES,

FROM the New Ork sun
The derivation and importance of family names
was favorte study with the late Rev. William
Arthur, the father of the President. For some
years he was engaged in the compilation of lis
of names and their significance which he com
pleted in 1856, while living at Newtonville, AL
bany county, New York. His work was pub
lshed in the year 1857. The title is: "Ar
chronological Dictionary of Family and Christian
Names, with an Essay on their Derivation and
Import, by William Arthur, A. NJ" The book
was published by Sheldon Brakeman & Co., OF
New York 1t is scarce now, and is rarely to be
found on the book stands. 1t contains from 250(
to $500 surnames with their meaning and about
500 Christian or baptismal names In the intro
duction the author treats of the customs that
prevailed among various races and nations in
naming their young. He says that the ancient
Hebrews retained the greatest simplicity in the
use of names, and that generally single name
distinguished the individual The Jews named
their children the eighth day after the nativity;
the Greeks on the tenth day, when an entertain
ment was given by the parents to their friends
and sacrifices were offered to the gods. The
Romans gave names to their female children on
the eighth day, and TO their males on the ninth,
which they called the day of publication, when
they solemnized feast called Nominalia. a
majority of the names in the book appear to be
of Gaelic or Celtic and Saxon origin. The Nor
mans prefxed Fitz, the Welsh APP, and the ancient
Irish Mac to surnames to denote son, as MacHugh,
the son of Hugh "All names" says the author
in conclusion, must have been originally signifi-
can't"
liant A rr1 hot hQ tod
father in the compilation of the names.
One of the names is that of Garfield. The
meaning attached to it becomes unusually sig
nificant from what has recently happened 1t is
as follows:
Garfeld-Local. Saxon, Caravan, to prepare !;
German and Dutch gar, dressed, done, ready,
prepared; and field, a place where everything is
finished necessary for army.
Many names that are now prominent before
the country appear in the book The patronymic
Grant is treated thus:
Grant.-Of this name Playfair remarks that it
may be derived from the Saxon Irish, or French
In the Saxon Grant signifies crooked or bowed.
Thus Cambridge, the town and university in
England so called, signifies crooked bridge, or
rather a bridge upon Cam River, or the crooked
and winding river The Saxons called this town
Grant Bridge, Cam in the British and Grant in
the Saxon being of the same Specification, crooked
So Mons Gramphins, the Grampian Hill, was
called by the Saxons Granz Bend or the crooked
hill, but we cannot see how from this Saxon
word the surname should be borrowed
In the old Irish grandma signifies ugly, ILL
favored. Grande signifies dark, swarthy. Grant
and Char signify much the same thing, or are
synonymous words, and there being tribe of
the Grants called Clan Chiaran, it is the same as
Clan Grant. Thus the surname might have been
taken from progenitor that was Char or Grant
that is to say, a swarthy or gray-bearded man
and, although in time Grant became the common
and prevailing surname, vet some always retained
the other name. Chiaran, and are called Clan
Chiaran.
In the French, Grand signifies great. brave.
valorous, and from thence many are inclined to
think that the surname Grant is taken from
grand, which in the Irish is sounded short. and
thereby the letter d at the end of the word is
changed into t. and thus Grand into Grant. The
surname, it seems, was thus understood in
England about five hundred years ago, for
Richard Grant wRs made Archbishop of Canter-
bury in the year 1923, and is in Mr.. Andersons
genealogical tables as well az by Others expressly
called Richard Grant. But The English histo-
rians of that time, writing in Latin, call him
Richard Magnus, which plainly shows that they
took Grant to be the same with the French Grand
and the Latin Magnus; to which, let Us add, that
in the old writers the article the is put before the
surname Grant
The name Conkling is said 10 be derived from
"COn, bold, wise knowing, and klein, little, or
SON. e., the son of Con, Konkelen, in Dutch,
signifies to plot, intrigue conspire. Cleangleann,
Gaelic, the head Of the valley"
James q. Blaine will no doubt be pleased to
know that his surname comes from the town of
Blain, in Bretagne France Mr. Arthur says:
Blaen In the Welsh, signifies the summit on
top; the same as pen, brig, and bar, the highest
part of mountain; the end or top of an object
the inland extremity of glen; leader or chief
Senator Don Cameron will probably dispute
the meaning of his name-"cr crooked. or crooked
nose from the Gaelic: Cam. crooked and
eron, nose