New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-02-26
ODDITIES or PERSONAL NoMEyCL4TURE
From The COrnhW.

From The COIphW
Odd names owing their creation 10 mlScellan'ouN
fances might OBVIOUSLY be more accurately ciaSSed'
if only a know ledge of the facts which helped 10
shane the ind vidual appollatonS were posSesSeu
Lut in the absence of this knowledge IL becomes
necessary to resort t. some such inclusive heading
"a that now TO be dealt with. Who could venture,
for example to state on what principe wiltshire
girl inhcrtug the family surname Snook' came; not
Irrv many wears ago, to be called Grrcian who
would prcSnrne to decide why a Master Rook,
registered Wye in Kent two or three years back,
was named sun! oT-t0 match tIlS g'oriouSS, SPono
with "A suitable PhTbe--Whencc Luna Mitlctht
Nation who iiqlrps among our notes Tor Il somewhat
later ucriod derived her first appellatl0n' quar-,
ryman at Portland, surnamed w nlte recently caled
Hs infant daughter Mary Avalanche lie would
scarcely be personally familiar Win Alpine us
astcrs is il to be inferred that the second name I'm
plies the child's unwelc0mcd descent upon an I'M
ready houshold' Again, what volcanic impulse can
have produced such fOrcndine as That OF SlTs Luna
Brnoking whom noticed az having become Il
mother at Salash not long slncef 1t Is qule I'M
nossibIe TO answer such questions few more
nominal ridd rs-;is difficult of SO uton and clIsSl-
fcation as the foregoing may be prop9undcd. Inc
registers introduce Us 10 "a Doctor Alfred lea
Bolton a Longitude Blake, a treSccuce Boot, an
Ephram Very Oft a Hempseed BarraSS, Purify
BucNland a Married Brown, Gully Booty Dir
Dusty EntwIStle. etc.
Among the miscellaneous fancies must be placed
that of registering, formal Applications, those
Authorizations and pet-names which are commonly
applied only in familiar intercourse, VI these tho
ordinary monOsyllabic appcllatlves sucn rs a. !,
Bob. Bill, Bess, Dan, Dick, Meg, Nat, Ned, ron,
Sail etc are unfortunately, not at all unIrequrnC
m the registers 1t is impossible to associate gentle
ness or refinement with - preference l9r such cur
nomenclature as this, although in the domestic
circle or amongst intimates the scml0cOSe employ
ment of these monosy aOles is sometimes excused
On the other hand, the Det-naineS ending III lie OF
are ALWAYS te der and often pleasing; ana the lct
that such are largely resortcd 10 IN registration
forms an agreeable setOtf to the circumstances IhaJ
the inc egant and dsreSpectiul monosy llaDi's are
also much employed. Among names OF tluS class,
none has been more widely used than Berthe, which,
of course owes its popularity to the Prince OF
Wales. Pretty. however, rs many shch Hehom-
nations NAV ,ccm in the earlier hOurs oI INC lney
are ant TO heroine embarrassing possessions at a
later ne Rod aud TO register them especially wlIn
ont any additional names--ls u manifest mistake.
hat pitIable contradiction would bel pallld Rose
of seventy five, "a Pussy on crutchrS, pllnd Dlsy'
or a Birdie vuce.css from chronic bronchltls
Some namg chOOscrS indulge ID fancy lot OK
trcme brevity in personal nomenclature rms ID
duIs once reaches It's most foolish extent Whc Slgio
letters are inserted in the register. Initials
Tor what may hr supposed to be suchl have, from
time 10 time appearcd names III those rec0ruSi pau
they have, not often been used without the ADDITION
of other appellauOus ia cOmpeter FORM FIX, Is 20,
and ii are record d names The opposite taste ior
very volnmiuous drnOmIu atlonS now ana then uiS-
nlays itself thomas Hill Joseph Napoleon Bona
part uGratio Swindl hurst Nelson ls an ncohgru"us
combination in which length seems 70 nave beeh
aimed ~ more than anything else; and Arpha1 Am
bros, Alexander lIabaktuk Nuilah Shelah N"od-
cock may be clas-,d with 1t. men, again, III 'iio
In ,h,r ranks we sometimes find ancestral names
pid very heavily upon single heads, ~ IN the case
tf Iyulph Ydwallo Odn NcStOr l.GDrIt LyOhci
1ued mag Hugh Ercheawyne Saxon Eaa Eroih"''
Ncyln ysart Plantaganet Iollemache-l oHchidcho'