Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-06-17
Family Names.


the greater part Of their family names,
and in England the family name was
first apparently created by taking the
name OF the father and adding To it that
or the son. la many parts of Wales,
this practice is said To be still common,
SO that it is no remarkable thing for a
man To lie called Bill O'Jacks. O'Dieks.
O'TOmS, O'Ilarrys. The WelshI ap,
however, has gwen US key to the s9lu-
ton of several names, in which it does
not appear as distinct portion. Thus,
ap Hugh has become Pugh, ap Rice,
Price; ap-Owen, Bowen; ap- Richard,
Pritchard, and ap-Howell. Powell.
The tendency i'll proper names has
always been toward abbreyiation, a
short name being invariably more pop
ular than long one. Another method
OF manufacturing family names was
by adding diminutive 10 the proper
name, the chief diminutives in this use
being the syllables kin, cock and ct or
OF; another, ing, being found, but so
RARELY that it need hardly I've mentioned.
Using these III c0mhEst TON with proper
names, from Simon We nave SImpkins
or SImco3; from Williams, Wilkins.
Wilcox and Willett. In early English
days the pagan was a fayOrite way of
designating Oh who had not confOrmed
to Christianity; and from this circum-
stance comes the Palnes, the Paynes,
the Pynes and the Pynsons, 10 whom
may fifty be opposed the Christians,
the ChristieS and the Christlons, while
the kitsons are the descendants of
some Christopher who was familarly
known among his friends as Kit.
No mOnosyllable name has been 50
Prolific in its derivatives is John. As
a family name it is sometimes found as
a plain John, then as st. John. then It's
first change is into Johns, then comes
Jones, johnson, JOhncock, Jonkins.
Jenkins, Jennings, Jepkihson, jerks,
Jinks and JinkinSOn. BY addition We
have Littlei0hn, Brownjohn and Pro-
peT1ohn. No argument is needed to
prove the popularity Of Jack. AS a
nickname it is fixed beyond all fear of
abolition, and from nickname it
passed by easy stages to u reputable
place among the family names.
The name of Peter, furnishes cur
ious bit of history, showing how pop
ular prejudice can Influence the choice
of maine for child. Reasoning from
analogy, one might suppose that as
Peter was the leading disciple, and as
the chair of Peter was held i'll high
reverence, his name would take prece
dence of all Others with piously-inclineI
persons. So it does in many parts of
the continent, but In England, the
maine was always singularly unpopular, |
there being, as rule, about thlrty-ive
Johns to one Peter. The priests did
all they could TO encourage the name,
but IN vain, for under tie name of
Peters pence the English We're
forced for ages to pay one of the most
odious taxes i'll all their list, a tax for
which they could see no use, which
took money out of their pockets and
brought them nothing in return; hut,
thanks to-t tire priests, Tie name Was
somtimes given, and We thus have no.
only Peter, but Peters, Peterson, Pierre, |
Pear, Pearson. ParsOn, Parsons, Pierce,
together with PerrettS, PaTrets, Peter
kins, Perkins, and Parkins.
Other Scripture names are more COM
mon. Isaac has given us Isaacson,
Ides, lkeson, and Hicks and Hickson,
with Higgs and Higginson. David |
gave us Davies, Davidson, Dawes,
DawsOns, Dawks and Dawkins. Dan
lei is still seen III Daniels, DANCES,
Dansons and Dannells. Simon is found
in Sim, Simpson, Simpkins, SImcOx,
and Simmons. Philip sur
wives in Phillips, Phelps, Philips, phipps.
Phipson, PhilcOx aud PhilpOtt. Mat
Thew seems always To have been "a
fayOrite, for his memory is still EN-
balmed among US i'll Matthews, and
in Mattison, Matson, and
Mats. Bartholomew is now known
among men as BartolOw, Bartle, Bart
EFT, Battel, Battle, Bates, BatsOns and
Badkins. Thomas received an addi-
Lional impetus to popularity from the
sad fate of his namesake, Thomas a
Beckett, and his name is found in
4 hundred different forms, among the
most common being Thoms, Thompson,
Thomset, Tomkins, Tom
ins, ThOmlins, ThOmlinson and Thorn
isett. James was always popular In
Scotland, and appeared as Jameson and
JimSOn.