The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-06-23
IN A NAME?"

By BISHOP clark OF RHODE ISLAND.
A few months ago | had something to
say about the origin Of names, and there
are other curious things connected with
this subject which NAV interest read
ers. Every human being is presumed to
nave Il name of his own-some title or
designation by which he is distinguished
from those about him. But in ancient
times every person had to be content
with one name, until the Romans intro
duced the fashion of having three names,
the first of these denoting the individual,
the second the gems, on elan, to which he
belonged and the third his family rela-
tionship. 1t will be remembered that in
the New Testament the various Jameses,
are distinguished by the titles, the son of
Alpheus,' the son of Jebedee, the son of
Marx" and SO on. The same device is
adopted in speaking of the Johns and
other familiar names in the sacred record.
y great iItliN III pui 'dN HiN
derived from Christian names, with the
addition of son at the end, such as Dick
son, johnson, Thomson, etc.
In the early periodsof Christianity, af-
ter the old pagan names had been dig
carded, il became the custom To adopt,
for the most part, only such names a.
- /. FL -, a.. Dill. ~ a. .tiIl
the usage among the HISTORIAN Christians.
In this case it would sometimes happen
that a large group of persons were pre-
scented for baptism Ill of them with the
same name-most probably such a. was
borne by one of the favorite apostles.
The great embarrassment and lnconven-
fence arising from the common Use OF the
same name, led, after Il while, 10 the in
PRODUCTION of surnames, indicating, i'll
some instances. the locality in which the
persons lived and this Is the origin of
such names as Byfield, Underwood,
Bridgewater. After the eleventh century
these surnames were permanently adopt
ed, and transmitted from one generation
To another. In order To indicate the fact
of descent the Hebrews pretixed the word
| Ben, or son, to the surname, a. IN Ben
davids; in the Welsh tongue We have the
word Ap, as in David APP Howell now
changed to Powell with Ms, and the
Scotch Mae and the Irish o. mean the
same thing. The adoption of more than
one Christian name il Il modern innova-
ton. Shakespeare. Milton, Locke and
Cromwell were content with one. In
these DAYS it may require an effort of
memory On the part of the officiating
minister when he is called to baptize a
child.
II is singular to observe in how many
cases the original meaning of proper
names has been lost sight of. Who ever
thinks of Coleman as Il goldman, of Cow
per as Il cooper, of Jenner IL Il joiner, of
Miner. rs Il miller, of Baxter as IL baker,
of Brewster AS a brewer, or of Webster as
a webber or weaver? In the old english
dialect. Brock meant Il badger, Talbot Il
mastiff. Henshaw Il heron, and Coke Il
cook. | doubt whether all the members of
the Rush family know that their name
signifies sublimity and it is possible that
my good friend Mr.. Bonner may not be
aware that his name is Synonymous with
kind. or gracious. There are not less than
twenty-eight surnames derived from VIII
liam. such as Williamson, wilkins, Viii
son, Willis, and 80 on.
The ~strangeSt changes have come upon
names, often simplifying them by the de
struction of both their meaning and their
beauty. Thus Bunker is from the French
Bon Cpur; Bunpus, not Il very euphonl-
Gus name. although it is borne by some
distinguished men of science is from Bon
Repos: Bellows Il nam well known and
revered in New York, is from Belle Eau,
which is indicated in the family crest
" water poured from Il challce into II ba-
sin" As one has remarked: The beau
tiful waters Belle Eau of Bellows falls
will forever appropriately commemorate
the name and home of the founder OF his
family i'm our country" The family name
Mr.. Cisco. formerly Sub-Treasurero of New
York was originally John Fransisco; af-
forwards changed to John +. Cisco. y
Spenish boy by the name Benito pro
nounced Beneeto) became, in his maturer
DAYS. Ben Eaton. Jacques Begun OF
| Texas was transformed into plain John
Bacon. The It. Maures became >ey-
mours. and the name has not d~egenerat-
ed with the progress of events. The
most extraordinary changes are some
times produced by the transformation of
foreign names into the vernacu!ar. Thus
Pierpont becomes Stonebridge, and Ger
man family of Rubsams, that emigrated
To South Carolina, have been converted
by translation into Turnipseed. In GER
| tain instances, names are contracted as Il
matter of convenience, as ii Is much cas-
Ter To address Mr.. Taliaferro as MIR. Iol-
lier and Mr.. Cholmondley as Mr.. Chum-
lev. 1t would he hard work To pronounce
Lord Broughmam's name as 1t IL spelt,
aud So we call him Broom. Some re-
markable changes have been made by
~misspelling. There are persons who have
Il marvellous capacity in this department;
Mr.. Bowditch, of Boston, says that III the
bills made out against the institution, the
word hospital WIS spelt in forty-six diff
ferent wavs.
There is no end to the absurd combina-
ton of names of which people who ought
to know better have been guilty. y long
list is given in Mr.. Bowditch's unpublish-
ed work of "Suifold Surnames," of which
he was kind enough to furnish me with Il
copy many years ago, and will now give
a few selections, although j would hardly
venture to select some of the worst. In
the catalogue of West Point students we
find the somewhat ambitious names of
Pleiades Orion Lambkin, and a Southern
gentleman by the name of Mudd saw mt
to name his son Henry Clay. Another
distinguished statesman has had the hon
or ofseeing his name in singular company,
as John Quincy Adams Bolster. \ for
mer member of Harvard College, named
Spear, had the Christian name of William
Shake. In the Boston Directory We find
the names of Castor Bean and Ivory
Bean. both. doubtless, from the same stalk.
A Mr.. Crabtree of Connecticut, was chris