Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-09-15
TASTE AS TO NAMES

AAoA a. 4A0 Az AVA0A tlk6
CONDITIONS ON WHICH THEIR GRACE
AND BEAUTY DEPEND.
How . Commonplace Surname May Bs
Transngarsd BY . Happy Preax-Pa-
rental ty-Initials-sslsetion q
Names for Children.
Tastes differ as to names, Of courss, and n
IL impossible to draw . line. with al the
sheep on ono side and all the goats on the
other. Some people think that John and
James are excellent names, while others con-
slider them ugly and commonplace. Names
like Charlotte and Clarence are admired BY
some and detested by otherA But whatever
Disagreement az to particular names may
exist, 1t will be found that there d very little
difference Of opinion as to the pleasant or un-
pleasant sound Of any ones full title, b the
same double, triple or quadruple In it, con-
struction.
The grace and beauty Of . full name or
title depend on certain uncompromising con-
ditions 1t should be rhythmical; IL should
not be Pathological; 1t should contain 1 sum-
cient quantity Of vowel and consonase
sounds; 1t should be easily pronounceable; n
should not suggest unpleasant associations,
For example; H. Three long monosyllabio
names in succession, like "John Paul jones'
are not as desirable as a combination of long
and short quantities, like "Oliver Wendell
Holmes" e. Pathological names, like "John
Johpspn" or "William Williams, are an abo-
mination g. ELLA Ellis" IL too mouoton.
Gus; 1t would be better to name the child
Kate or marian" ~ "Henry Wads-
worth Longfellow" satisfies all the foregoing
conditions, but it Is not easily pronounced
The words do not run together smoothly, a
In James Russell Lowell" g. "Benedict
Arnold" sounds well, but no one would b.
apt to give that name to an infant
soFrENED BY A PREFIX,
Since these conditions are 20 obvious and
20 easy of fulfllment, and since tho choice Of
names Is so wide the prevalence and per-
sistence Of harsh, awkward names must be .
constant source Of wonder and disgust Even
when the surname is commonplace, a. In the
case OF the noble army Of "Smiths" and
Browns" or even hopelessly uncouth, - in
"Potts' or "Hogg," it can be softsned and
transiignred by happy prefix. just a. ingen-
ious decorators baautify bare walls and un-
lovely articles Of furniture Thus "Sytlney
Smith and Goodwin Smith" and "Ballard
Smith" are good names at least in this, thas
the "Smith" part Is overshadowed and, as 10
were, eliminated by the prefxes, which are 20
uncommon that they engross the attention.
But many parents are SO stupid about this
that one would think they were hardly older
, than their babiea 1t Is incredible that any
Christian should be baptized Judas lscar-
= tot but read the other day that one of
Roscoe Conkling's ancestors rejoiced In the
name "Ananiaa" What could have possessed
the parents of that unfortunate individual to
name him after the typical liar of all timel
As well might they have called him "Apol.
lyon" or "Beelzebub"
Again, the matter of initials comes In for
:, consideration as u feature OF minor, but still
appreciable, Importance No matter how
, smooth or high sounding ones name may be,
: it will dull the edge Of his self satisfaction ii
tho initials spell some offensive word The
Il composer Of "Pinafore" has a very pretty
!. name" Arthur Seymour Sullivan"-but he
g always drops the second Of the three words,
/ aud very brief Investigation will show ths
:. reason why.
. EurHoNIoUs AND WELL BALANCED.
By all means let the children have eupho
NOUS, well balanced namea IL the surname
be short and abrupt. the baptismal names
should be pollysyllabic and flowing, and vice
versa A true ear and just sense Of proper,
u tion will insure wise decision in every casa
;, Keeping in mind the five conditions already
r mentioned one will find, on further and more
.d critical examination Of the subject, that thu
6 best possible triple combinations, rhythmi
y cally, are either ~ long monosyllable fol
u lowed by trochee Tor spondeeD and dactyl
IL | or dacfyl fO1lpxvad huo a ohao,
y dee, aud a long monosyllable In other words
II the surname he monosyllable, it Is wei
y for the first name to be Of three sylablcs, ant
the second name Of two syllables; but ii th,
re- surname be a dactyl it is best led up to by {
inonosyllabic first name and dissyllabi,
i second name OF the second combinatio,
u "Oiver Wendell Holmes" Is a splendid ex
~ ample, coinciding with all the requisite con
~ ditions, while excellent specimens OF the frs
u combination arc found in Ralph Wald,
y Emerson" and "John Greenleaf Whittier,
!" which may be considered practically perfec
|. names, satisfying the demands Of proportion
:, and rhythm, containing an agreeable variety
y Of vowel sounds, and being sufficiently smooti
q in pronunciation, while not deficient il
~ strength. which should pertain to ever
. masculine appellation
Trochaic surnames, which are tho mos
numerous of all, are not so easily balanced a
10 the foregoing. Three trochees In line l.
| frequent combination, and not bad one, b,
, any means Thus, edmund Clarence Sted
lc man" is a very good name, viewed from al
=. points, but rhythmically "Frank Dempste
n Sherman" and George William Curtisr ma,
,e seem little more satisfactory Certain com
binations are conspicuously awkward, as, 70
u example, the three successive monosyllable
already alluded to- III the case of "John pa,,