The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-28
WHEN NAMES BEGAN.
~" somc OF Our Ancestors Received
Their Pntronymics.

HOW Some OF Our Ancestors Reccivcd
Their Pntronymics.
Slngie names were most common q
thousand years ago, says the Davenport
Democrat-Gazctte. AS Is the case with
our Buclss and Brights in tho oxen line,
our Dams and Jcrrys in tho horse-stalls,
or our Jip and Tige in tho kennels, SO
then 1t was with man and woman kind
"a single name was allsufiicient. In
the time of King Hcnry.I, about eight
hundred years ago, double names be-
came rather fushionablc-so much so
that Robert, his natural son, objected to
marrying the wealthy hcircss Of pow
erful lord because she had but IL single
name. From this time on the fashion
changed, and in the timo of Edward /.
an act OF Parliament rendered it oblig-
atory to take on the double numo-tho
family name. or two names of some
sort. Hence sprang up such names us
Henry Fitz Randolph (Hcnry, son of
Randolph), Hugh Fitz Henry, Henry
Fitz Henry, etc. With such MS had no
clearly defined family ties location or
occupation was used to help out, hence
John atte Wood John Atwood), Will
lam ATTIC Water (Atwater), Thomas of
tho Woods, William alto Dnchusc lat
Bakehouse now William Bakery, Mar
gafet bon Cnur (good heart, now Mar
garet Bunkcr), Walter alto Shepyardo
lnow Walter Shepherd), John Scott was
from Scotland, John Walsh was from
Wales, Thomas Moore was of Moorish
descent, and Peter Dane was from Den
mark, and SO on, almost every nnme
being revelation of its owners locn-
ton, condition or occupation.
Then were the Smiths tho smitcrs of
,mctals) most numerous; then sprang up
tho Buffers (bottlers), the Hunters and
Portcrs. the Brewers, the Cooks and tho
'Clarks (clerics); but with all these
names and double names no triple or
double Christian names appeared for
hundreds of years later-cvcn until
America brought one forth in tho per-
son of one Jonas Longford Redwood, of
Rhode Island, in 1900, and England Sir
Coplestone Warwick Barnfield in 1877.
John w. Bunyan or Christopher X.
Columbus, John Thomas Calvin-such
bare idea of such added stuff seems rs
outrageous as to now nlludc to tho Hon
Abraham Lincoln.
AHcic 10 BCcu TcUSOR I'D COuDlC names,
but the interposing and piling up and
spelling out your William Malicpcaoo
Thacltcrnys, Louise Chandler Moultons,
Charles Dudley Warmers seems to wculs-
en- instead of strengthen the persons
name. Besides, bud habits arc cumu-
lativc. and already there appears upon
the literary horizon some quadrupcdal
namcs-sso to speak-in imitation Of
brute peculiarly. Is there no way Of
stopping it? If British Parliament
could legislatc up to the dual nomcn-
claturc can not an American Congress-
reduce this many-namcdcrnzc to proper
standard2 Long family names are u
nuisance ut best, but, come to tack on u
long Christian name and put Il lot moro
Long names between names, it becomes
q positive Misunderstanding tho pen
slaves out of all patience with their
overburdcned owners. If the namo
unit might be placed ut John Smith, and
for every added syllable double tclc-
graph and postal rate were lawfully
imposed, these prcpostcrous long
drawn signatures wouldsoon be reduced
to the better shape Of Julius Caesar,
Pontius Plate, Martin Luther and good
old Andrew ia ckson.