St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-01-09

COVINGTON, S.
\, THE ORIGIN or NAMES.
Uono Iatereeting lafos matl0o C0Lcernina
the Derivation a Surnames.
Like everything else in this world,
names grew. In the beginning one
name was amply sufficient, as it is now
among barbaric and semi-civilized peo.
pies. With few exceptions, the char.
acters in the Bible have but . single
name. and 20 in all ancient history.
in some cases where q surname is used,
its derivation is readily discernible- e-as
Scipio Africanus, so called from his con-
quest OF Africa-but they were not in
general use.
There were no hereditary surnames
In England before the time of the
Norman conquest. Il Is true that
surnames arc given in "Domesday
Book" but these were for the most
part Official and professional, and were
not transmitted a. family names As
early as the twelfth century 1t was
thought essential for persons of rank
to bear . surname. and gradually the
use extended through all the lower
| classeA Not however, until the reign
Of Edward III, in the fourteenth cen.
tnry. was the use enforced by an act Of
parliament
The origin Of the family names l.
widely different, and yet upon exami-
nation the difference is not so great as
appears on the surface. Perhaps the
most common origin is that of son at
fixed to Christian name, the signifi-
canoe Of which is at once obvious.
showing that when the name was first
used as q family name the father
was John. Thomas or William, rs
the case might be. We find this
same custom among other nations
Ihe kussian terminal witch, the
saxon prefix ing. the Jewish ben. the
Welsh ap. the Irish mac. the Polish ski
all fsiRnify son, while the Irish O
signifies grandson. Tue trades furnish
many surnames-Smith taking the lead
although the old English rhyme rung:
Bus whence comes Smith. all bs he knight or
squire,
But from the smith that forgeth at the nre.
1t is not quite true, for the word
originally applied to anyone who smote,
and included carpentry, masons and
Others Names derived from occupa-
ton usually end in er-Potter, Painter,
Lorimer Il maker of bits for brides
and spurs). Sslter (the man who looked
after the sslt), Spiller q maker Of
spindles or iathes). The termination
ster usually denotes woman's occupa-
tion. Webster is the feminine of Web
Der; Brewster of Brewer Dexter was
. woman who worked by the day.
Many English su-names were formed
from words compounded Of two or more
AnglO-SaxOn words. The termination
ham signifies home or place; Burnham
Is the place of . burn or brook; Buch-
ingham = q place suitable for beeches.
or place for soaking cloth in lye from
the ashes Of the beech. Ton was first |
an inclosure. later 1t was . village or |
town; Leighton is . level town; Hilton |
q hill town; Clayton and Newton are |
obvious; Norton 10 the north town. SUIT |
ton the south; Milton is the village |
where the mill h situated; Kempton the |
camp town. Or soldiers village. Ly
indicates . neld; Stanley or Ston-
~, . strong field; Ashley a
field favorable for ash trees: Oak.
ly for oaks; Cowly . field for
COWS. BY or bi is Danish, and implies
. habitation; Byford is . home 1t the
ford; Byfield is home in the meadow.
Knapp is the topof n hill. while Knowles
is derived from knoll Holme is a
meadow surrounded with water; the
natural tendency to pluralize names
gives the familiar Holmes
In similar way we have Halves from
haugh, q green plot in . valley. Gore is
q word used in the old records to de-
scribe = narrow slip of ground. Shaw
il sometimes used alone IS . surname,
and il sometimes tie terminal in com.
pound word, as Hepshaw, Grimshaw. 1t
signifies small wood or copsc. Godfrey
10 Gods peace. Goodwin and Goodwin.
friend of God. Haliivell Is holy we'll,
as halliday Is holy day, and holyoke
holy oak DoRgett is probably the
same as the AngiO-Saxon dOgod, which
ID derived from . noun signifying vir-
tue. The termination ward means
keeper. Hayward is the keeper Of cat
tie. Durward . doorkeeper. Woodward
! protector Of the forest. Milward,
keeper of the mill.
Cross was not derived from . mans
1t indicates one who lived
near . market cross or crossroads
Stone was originally given to some one
who resided near Z druidical or other
stont. Peter likewise
means stone, being derived from Greek.
s the usual form Of the sur
name. are Pierce. Pierson and
,ther names whose meaning at
,uce becomes obvious Roche is rock,
coming from Latin through French
lar means army: Harbert. famous
lrmy; Harman, man OF the army: Har-
'ey, an army from war. Woolley
omes from tho Anglo-Saxon Wulfheh,
md literally means q wolf on . high or
levated place. willard is from old
serman, will and hard. will having the Z
euse of resolution. and hard meaning {
outrageous or strong. Wiley, Williams
md Wilmot are Of Kindred origin.
Tho church has furnished . great Va
iety of surnames--Pope. Parsons, vi
ar. Bishop Dean. Deacon, Clark and !.
'riest Witk the prefix Nae came Mac
'ickey. Macphersoo. while Priest leads 2
o Priestly and othera The names At
aints have been popular - surnameA
T. Clair Is sometimes changed TO Sim
lair. Augustine In contracted to Aus
in. Benedict to Bennett St Maure be-
ONES Seymour. The Crusades opened !.
he way for Palmer. the pilgrim who
tsited the Holy Land and bore . !
ranch Of palm as = token thereof.
'ayne. it is claimed. was the name
'iven to some paynim or Mussulman !
rho embraced the Christian faith dur. q
ng the Crusadea-tiold1R DayA II
THE USE or Oo9aDETlCs.
'ou Caa Mako Yo1r Ovn AsGnfaassp That q
Are Safe o61VSn ~
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