The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-09-10

clergy to bestow the same name upon
whole patches OF people who came to
be admitted into the church. At one
baptism. for example, the name Peter
was conferred upon all the men and
Catherine upon all the women. On
another occasion they would all be
Pauls and Margarets and so on.
Great confusion must inevitably
have been the result, and the rapid
adoption OF a system OF patronymlcs
was the only escape from the difficulty.
The origin OF our word surname. form
erly occasionally Bpelt 'sirname." Is
often supposed to be 'sirename." and
It was indeed only in the nature of
things that the earliest kind OF dlstin-
gushing second name should have ref
erence to the parent. Our English
Robinsons, JOhnsons. Wilson's, and so
forth are common, ancient, and char
acteristic as the Scotch Macs and the
Irish O's, which mean the same thing.
The Mac. 1t need scarcely be said.
though often considered essentially
Scotch, is common to the two nations,
as witness the well-known doggerel:
BY Mac and o. you'll always know
True Irishmen, they say;
But II they lack both o and Mac
No Irishmen are they.
While Mac" may be translated son,
30" Is more properly grandson. The
Norman equivalent is "Fitz," n cor
ruption of "hls." The Russian term
nation 'wltz" signifies the same word.
as also the Polish "sky." With regard
TO the Welsh zap" which also means
son, matters stand rather differently;
for In this case zap" Is a separate
word, and Is not incorporated in the
whole name except as corruption;
also 81 may be introduced an lndefin-
We number OF times In the same APP
pellation. 50 that n Welsh surname
can convey a complete genealogy, and
be, moreover. one OF the longest words
IN civilization. IL Is a common joke
80 laugh at n Welshman for his long
Ast OF ancestors with the connecting
Faps."
There Is an old story OF an English
man. foreign to the prlncipality and
It's ways. riding after dark near n raw
Inc from which issued cry for as
sistance from one who had fallen in.
who's thereT" should the English
man. "Jenkins-ap-G rimth-ap- Rees-ap-
Evan-ap- Robin" came the reply.
Lazy fellows, hRlf.a-dozen OF you,
why can't you help each other out"
exclaimed the Englishman. ignorant OF
the fact that he wns addressing but
one man.
The corruption Of the zap" has led
90 a number OF common notifications
OF old Welsh names, as Price, for
ap-Rhys. Pritchard for ap-Richard,
Powell for ap-Howell; and many 9th
ers. Probert. Probly, Pugh. Penny, as
also the %" being similar to the ''p'
Bevan. Barry and the like. Another
Welsh form OF family name-that
which simply puts the Christian name
into the genitive case-has contributed
many OF our commonest surnames, as
Jones. T. O.. Johns Harry Harris.
Williams, Hughes, etc.
The roots OF our family names, as
OF our families themselves. have
sprung from among many nations and
many tongues. There are well nigh
innumerable cases IN England OF sur
names which point Enthusiastically to
the foreign country. and frequently.
too. actual neighborhoOd OF town even,
from which the family originally MI
grated. though no other kind OF rec
ord may exist 10 prove that In far-on
time they came from over seas. OF
the original Anglo-Saxon there are
some few surylvnls. Some can be
traced ln the termination ing which
among Teutonic people slgnlhed or
spring" Browning and whiting In
this way would mean the dark or fair
children.
Place names from Normandy and
Brittany are very common. as might
be supposed. darcy Neyill. Fcrrers.
Deyereux. Warren. Percy. Marmion.
Tankeryille. St Aubin, Lascelle, Nor
lcy-nu these and many others can
readily be referred to- their original
birthplace In others, through corrup-
ton OF the word, the locality Is not
cnsy 10 trace. though still therc-at, FOR
example. che name ST. Mature, which.
ly process OF time. has come to- stand
as Seymour Naloins which we know
only ln lts English surname as Val
lance. etc. Some OF our names, again.
have Nctherloud birthplace ns
Gnunt. which was originally Client.
ST. Leger. and Bridges. which Inst Is
q corruption. iu ull probability, OF
Bruges
10 needs mo- pointing ont how easily
piaca.uames cam become family names.
TO distinguish au Individual hy the
name 81 DIS home. birthplace. or resi-
dcnce was ready means off securing
h.s identity 1u rural districts. aud
among "a population that continued for
generations ln ths SHINE homestcads.
place names would bo given from
trivial features of locality. rs Wood
and UM au1 Lnuc aud Dale ln this
connection $40 CON dud number OF
ancient words for country objects
which have bong ago come obsolete
HuI forgotten D0wIr1r fDr Iu.
sfnure. boo oliau duya s.au.ned M grove
OF hazcl. "Gnr.h" Oh Ola English Cor @
yard Uha" for haven "Gnwc,t
f0r "a rranHry shaw for small
wood The common surname He1d Ia
really place name. "tIcad' being "a
reIuent term for promoutory or
rrr.. Ha HeH0hr Head The sumN
aE.r" as bob hshher lIoImhee Ga
survival OF the Danish Hy. MN.