The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-06-14
WHENCE NAMES COME
THE SURPRISING CHANGES THAI
TIME HAS WROUGHT


That the Name Thomas whitehOrso
Originally Indicated "ThOmas at
the Sign of the White HorseH"
Considering the surprising changes
hat many names have undergone, says
Miss Laura Alton Payne in the Inde-
pendent, the almost universal lack Of
knowledge concerning their origin is
not to be wondered at What Is there
In peter Snooks" TO suggest to the
uninitiated that originally it was "Pe-
ter at the Seven Oaks?' Though
Thomas Whitehorse" suggests the
American Indian custom IN names,
originally it was Thomas at the White
Horse" or Thomas at the Sign Of the
White Horse" "a tavern). Sidney Is
corruption of st. Denys Sinclair Of st.
Clair, Seymour of st, Maur, Janeway
of Genoa, Curtis of courteous" Armi-
tage of hermitage" Spark of Sparrow
hawk. Emerson and America had the
same orlgin-Almeric, an old Norman
name, AmerigO being the ItalianiZed
form.
Names, like things, are not always
what they seem. Beers and Berry are
not "beers" and berry" but corrup-
tion Of borough" often written
Sbury" and "bery."
In the beginning single personal
name suff1ced For awhile no two per-
sons bore the same name, but as a
stock Of names accumulated repeti-
tons became common, and as the pop
ulation of the world increased distinc-
tive names became necessary; hence
we read Of John the Baptist and John
the Disciple, Darius Hystaspis and Al
exander the Great, Joshua, son of Nun,
and Simon Barjonas-"S Simon, son Of
Jonas"
Surnames were first used in France,
becoming general there during the lat
ter part of the tenth or the fore part of
the eleventh century. They were used
hereditarlly to some extent, however,
prior to that time. They were intro
duced into England at the Norman
conquest in the year 1866, but 1t re-
quired two or three centuries to estab-
llsh the body Of our nomenclature on
a fixed basis. During that time sur
names became general throughout the
British isles except in Wales, in some
parts of which they are unknown to
this day.
Surnames are now general in all
civilized countries, believe, except
Turkey. In England alone there are
from 10000 to $4,000 existing sur
names.
Surnames have been drawn from ev-
cry available source-personal names,
location, occupation, deeds Of prowess,
mental, moral and physical attributes,
terms Of relationship, the human body.
farm and household articles, buildings,
foods and drinks, modes Of travel, ma
tions and laws, customs and religions,
geographical terms, weather and sea
sons, months and days, measures and
values, the joys and ills Of life, the
animal, mineral and vegetable king
dom and even from the kingdom Of
heaven, The use of nicknames and
compound terms gave an almost In
exhaustible source. Even oaths be
came embodied, as in Pardoe, from par
Dieu.
In most countries it is customary
for the wife to take her husbands
name, but in some European countries
L., % TIM hnchand n
append the wife's name, particularly
when it is more honorable than his
own. Hyphenated names and thu
wife's retention Of her maiden name
for middle name are customs grow
ing in favor in the United States ant
Great Britain.
Among the earliest names introduced
by the conquest were found Serl, Drew
Bryce, Harvey, Arnold C"ern"-eagle)
Albred mow known as Albert and All
bright, Almeric, Ingelram, Ebrardu
(Everard), WARM (Guerin, now War
REM, Ivo, Hamon (Hammond), ant
Payn Originally Pagan. After thei
adoption as surnames the most of thes
became obsolete as personal names.
The most popular personal name
since the Domesday Book records'
them have been John and William, bu
their derivatives are too numerous .
mention here. Roger, Robert and Rich
ard took a double nickname in Fl an
D; hence Hodge and Dodge, Hob0
and Dobbs, Hicks and Dicks, with tn
rougher forms of the last-Higgs an
Diggs, and even Hitch. giving rise t
Dickens, Hitchcock and Hlgglnson.
Diminutive and other aftixes serve
an important part in the origin of SUI
names from personal names. The Al
glo-Saxon kin" and "cock" and ling
are represented in jenkins, "littl
John" Hitchcock. "little Richard
and Browning, "little Brown" II
Norman "ot" and "et," in Eliot. "htt
Elias" and Emmett, little Emma
sometimes 'lot'' and "let;;" Hamle
"lIttle HamonO; the French ION" an
zen" in Marion and Dickens.
Many prefxes were used. The Ceit
"Mac" or "M" Of the Scotch; INC"
the Irish; MAP" "Ap," or "P" OF Il
Welsh, and the Norman "Fitz' (Lat
6ls). signify "son" or 'son Of" and U
Irish "O," grandson Of"
A fair knowledge of English nome
clature, declares Miss Payne gives
fair knowledge of English history
closely are the two interviewer.