The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-08-07
WHENCE NAMES COME
THE SURPRISING CHANGES THAT
TIME HAS WROUGHT.


Miss Laura Alton Payne in the hide
pendent, the almost universal lack OF
knowledge concerning their origin Ii
not to be wondered at. What is there
in "Peter Shocks" to suggest to the
uninitiated that originally 1t was "Pe-
ter at the Seven 0aks?n Though
Thomas Whitehorse" suggests the
American Indian custom In names,
originally 1t was "Thomas at the White
Horse" or Thomas at the Sign Of the
White Horse" "a TAVERN. Sidney is a
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 origin--Almeric, an old Norman
name, Amerigo being the Itallanized
form.
Names, like things, are not always
what they seem. Beers and Berry are
not beers and berry" but corrup-
ton of borough" often written
''bury' ana "bery."
In the beginning a single personal
name sufficed. For awhile no two per-
SONS bore the same name, but as a
stock OF names accumulated repeti-
tions 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- Simon, son Of
Jonas"
4 Surnames were first used iii France,
becoming general there during the lat
ter part of the tenth or the fore part Of
the eleventh century. They were used
hereditarily to some extent, however,
prior to that time They were intro
duced into England at the Norman
conquest In the year 1906, but 1t re-
quired two or three centuries to estab-
llsh the body OF our nomenclature on
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 $1,000 existing sur
names.
Surnames have been draYn from ev-
cry available source-pers6nal 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
lions 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
exhaustibie source. Even oaths be-
came embodied, as in Pardoe. from par
Dleu.
In most countries 1t is customary
for the wife to take her husbands
name, but in some European countries
It is not unusual for the husband to
append the wife's name, particularly
when it IS more honorable than his
own Hyphenated names and the
wife's retention Of her maiden name
for q middle name are customs grow
ing in favor In the United States and
Great Britain.
Among the earliest names introduced
by the conquest were found Serl, Drew
Bryce, Harvey. Arnold (tern'-eaglel,
ALFRED (now known as Albert and ALI
bright, Almeric, Ingelram, Ebrardus
(EverardD. WARM (Guerin, now War
REM. Two, Hamon Hammond). and
Payn originally Pagan. After their
adoption as surnames the most Of these
became obsolete MS personal names.
The most popular personal names
since the Domesdny Book recorded
them have been John and William, but
their derivatives are too numerous to
mention here. Roger, Robert and Rich
] uAh lNVk u AOlRAI hANhAaAhN IA ~ h1N
d. hence Hodge and Dodge, Hobbs
and Dobbs, Hicks and Dicks, with the
rougher forms of the last-H iggs and
Diggs. and even Hitch, giving rise to
Dickens, Hitchcock and Higginson.
Dimluutive and other afiixes served
an important part In the origin Of sur
names from personal names. The An
glo-Saxon kin and "cock" and "lng'
are represented In jenkins, little
john Hitchcock, "little Richard"
and Browning, "lttlo Brown" the
Norman "ot'' and "et,' IN eliot, 'little
Ellas.p and Emmett, "little Emma"
sometimes "lot" and "let;" Hamlet
'llttle Harmony; the French on and
sen" in Marion and Dickens.
Many pregxes were used, The Celtic
"Mac" or IN" Of the Scotch; Nc OF
the Irish; "Map," ZAP" or Up" Of the
Welsh, and the Norman "Fltz' Uatin
fls). signify "son" or "son Of" and the
Irish 20" grandson Of"
A fair knowledge of Engllsh nomen-
clature, declares Miss Payne gives n
fair knowledge Of English history, so
closely are the two interviewer.