The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-01

I as honorable and as just cause for
 pride as any patronymic. PurneII, Parncll. The surname Purnell and its doublet
 Parneil is a metronymic signifying a "son of Petroaelia." The Apostle Peter was married before
 his call. but the Scriptures do not re- | cord the wife's name or tell us much | of his family. Very ancient traditions, | however, preserved by Clement, of
 Alexandria and others, tell us the wife's
 name was Perpetua, and that there was I a daughter. Petroniila. I The fame of the father and the great vogue of his name made the name tNof the daughter, feminine diminu- l tive of his own, also tremendously pop
 ular in all Roman Catholic countries. So Petronilla In pain and Italy, Pe- 1 tronilha In Portugal, etronille in
 Germany. Petronelle in French and Pe-
 troleiia in England, were popular fla | vorites.
 The English Petronelia was soon ab- | breviated and assumed various forms. as Peternell. Peronel. Paronel, Pernell, | Parnell Purnel. etc. Peter's daughter, like her father. suffered martyrdom and was canonized. | Popular belief caused St. retronilla to
 be besought as a defense against fey- | CTS. So in Barnby Googe we find:
 '"rhe quartane ague and the rest Doth Pernell take away" | Pernell, Purnell. and Parnell became | one of the most frequent girl-names in England. The identity of the first two
 is proved by such a passage in Lang
 lands Piers the Plowman." In the
 A-text, V. 163. we have:
 sire Pers of Pridye and Pernel of
 Flaundres."
 The corresponding B-text B. 321. has:
 Sire Piers of Pride and Peronelle of F,laundres."
 And the corresponding c-text, VII. 367. has:
 Many passages could be cited to show
 that the varying forms were due mere ly to the fluid state of English spelling
 in those days.
 Too much popularity often spells
 name as it does a person. So 1t was with Purnen. It lost caste. and then, far worse. lost character. The name
 became proverbial for gaily dressed.
 bold faced woman. So we find Perpele
 used in Piers the Piowman again, in | the A-text. ". l02; so Pernelle in B. text. ". 116 and Purnele in C-text, V. III and XVIII. n. Parnel fared no
 better than the sister forms for Bailey
 defined 'Parnell" as a "lascivious girl. Those who bear the surname, how ever. need not blush. There Is ample evidence of It's existence in the days of Perncll's earlier and honorable popu- larity. It is found in numbers on all the early records and in all forms we have given for the personal name and some other minor variations. The old personal name died in dis grace, but the surname has lived and been honored. Earnen is now the -dominant form and it's home is prin- cipally in Cornwall and Devonshiro. slssOn. The hypocoristic Sis(s) Is one end of the story of this metronymic. the Et-
 ruscan Tranquil, wife of Tarquinius
 Priscus. fifth king of legendary Rome. is the other.
 The genuine Roman name of the lat ter Is reported to have been Gaia Cae- ella. The early legends represent her as a woman of prophetic powers. .closc- l ly connected with the worship of the god of hearth and model of domestic 1 life.
 All girls born into the caecilian gems
 of course bore the name. A number of
 them became women known for good or evil, from extant literature.