The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-21

DA0am uNu Vt uaU UHlI DNIu ll1 al lhl fnll [ avahu, the beloved of Yahveh" (Je- hovah). Sayce thinks 1t was originally Dodo. title of the sun-god. Dudu, an allied form. has been found in the Teiel-Amarna tablets of the fifteenth century B. c.
 Others make the name signify simply "the beloved" and compare the Assy- rian Dadu of that meaning. Dodavah, found in the Authorized Version (Do- ~davahu in the Revised Version), in II Chron. xx.37; Dodai in Chron. xxvii.4, and Dodo in II Sam. xxiii.9 are con- sidered abbreviations of Dodavahu and so variants of the name of Israers King.
 The Laurens family is of Huguenot descent and the name is Southern French derivatiye from the Latin Lau- rentius. whence also the English Law renee. The name then signifies "the son of Lawrence"
 The Roman deacon who, when called upon to deliver up the treasures of the church which had been committed to his keeping, produced the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind," as his treasures and was thereuDon mar tyred by being roasted on bars of iron over a fire. If not the first of the name. was the first that made 1t famous. Ira dition fixes the date of his martyrdon, at August 10. 25S.
 Constantine erected a church over his tomb and at least seven other churches in Rome have borne his name. The curch soon made him saint of universal popularity" and his name became known in every tongue of Flu rope.
 It is the parent of the Scotch Laurie, srish Lanty and Larry. German Lorenz, French Laurent, Swiss Lori and Eng, Itaian Lorenzo and Renzo, Danish Lars. Lithuanian Labrenzis and Btenzis, Pol ish Vavrzynec. etc. etc.
 The name signifies lone who has been Iaureated or crowned with laurel" " It is derived from the Latin laurus, "a laurel or bay tree" word that still awaits a satisfactory solution from the philologist.
 The surname Lawson Is especially characteristic of the North of England. Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland. West moreland. Lancashire and Northumber- land contain the greatest numbers. The name was we'll established in Yorkshire as early as the Poll Tax List of 1879. on which we find Lauson, Laweson, and Baw-wyf as surnames. and Law as a personal name. Lawson is thus "the son of Law" and this Is only one of the variant hypocor- istic names for Lawrence. a name ex- plalneQ under LaurenS aDoVe. The patriarch of the baronial family of Lawsons was. according to Burke John Lawson. Lord of Fawlesgrave, Yorkshire, in the time of Henry III. Stephens, Stevens.
 The personal name Stephen Is from the Greek stephanos, "a crown" Steph- amos early became a personal name that the exultant family. whose father had just returned from one of the great games wearing victor's crown. named an infant thus in honor of the victory. It is quite as possible that the first infant to whom the name was given was metaphorically the coveted crown of his fond parents.
 The earliest now known to have borne the name was a son of Thucy- dides. the great historian. Plato mem tions him as an instance of the son of great man and one educated with the greatest care by his father. yet falling to attain excellence. Others also love the name. but it was reserv- ed for the young Christian deacon. who first of all achieved the greatest of victories and won the imperishable crown of martyrdom. to make the name immortal.
 Seven other saints afterward bore the name. Among them was he who in 1000 was crowded first King of Hun- gary and by his reign endeared his name to his people.
 It is usually said that the name was unknown in England until after the Domesday, but this Is not strictly true. One Eddins Stehpanus was an abbot in Streaneshalch about 670. Stephanus was an abbott of Nhutscelle in 718. At least two other ecclesiastics bore the name in Saxon days and also an under tenant in the the Domesday record. Ii was, however. Stephen, son of the l af h1 Conqueror. who became King of Eng land, that made the name popular In the hereditary surname period. Stephens and Stevens are frequent . ly associated in the same territory , Stephens is. however, particularly char octeristic of Cornwall, South Wales and the English shires on or near the Welsh Marches. Stevens Is best repre- sented in the South and East of Eng . land Stephenson has its especial home . in the counties north of the Wash and the Mersey. and Stevenson in the mid
 land countris of Derby, Warwick. Lei cester and Rutland, and in Sussex on the Southern coast. This latter also prevails in Scotland.
 The Greek stephanos. "crown ! wreath" is from the verb stepho surround, encircle. crown" Its es- . tablished cognates are few and are ! confined to the Baltic branch of the ' Indo Europeans The Ltthunian ' stebule. hub of a wheel" Lettish , stabs. pillar column" and Prussian stabis "a round stone." will suffice as . examples.
 Mitchell, MitchellsOn.
 Old works on surnames give va rous fanciful derivations for the sur name Mitchell. One, for instance. ex- plains it by the Anglo-Saxon mycel great. large" akin to our much and the Scotch 'muckle mickle," hence the much man, the big fellow while another says its etymological parent Is the Anglo Saxon mycg. "a miige gnat," hence the dwarf, pygmy, runt.'
 Such early records as fl, Micahel or