The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-03-21
CHANGES IN NAMES
Many Originally Honorable, Have
Been Corrupted in Time.
People Should Not Be Ashamed of
Such Names as Shocks and Gum
b~oil-Smith Is More Ancient
Than Anglo-Saxon.

Surnames are not what they seem,
and some of the most distressing con-
tain a wealth of meaning.
Take, for example the surname
with which many people think they
are cursed-Snooks. This by no
means seems to be an imposing cog
nomen; but, as a matter of fact, it is
q name Of great antiquity, and one of
which nobody should be ashamed. In
reality, it is a contraction of Seven
oaks" 1t was first corrupted to
Sennocc, which, in turn, was corrupt
ed to Shocks of today.
The original bearer or the nan Of
Legles was so called merely because
he was a lawyer. Originally, the name
was spelled "Leagless," the expression
signifying learned in the law"
Strangely enough, Lawless is derived
from exactly the same source, and
signifies exactly opposite to its ap-
parent meaning.
Take a case of the surname Heart.
II is really a corruption of Hard,
which was a name given to show that
the owner was a man of firm charac-
ter and resolute bearing.
One must extend pity to the poor
individual burdened with such a name
as Gumboil. Yet those who possess
the name may be interested to know
that it, too, has nothing at all to do
with any part of the anatomy. 1t de-
notes that its first bearer was a man
of considerable Importance and great
power in the state.
1t is derived from the Morse word
"gunbald." which itself has nothing to
do with any affection, but means bold
in war"
1t is quite wrong to assume that the
name Of Smith is derived from the
fact that the original bearers were
workers in metal. In reality, Smith is
a very old name, far mor ancient
than Anglo-Saxon. The oldest known
bearers of the name were brewers,
and it was in use many thousands Of
years ago in mighty Egypt.
Such names as Swearing and Gamb-
ling show how the original meaning
had become corrupted. Swears and
Sweor, which comes from the Anglo
Saxon word meaning honorable"
Gambling from Gamling, which
comes from a Morse word signifying
''old descent"
The ending ing" to a surname sim
ply means son of" Thus Browning
means "son of Brown and Dunning
'Dunn's SON."
Apparently a very ignoble surname
is Tremble, a name which might
make one imagine that the ancestor
of Mr.. Tremble was a craven-hearted
creature. Still, the exact opposite is
the case, for the name is only a cor
ruption of the ancient word "trum-
bald" which signifies "steadfast and
bold"
Any individual rejoicing in the
name of Mr.. Earwig may be proud in
the fact that originally the name
meant the boar of battle"
The surname Mouse denoted at first
a man of great courage, while Mr..
RAFT gets his name from the fact that
the first bearer of the nam was a
mi9e pSi9Oh' WIZ gave COuusel 10
the king.
Goose, Costing and Jocelyn are cor
ruptions of a word which originally
denoted the "Goths." The first Mr..
Gander was an individual called the
wolf" while the original Mr.. Duck
was a doughty" man.
No; nam are not what they
seem. For instance, Lind is derived
from a Teutonic word meaning a
SNAKE" The apparently quiet and
harmless surname Wren comes from
a word which denotes "rapine." Fish,
though such an innocent name in ap-
pearance, originally meant "impetu-
ous."-Stray Stories.