Evening star., 1923-03-18

\n/ speaking world it may be
" " pointed out that not until
period between the years
1850 and 1850 that people were called
anything more than plain John, Will
liam, James or Richard. There was
nothing in the world by which to
indicate who the kin were or to
what family they belonged. Sur
names had not yet come into vogue.
A man was in those days In con-
slant danger, so far as his life went,
Of getting lost in the shuttle and
about the only way for a family to
keep together was to go through life
holding hands. 1t was this condition
that gave rise to the surname. a sort
of family trademark, that linked one
TO his own Immediate folks. Sur
name, derived from the French sur
nom, or overname, was written over
the given name. Some authorities,
however, contend that the word was
originally sire name" or fathers
name"
Before that time, unless one had
some personal popularity, or had ac-
him from his fellows, he was just
one pea among a lot Of peas. If he
chanced to be noticeably brave. he
might happen to be known as Rich
ard the Lion-Hearted. If he was
tall. as we'll as bowlegged, he would
probably be dubbed either Edward
Cruickshanks or Dick Longfellow.
! But this crude scheme was un-
satisfactory to the plain nobody, who
was just like everyone else, so the
surname solved the problem of To-
eating the Johns, the Williams, the
Richards and the Henrys. Instead of
| saying such a one was the son of
William. that everybody knew, he
was referred to as Williams son, and
all Of Williams children, no matter
whether they were sons or daughters,
were known as Williamsons. And
so it was that .the names OF Dickson,
Peterson, Thomson, Stephenson and
| a host of otherss. came into existance.
| The Scotch and Irish followed the
same plan, the word Mac" meaning
son, being affixed to the fathers
name Hence we get the MacDon-
aids, the MacHenrys, the MacDavids
and the like.
For a long time the Welsh stuck
to the old custom of Distinguishing a
man as the son Of his father by the
Iuse of ZAP" as Alexander ap Howell,
but this proved a cumbersome meth
cd, as it did not always indicate
clearly just who q man was. Some
other Howell might have a son named
Alexander, and SO there would be
two Alexander ap Howells. So some
times it was necessary for one to
sign the name Of his grandfather and
even of his great-Erandfather be-
fore he could get himself properly
placed. For instance, Alexander ap
Smith ap Jones, ap somebody else,
lcIear back to the seventh or eighth
generation. BY the simple expedient
of dropping the "a" in zap, we have
Powell, Pridmore, Potter and Price,
mere notifications of ap Howell, ap
lRidmore, ap otter and ap Rice.
Many of the Christian names of
that time were retained as the family
name, or surname, and we at once
| tUlTk OI lHo LAVdASS, thS
Lewises, the Charleses, the Franks
and the Andrews. Our ancestors did
not seem to be at all averse to ad-
vertising their callings by adopting
them as surnames, hence the exis-
tance of Messrs. Shoemaker, Sadler,
lSkinner, Tanner. Cook, weaver, Spin
lner and scores Of others.
Many of our forebears were en-
lployed in the homes Of the nobility.
and the surnames Of some OF them
to-day tell us exactly what their
duties in the household were; there
can be no doubt in the world where
IMr. Kitchen, Mr.. Hall, Mr.. Butler, Mr..
Stairs or Mr.. Garrett labored. Many
surnames are but the telling in one
short word where the first of the
family lived, as Is instanced in such
names as Woods, Fields. Brooks, Hill.
Marsh and many others that one can
ITeadily recall. -...-..