Name

personal, the word or words by which a person is known. The Medes, Persians, Hebrews, and Greeks, and the early Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, were content usually with one name each, but English-speaking people in general have a given name and a family or surname. Our Christian or given names are derived from many sources. Moses is Egyptian, meaning drawn-from-the-water; Darius is Persian, meaning preserver. Of Hebrew names Aaron means inspired; Abel, breath; Adam, man; Asa, healer; Caleb, a dog; Lot, a veil; Huldah, a weasel; Jemima, a dove; Mary, bitter; Rachel, ewe; and Ruth, beauty. Greek names have a similar range of meaning. Andrew signifies strong; George, a husbandman; Giles, a kid; Lycurgus, a wolf driver; Stephen, a crown; Cyrus, the sun; Helen, bright; Margaret, a pearl; and Dorcas, a gazelle. Among names of Latin derivation are Calvin, meaning bold; Martin, warlike; Miles, a soldier; Cicero, a vetch-grower; Oliver, an olive tree; Patrick, a nobleman; Paul, little; Peter, a rock; Rufus, red; Nora, honorable; and Stella, a star.

Genuine English names are equally expressive. Edwin is a gainer and Edward a guardian of property; Edith, a rich gift; Eric, brave; Harold, a champion; Matilda, a heroine; Donald and Duncan are Celtic, meaning a proud chief and a brown chief respectively. Other Celtic names are Arthur, proud; Brian, strong; Kenneth, a leader. Napoleon is French, signifying the lion of the forest vale, and Algernon, likewise French, means having whiskers.

Family names grew up no doubt by way of distinguishing the many Johns and Marys from each other. It is likely that John Baker and John Webster were originally John the Baker, and John the Webster, respectively. Then, too, John at the Wood and John by the Spring became simply John Wood and John Spring.

The Scandinavians had a way of distinguishing people of the same given name by adding the name of the father. Peter Johnson and Peter Ericson were sons of John and Eric. Not infrequently the family takes the name of the farmstead. During the Scandinavian occupancy of Great Britain many such family names became permanent. The Jonsons, Thompsons, Petersons, Jacksons, Wilsons, Williamsons, and Nelsons, of Scotland, England, and the United States were originally quite as Scandinavian as the Olsons, Swensons, Carlsons, and Hansons of later migration.

The Gaels or Highlanders of Scotland and the Erse or Irish formed family names by prefixing Mc, Mac, or O to the given name of an ancestor. McDonald signifies son of Donald; and O'Brien, son of Brien. The old rhyme,

holds quite as true of Scotchmen. Where-ever Macadams, McAllisters, Macaulays, Macbeths, McCalls, McCarthys, McClellans, M'Clintocks, McClaskeys, McClures, McCooks, McCormicks, McCoshes, MacDonalds, McDougalls, Mackintoshes, McKinleys, McLeans, MacLeods, MacMasters, McIntyres, McPhersons, or McVeys are found, they are of Celtic ancestry,--Scotch or Irish. The O'Briens, O'Connors, O'Connells, O'Donnels, O'Donovans, O'Neils, O'Riels, and O'Reilleys, need not hesitate to call themselves Irish. The corresponding Welsh prefix is Ap. From its use we have the family names of Price, Powell, Bevan, Bowen, Prichard, Probert. They are contractions of Ap-Rice, Ap-Howell, Ap-Evan, Ap-Owen, Ap-Richard, and Ap-Robert. Still other Welsh family names are Barry from Ap-Harry, and Pugh from Ap-Hugh. The Norman-French prefix Fitz, seen in Fitzpatrick, Fitzsimmons, Fitzgerald, and Fitzjames, has the force of Mac, O, and Ap.

English surnames are derived from a number of sources. Nearly all the popular colors as White, Brown, Black, Green, and Grey are represented. Personal peculiarities seem to have fastened the name to the head of many a family. Some evidently had Spindleshanks, others Sheepshanks or Crookshanks. Littlejohn and Micklejohn are names of this class. Bunyan, if we may believe the dictionary, is Norman for Good John. Like people of the present time, our ancestors appear to have been Little, Long, Short, and Stout. They were Gay, Jolly, Meek, Moody, Wise, Sage, Merry, and Stern. Some appear to have been Rich, and others Poor. Lackland is a common name.

Occupations appear to have conferred many family names. Regardless of present occupations, it is not difficult to guess the ancestral calling of a family known as Farmer, Shepherd, Taylor, Baker, Weaver, Carpenter, Brewer, Smith, Wright, Painter, Cook, Collier, Goldsmith, Mason, Miner, or Woodman. Webster is an old word for weaver. Fletcher is an arrow-maker. Places of residence supply many family names. Such are Brooks, Dale, Wood, Forest, Town, Turnstile, Mill, Hill, Field, Meadow, Burns, Grave, Shaw. Many names are derived from animals and plants, as Fish, Bull, Roebuck. Such names as King, Prince, Pope, Bishop, Abbot, Prior, Steward or Stewart are indicative of service in a household of rank.

The German von, the Dutch van, and the French de mean of. They are prefixed commonly to the names of family estates or places of residence. So far as they go, they are indicative of descent from landholders. Von Humboldt, Von Bismarck are written usually without the von; but the Dutch van persists in Vandyke, Van Sant, Vanderbilt, Van Buren, Vandieman, and Vancouver. The French de or d' appears in De Candolle, D'Aubigne', De Stael, De Tocqueville, De Grosse, De Lafayette, De Kalb, De Witt, and Delaware. Plain Foe, the son of a butcher, changed his name to De Foe to give it a Norman sound.

In Spain a married woman retains her own name. A son may take the family name of either parent. In Great Britain a person may change his given name and his family name at will. In the United States a name may be changed by legislative enactment, or, in many states, on application to the courts.