Chapter 10

"Men alleweys fyndenLatyneresto go with hem in the contrees."

The immortalBowdleris usually said to take his name from the art of puddling, or buddling, iron ore. But, as this process is comparatively modern, it is more likely that the name comes from the same verb in its older meaning of making impervious to water by means of clay.MonierandMinterare both connected with coining, the former through French and the latter from Anglo-Saxon, both going back to Lat.moneta,[Footnote:On the curiously accidental history of this word see theRomanceofWords, ch.x.]mint.Conner,i.e. coiner, is now generally swallowed up by the IrishConnor.

Leadbitteris forLeadbeater. The nameHamperis a contraction ofhanapier, a maker ofhanaps,i.e. goblets. Fr.hanapis from Old High Ger.hnapf(Napf), and shows the inability of French to pronounce initialhn- without inserting a vowel: cf.haranguefrom Old High Ger.hring. There is also a Mid. Eng.nap, cup, representing the cognate Anglo-Sax.hnaep, so that the nameNappermay sometimes be a doublet ofHamper, though it is more probably forNapier(Chapter I) orKnapper(Chapter XII). The common nounhamperis fromhanapierin a sense something like plate-basket. With metal-workers we may also putFurberorFrobisher,i.e. furbisher, of armour, etc.Poyser, frompoise, scales, is official. Two occupative names of Celtic origin areGow, a smith, as inTheFairMaidofPerth, andCaird, a tinker—

"The fellow had been originally a tinker orcaird."(HeartofMidlothian, ch. xlix.)

"The fellow had been originally a tinker orcaird."

(HeartofMidlothian, ch. xlix.)

A few more names, which fall into no particular category, may conclude the chapter.HillyerorHellieris an old name for aThacker, or thatcher, of which we have the Dutch form inDekker. It comes from Mid. Eng.helen, to cover up. InHillard,Hillyardwe sometimes have the same name (cf. the vulgarscholard), but these are more often local (Chapter XIII).Hellieralso meant tiler, for the famous Wat is described astiler,tegheler, andhellier.

AnAshburnerprepared wood-ash for theBloomer(Chapter XV), and perhaps also for theGlaisher, or glass-maker, andAsherisbest explained in the same way, for we do not, I think, add -erto tree-names. Apparent exceptions can be easily accounted for, e.g.ElmerisAnglo-Sax. AElfmaer, andBeecherisAnglo-Fr.bechur, digger (Fr.bêche, spade). NeitherPitmannorCollierhad their modern meaning of coal-miner.Pitmanislocal, of the same class asBridgeman,Pullman, etc., andColliermeant a charcoal-burner, as in the famous ballad of Rauf Colyear. Not much coal was dug in the Middle Ages. Even in 1610 Camden speaks with disapproval, in hisBritannia, of the inhabitants of Sherwood Forest who, with plenty of wood around them, persist in digging up "stinking pit-cole."

CrokerisforCrocker, a maker of crocks or pitchers. The Miller's guests only retired to bed—

"Whan that dronken al was in thecrowke"(A,4158)

The spelling has affected the pronunciation, as inSloperandSmoker(Chapter III).Tinkerissometimes found as the frequentativeTinkler, a name traditionally due to his approach being heralded by the clatter of metal utensils—

"My bonny lass, I work on brass,Atinkleris my station."(BURNS,JollyBeggars, Air 6.)

"My bonny lass, I work on brass,Atinkleris my station."

(BURNS,JollyBeggars, Air 6.)

The maker of saddle-trees was calledFewster, from Old Fr.fust(fût), Lat.fustis. This has sometimes givenFoster, but the latter is more often forForster,i.e.Forester—

"An horn he bar, the bawdryk was of grene,Aforsterwas he soothly as I gesse,"(A, 116.)

"An horn he bar, the bawdryk was of grene,Aforsterwas he soothly as I gesse,"

(A, 116.)

The saddler himself was often called by his French namesellier, whenceSella', but both this andSellarsare also local, at the cellars (Chapter III).Pargetermeans dauber, plasterer, from Old Fr.parjeter, to throw over. AStrakermade the strakes, or tires, of wheels. AStangermade stangs,i.e. poles, shafts, etc.

The fine arts are represented byLimmer, for limner, a painter, an aphetic form of illumines, andTicknerisperhaps from Dutchtekener, draughtsman, cognate with Eng, token, while the art of self-defence has given us the nameScrimgeoure, with a number of corruptions, including the local-lookingSkrimshire. It is related to scrimmage and skirmish, and ultimately to Ger.schirmen, to fence, lit. to protect. The name was applied to a professional swordplayer—

"Qe nul teigne escole deeskermeryene de bokeler deins la cité."(LiberAlbus.)

"Qe nul teigne escole deeskermeryene de bokeler deins la cité."

(LiberAlbus.)

SURNOMINAL SNOBBISHNESS

A particularly idiotic form of snobbishness has sometimes led people to advance strange theories as to the origin of their names. ThusTurnerhas been explained as fromlatournoire. Dr. Brewer, in hisDictionaryofPhraseandFable,[Footnote:Thirteenth edition, revised and corrected.]apparently desirous of dissociating himself from malt liquor, observes that—

"Very few ancient names are the names of trades. . . A few examples of a more scientific derivation will suffice for a hint:—Brewer. This name, which exists in France as Bruhière and Brugère, is not derived from the Saxonbriwan(tobrew), but the Frenchbruyère(heath), and is about tantamount to the German Plantagenet (broom plant).Milleris the old Norsemelia, ourmillandmaul, and means a mauler or fighter.Ringeris the Anglo-Saxonhring-gar(the mailed warrior).Tanner, GermanThanger, Old GermanDane-gaud, is the Dane-Goth...This list might easily be extended."

"Very few ancient names are the names of trades. . . A few examples of a more scientific derivation will suffice for a hint:—

Brewer. This name, which exists in France as Bruhière and Brugère, is not derived from the Saxonbriwan(tobrew), but the Frenchbruyère(heath), and is about tantamount to the German Plantagenet (broom plant).Milleris the old Norsemelia, ourmillandmaul, and means a mauler or fighter.

Ringeris the Anglo-Saxonhring-gar(the mailed warrior).Tanner, GermanThanger, Old GermanDane-gaud, is the Dane-Goth...

This list might easily be extended."

There is of course no reason why such a list should not be indefinitely extended, but the above excerpt is probably quite long enough to make the reader feel dizzy. The fact is that there is no getting away from a surname of this class, and the bearer must try to look on the brighter side of the tragedy.Breweris occasionally an accommodated form of the French name Bruyère or Labruyère, but is usually derived from an occupation which is the high-road to the House of Lords. The ancestor of any modernBarbermay, like Salvation Yeo's father, have "exercised the mystery of a barber-surgeon," which is getting near the learned professions. APottinger(Chapter XV) looked after the soups, Fr.potage, but the name also representsPothecary(apothecary), which had in early Scottish the aphetic formsPoticar,potigar—

"'Pardon me,' said he, 'I am but a poorpottingar. Nevertheless, I have been bred in Paris and learnt my humanities and mycursusmedendi'"(FairMaidofPerth, ch. vii.).

"'Pardon me,' said he, 'I am but a poorpottingar. Nevertheless, I have been bred in Paris and learnt my humanities and mycursusmedendi'"

(FairMaidofPerth, ch. vii.).

CHAPTER XIXHODGE AND HIS FRIENDS

"Jacque, il me faut troubler ton Somme;Dans le village, un gros huissierRôde et court, suivi du messier.C'est pour l'impôt, las! mon pauvre homme.Lève-toi, Jacque, lève-toi:Voici venir I'huissier du roi."BÉRANGER.

BÉRANGER.

General terms for what we now usually call a farmer are preserved in the surnamesBond(Chapter XV), whence the compoundHusband, used both for the goodman of the house and in the modern sense, andTillman. The labouring man wasDay, from the same root as Ger.Dienen, to serve. It persists in "dairy" and perhaps in the puzzling nameDoubleday(?doing two men's work). A similar meaning is contained in the namesSwain,Hind, for earlierHine(Chapter III),Tasker,Mann. But aWagerwas a mercenary soldier. The mower has given us the namesMather(cf. aftermath), andMawer, whileFennerissometimes for Old Fr.feneur, haymaker (Lat.foenum, hay). For mower we also find the latinizedmessor, whenceMesser. Whether theRidlerand theSiviermade, or used, riddles and sieves can hardly be decided.[Footnote:Riddleis the usual word for sieve in the Midlands. Hence the phrase "riddled with holes, or wounds."]

With theWenman, who drove the wain, we may mention theLeaderorLoader. The verbs "lead" and "load" are etymologically the same, and in the Midlands people talk of "leading,"i.e. carting, coal. But these names could also come from residence near an artificial watercourse (Chapter XIII).Beecherhas already been explained, andShovelerisformed in the same way from dialectshowl, ashovel—

" 'I,' said the owl,'With my spade andshowl.' "

To the variants of theMiller(Chapter XXIII) may be addedMulliner, from Old French.Teddermeans a man whoteds,i.e. spreads, hay, the origin of the word being Scandinavian

"Iteedehey, I tourne it afore it is made in cockes,jefene." (Palsgrave.)

But the greater number of surnames drawn from rural occupations are connected with the care of animals. We find names of this class in three forms, exemplified byColtman,Goater,Shepherd, and it seems likely that the endings -erand -erdhave sometimes been interchanged, e.g. thatGoatermay stand for goat-herd,Calverfor calf-herd, andNuttersometimes for northernnowt-herd, representing the dialect neat-herd. The compounds of herd includeBullard,Calvert,Coltard,Coward, for cow-herd, not of course to be confused with the common nouncoward(Fr.couard, a derivative of Lat.cauda, tail),Evart, ewe-herd, but also a Norman spelling of Edward,Geldard,Goddard, sometimes for goat-herd,Hoggart, often confused with the localHogarth(Chapter XIII),Seward, for sow-herd, or for the historic Siward,Stobart, dialectstob, abull,Stodart, Mid. Eng.stot, meaning both a bullock and a nag. Chaucer tells us that—

"This reve sat upon a ful goodstot" (A, 615 ).

Stoddartisnaturally confused withStuddart, stud-herd, stud being cognate with Ger.Stute, mare. We also haveSwinnert, and lastlyWeatherhead, sometimes a perversion of wether-herd, though usually a nickname, sheep's head. The man in charge of the tups, or rams, was calledTupmanorTupper, the latter standing sometimes for tup-herd, just as we have the imitativeStutterforStodartorStuddart. We have alsoTripperfromtrip, a dialect word for flock, probably related to troop. Another general term for a herdsman wasLooker, whenceLuker.

BUMBLEDOM

I have headed this chapter "Hodge and his Friends," but as, a matter of strict truth he had none, except the "poure Persons," the most radiant figure in Chaucer's pageant. But his enemies were innumerable. Béranger's lines impress one less than the uncouth "Song of the Husbandman" (temp. Edward I.), in which we find the woes of poor Hodge incorporated in the persons of thehayward, thebailif, thewodeward,thebudeland hiscachereles(catchpoles)—

"For ever the furthe peni mot (must) to the kynge."

The bailiff has already been mentioned (Chapter IV). Thebudel, or beadle, has given us several surnames. We have the word in two forms, from Anglo-Sax.bytel, belonging to the verb to bid, whence the namesBiddleandBuddle, and from Old Fr.bedel(bedeau), whenceBeadleand its variants. The animal is probably extinct under his original name, but modern democracy is doing its best to provide him with an army of successors. The "beadle" group of names has been confused withBithell, Welsh Ap Ithel.

Names in -wardare rather numerous, and, as they mostly come from the titles of rural officials and are often confused with compounds of -herd, they are all put together here. The simpleWard, cognate with Fr.garde, is one of our commonest surnames. Like its derivativeWardenit had a very wide range of meanings. The antiquity of the office of church-warden is shown by the existence of the surnameChurchward. Sometimes the surname comes from the abstract or local sense,delawarde. As the suffix -weardoccurs very frequently in Anglo-Saxon personal names, it is not always possible to say whether a surname is essentially occupative or not, e.g. whetherDurwardis rather "door-ward" or for Anglo-Sax. Deorweard.Howard, which is phonetically Old Fr. Huard, is sometimes also forHaywardorHaward(Hereward), or forHayward. It has no doubt interchanged with the localHowarth,Haworth.

Owing to the loss ofw- in the second part of a word (Chapter III), -wardand -herdoften fall together, e.g.MillardforMilward, andWoodardfound in Mid. English as bothwode-wardandwode-hird.Haywardbelongs tohay, hedge, enclosure (Chapter XIII), from which we also getHayman. The same functionary has given the nameHaybittle, a compound of beadle.BurwardandBurrardmay represent the once familiar office of bear-ward; cf.Berman. I had a schoolfellow calledLateward, apparently the man in charge of theladeorleet(Chapter XIII).Medwardis for mead-ward.

The nameStewartorStuartbecame royal with Walter the Steward of Scotland, who married Marjorie Bruce in 1315. It stands for sty-ward, where sty means pen, not necessarily limited to pigs. Like most official titles, it has had its ups and downs, with the result that its present meaning ranges from a high officer of the crown to the sympathetic concomitant of a rough crossing.

TheReeve, Anglo-Sax.ge-refa, was in Chaucer a kind of land agent, but the name was also applied to local officials, as in port-reeve, shire-reeve. It is the same asGrieve, also originally official, but used in Scotland of a land steward—

"He has got a ploughman from Scotland who acts asgrieve."(Scott,Diary,1814.)

"He has got a ploughman from Scotland who acts asgrieve."

(Scott,Diary,1814.)

This may be one source of the namesGravesandGreaves. The nameWoodruff,Woodroffeis too common to be referred to the plant woodruff, and the fact that the male and female of a species of sand-piper are called theruffandreevesuggests that Woodruff may have some relation to wood-reeve. It is at any rate a curious coincidence that the German name for the plant isWaldmeister, wood-master. Another official surname especially connected with country life isPinder, also found asPinner,Pender,Penner,PonderandPoynder, the man in charge of the pound or pinfold; cf.Parker, the custodian of a park, of which thePalliserorPallistermade the palings.

ITINERANT MERCHANTS

The itinerant dealer was usually called by a name suggesting the pack which he carried. ThusBadger,Kidder,Kiddier,Pedder, now pedlar, are frombag,kid, related tokit, and the obsolete ped, basket; cf.Leaper, Chapter XV. The badger, who dealt especially in corn, was unpopular with the rural population, and it is possible that his name was given to the stealthy animal formerly called thebawson(Chapter I.),brockorgray(Chapter XXIII). ThatBadgeris a nickname taken from the animal is chronologically improbable, as the word is first recorded in 1523(NewEnglishDictionary).

To the above names may be addedCremer,Cramer, a huckster with a stall in the market, but this surname is sometimes of modern introduction, from its German cognateKrämer, now generally used for a grocer.Packman,Pakeman, andPaxmanbelong more probably to the font-namePack(Chapter IX), which also appears inPaxon, either Pack's son, or for the localPaxton.

The nameHawkerdoes not belong to this group. Nowadays a hawker is a pedlar, and it has been assumed, without sufficient evidence, that the word is of the same origin as huckster. The Mid. Eng.lehauekerorhaukere(1273) is quite plainly connected with hawk, and the name may have been applied either to aFalconer,Faulkner, or to a dealer in hawks. As we know that itinerant vendors of hawks travelled from castle to castle, it is quite possible that our modern hawker is an extended use of the same name.

Nor is the nameCosterto be referred to costermonger, originally a dealer in costards,i.e. apples. It is sometimes for Mid. Eng.costard(cf. such names asCherryandPlumb), but may also represent Port.daCostaand Ger.Köster, both of which are found in early lists of Protestant refugees.

Jaggerwas a north-country name for a man who worked draught-horses for hire. Mr. Hardy's novelUndertheGreenwoodTreeopens with "theTranter'sparty." A carrier is still a "tranter" in Wessex. In Medieval Latin he was calledtravetarius, a word apparently connected with Lat.transvehere, to transport.

CHAPTER XXOFFICIAL AND DOMESTIC

"Big fleas have little fleasUpon their backs to bite 'emLittle fleas have smaller fleas,And soad infinitum."Anon.

"Big fleas have little fleasUpon their backs to bite 'emLittle fleas have smaller fleas,And soad infinitum."

Anon.

It is a well-known fact that official nomenclature largely reflects the simple housekeeping of early times, and that many titles, now of great dignity, were originally associated with rather lowly duties. We have seen an example inStewart. Another isChamberlain. Hence surnames drawn from this class are susceptible of very varied interpretation. AChancellorwas originally a man in charge of a chancel, or grating, Lat.cancelli. In Mid. English it is usually glossedscriba, while it is now limited to very high judicial or political office.Bailey, as we have seen (Chapter IV), has also a wide range of meanings, the ground idea being that of care-taker. Cotgrave explains Old Fr.mareschalmaréchalas—

"Amarshallof a kingdoms, or of a camp (an honourable place); also, a blacksmith; also, a farrier, horse-leech, or horse-smith; also, a harbinger,"[Footnote: i.e. a quartermaster. SeeRomanceofWords, ch. vii.]

"Amarshallof a kingdoms, or of a camp (an honourable place); also, a blacksmith; also, a farrier, horse-leech, or horse-smith; also, a harbinger,"

[Footnote: i.e. a quartermaster. SeeRomanceofWords, ch. vii.]

which gives a considerable choice of origins to any modernMarshallorMaskell.

Another very vague term is sergeant, whence ourSargent. Its oldest meaning is servant, Lat.serviens,servient-. Cotgrave definessergentas—

"Asergeant, officer, catchpole, pursuyvant, apparitor; also (in Old Fr.) a footman, or souldier that serves on foot." I

Probably catchpole was the commonest meaning—

"Sargeauntes,katchepollys, and somners"(CockeLorellesBote).

The administration of justice occupied a horde of officials, from theJusticedown to theCatchpole. The official titleJudgeisrarely found, and this surname is usually from the female name Judge, which, like Jug, was used for Judith, and later for Jane—

"Jannette,Judge, Jennie; a woman's name" (Cotgrave).

The namesJudsonandJuxonsometimes belong to these.Catchpolehas nothing to do with poles or polls. It is a Picardcache-poule(chasse-poule),collector of poultry in default of money. Another name for judge wasDempster, the pronouncer of doom, a title which still exists in the Isle of Man. We also findDeemer—

"Demar, judicator"(Prompt.Parv.).

Mayoris a learned spelling ofMair, Fr.maire, Lat.major, butMajor, which looks like its latinized form, is perhaps imitative for the Old French personal nameMauger. Bishop Mauger of Worcester pronounced the interdict in 1208, and the surname still exists.

Gaylor,Galer,isthe Norman pronunciation of gaoler

"And Palamon, this woful prisoner,As was his wone, bi leve of hisgayler,Was risen" (A, 1064).

THE HOUSEHOLD

Usheris Fr.huissier, door-keeper, Fr.huis, door, Lat.ostium. I conjecture thatLusheristhe French nameLhuissier, and thatLushislocal, for Old Fr.lehuis;cf.Laporte.Wait, corruptlyWeight, now used only of a Christmas minstrel, was once a watchman. It is a dialect form of Old Fr.gaite, cognate with watch. The older sense survives in the expression "to lie inwait."Gateisthe same name, when not local (Chapter XIII).

TheTodhunter, or fox-hunter (Chapter XXIII), was an official whose duty was to exterminate the animal now so carefully preserved.Warneris often forWarrener. TheGrosvenor(grosveneur), great hunter, was a royal servant.Bannermanisfound latinized asPenninger(Chapter XV).Heraldmay be official or from Harold (Chapter VII), the derivation being in any case the same.Tollermeans a collector of tolls. Cocke Lorelle speaks of these officials as "falseTowlers." Connected with administration is the nameMainprice, lit. taken by hand, used both for a surety and a man out on bail—

"Maynprysyd, ormemprysyd, manucaptus, fideijussus" (Prompt. Parv.);

andShuretyalso exists.

The individual bigwig had a very large retinue, the members of which appear to have held very strongly to the theory of one man, one job. TheNurse, orNorris, Fr.nourrice, was apparently debarred from rocking the cradle. This was the duty of the rocker—

"To thenoriceandrokkerof the same lord,25s. 8d."(HouseholdAccountsofElizabethofYork, March, 1503),

(HouseholdAccountsofElizabethofYork, March, 1503),

from whom Mr.Roker, chief turnkey at the Fleet in Mr. Pickwick's time, may have sprung TheCookwas assisted by theBasterandHasler, or turnspit, the latter from Old Fr.hastille, spit, dim. of Lat.hasta, spear. TheChandlerwas a servant as well as a manufacturer.

ATrotterand aMassinger,i.e. messenger, were perhaps much the same thing.Wardroperisof course wardrobe keeper, but Chaucer useswardrope(B. 1762) in the sense which Fr.garde-robenow usually has. TheLavender,LaunderorLandersaw to the washing.Napier, from Fr.nappe, cloth, meant the servant who looked after the napery. The martial sound with which this distinguished name strikes a modern ear is due to historical association, assisted, as I have somewhere read, by its riming withrapier!The water-supply was in charge of theEwer.

The provisioning of the great house was the work of theLardner, Fr.lard, bacon, thePanter, orPantler, who was, at least etymologically, responsible for bread, and theCator(Chapter III) andSpencer(Chapter III), whose names, though of opposite meaning, buyer and spender, come to very much the same thing.Spenceisstill the north-country word for pantry, and is used by Tennyson in the sense of refectory—

"Bluff Harry broke into theSpenceAnd turn'd the cowls adrift."(TheTalkingOak,1.47.)

"Bluff Harry broke into theSpenceAnd turn'd the cowls adrift."

(TheTalkingOak,1.47.)

Purser, now used in connection with ships only, was also a medieval form of bursar, and every castle and monastery had its almoner, nowAmner. Here also belongsCarver. In Ivey Church (Bucks) is a tablet to Lady Mary Salter with a poetic tribute to her husband—

"Full forty years acarverto two kings."

As the importance of the horse led to the social elevation of the marshal and constable (Chapter IV), so thehengstman, now henchman, became his master's right-hand man. The first element is Anglo-Sax.hengest, stallion, and its most usual surnominal forms areHensmanandHinxman. Historians now regard Hengist and Horsa, stallion and mare, as nicknames assumed by Jutish braves on the war-path.Sumpter, Old Fr.sommetier, fromSomme, burden, was used both of a packhorse and its driver, its interpretation inKingLearbeing a matter of dispute—

"Return with her?Persuade me rather to be slave andSumpterTo this detested groom"(Lear, ii, 4).

As a surname it probably means the driver, Medieval Lat.sumetarius.

Among those who ministered to the great man's pleasures we must probably reckonSpelman, Speller, Spillman, Spiller, from Mid. Eng.spel, a speech, narrative, but proof of this is lacking

"Now holde your mouth, par charitee,Bothe knyght and lady free,And herkneth to myspelle"(B, 2081).

The cognateSpielmann, lit.Player, was used in Medieval German of a wandering minstrel.

The poet is nowRymerorRimmer, whileTrover, Fr.trouvère, a poet, minstrel, lit. finder, has been confused withTrower, forThrower, a name connected with weaving. Even the jester has come down to us asPatch, a name given regularly to this member of the household in allusion to his motley attire. Shylock applies it, to Launcelot—

"Thepatchiskind enough; but a huge feeder."(MerchantofVenice,ii.5.)

"Thepatchiskind enough; but a huge feeder."

(MerchantofVenice,ii.5.)

But the name has another origin (Chapter IX).BullerandCockerare names taken from the fine old English sports of bull-baiting and cock-fighting.

Two very humble members of the parasitic class have given the namesBidderandMaunder, both meaning beggar. The first comes from Mid. Eng.bidden, to ask. Piers Plowman speaks of "bidderesand beggers."Maunderisperhaps connected with Old Fr.quemander—

"Quemander, orcaimander, to beg; or goe a begging; to beg from doore to doore" (Cotgrave),

but it may mean a maker of "maunds,"i.e. baskets.

ABeadmanspent his time in praying for his benefactor. A medieval underling writing to his superior often signs himself "your servant andbedesman."

CHAPTER XXIOF NICKNAMES IN GENERAL

"Here is Wyll Wyly the myl pecker,And Patrick Pevysshe heerbeter,With lusty Hary Hangeman,Nexte house to Robyn Renawaye;Also Hycke Crokenec the rope maker,And Steven Mesyllmouthe muskyll taker."(CockeLorellesBote.)[Footnote:This humorous poem, inspired by Sebastian Brandt'sNarrenschiff, known in England in Barclay's translation, was printed early in the reign of Henry VIII. It contains the fullest list we have of old trade-names.]

"Here is Wyll Wyly the myl pecker,And Patrick Pevysshe heerbeter,With lusty Hary Hangeman,Nexte house to Robyn Renawaye;Also Hycke Crokenec the rope maker,And Steven Mesyllmouthe muskyll taker."

(CockeLorellesBote.)

[Footnote:This humorous poem, inspired by Sebastian Brandt'sNarrenschiff, known in England in Barclay's translation, was printed early in the reign of Henry VIII. It contains the fullest list we have of old trade-names.]

Every family name is etymologically a nickname,i.e. an eke-name, intended to give that auxiliary information which helps in identification. But writers on surnames have generally made a special class of those epithets which were originally conferred on the bearer in connection with some characteristic feature, physical or moral, or some adjunct, often of the most trifling description, with which his personality was associated. Of nicknames, as of other things, it may be said that there is nothing new under the sun. Ovidius Naso might have received his as a schoolboy, andMosscumnano, whom we find in Suffolk in 1184, lives on as "Nosey Moss" in Whitechapel. Some of our nicknames occur as personal names in Anglo-Saxon times (Chapter VII), but as surnames they are seldom to be traced back to that period, for the simple reason that such names were not hereditary. An Anglo-Saxon might be namedWulf, but his son would bear another name, while our modernWolfedoes not usually go farther back than some Ranulflewolfofthe thirteenth or fourteenth century. This is of course stating the case broadly, because the personal name Wolf also persisted and became in some cases a surname. In this and the following chapters I do not generally attempt to distinguish between such double origins.

Nicknames are formed in very many ways, but the two largest classes are sobriquets taken from the names of animals, e.g.Hogg, or from adjectives, either alone or accompanied by a noun, e.g.Dear,Goodfellow. Each of these classes requires a chapter to itself, while here we may deal with the smaller groups.

Some writers have attempted to explain all apparent nicknames as popular perversions of surnames belonging to the other three classes. As the reader will already have noticed, such perversions are extremely common, but it is a mistake to try to account for obvious nicknames in this way. Any of us who retain a vivid recollection of early days can call to mind nicknamesofthe most fantastic kind, and in some cases of the most apparently impossible formation, which stuck to their possessors all through school-life. A very simple test for the genuineness of a nickname is a comparison with other languages. Camden says thatDrinkwaterisa corruption of Derwentwater. The incorrectness of this guess is shown by the existence as surnames of Fr.Boileau, It.Bevilacqua, and Ger.Trinkwasser. It is in fact a perfectly natural nickname for a medieval eccentric, the more normal attitude being represented by RogerBeyvin(boi-vin), who died in London in 1277.

FOREIGN NICKNAMES

Corresponding to ourGoodday, we find Ger.Gutentagand Fr.Bonjour. The latter has been explained as from a popular form of George, but the English and German names show that the explanation is. unnecessary. WithDrywe may compare Fr.Lesecand Ger.Dürr, withGarlickGer.Knoblauch(Chapter XV), and withShakespeareGer. Schüttespeer.Luckis both for Luke and Luick (Liège, Chapter XI), but RosaBonheurand the composerGluckcertify it also as a nickname.Merryweatheris like Fr.Bontemps, andLittleboyappears in the Paris Directory asPetitgas,gasbeing the same asgars, the old nominative (Chapter I) ofgarçon—

"Gars, a lad, boy, stripling, youth, yonker" (Cotgrave).

Bardsley explainsTwentymanas an imitative corruption oftwinter-man, the man in charge of the twinters, two-year-old colts. This may be so, but there is a German confectioner in Hampstead calledZwanziger, and there are Parisians namedVingtain.Loverisconfirmed by the French surnamesAmantandLamoureux, andWellbelovedbyBienaimé.Allwaysmay be the literal equivalent of the French namePartout. On the other hand, the name PraisegodBareboneshas been wrongly fixed on an individual whose real name was Barbon or Barborne.

It may seem strange that the nickname, conferred essentially on the individual, and often of a very offensive character, should have persisted and become hereditary. But schoolboys know that, in the case of an unpleasant nickname, the more you try to pull it off, the more it sticks the faster.MalapertandLehideuxare still well represented in the Paris Directory. Many objectionable nicknames have, however, disappeared, or have been so modified as to become inoffensive.

Sometimes such disappearance has resulted from the depreciation in the meaning of a word, e.g.lelewd, the layman, the unlettered, was once as common as its oppositelelearned, whence the nameLarned. But many uncomplimentary names are no longer objected to because their owners do not know their earlier meanings. A famous hymn-writer of the eighteenth century bore all unconsciously a surname that would almost have made Rabelais blush. Drinkdregs, Drunkard, Sourale, Sparewater, Sweatinbed, etc. have gone, but we still haveLusk—

"Falourdin, aluske, loot, lurden, a lubberlie sloven, heavie sot, lumpish hoydon" (Cotgrave) —

and many other names which can hardly have gratified their original possessors.

A very interesting group of surnames consists of those which indicate degrees of kinship or have to do with the relations existing between individuals. We find bothMasterandMann, united inMasterman, meaning the man in the service of one locally known as the master. With this we may compareLadyman,Priestman, etc. ButMannisoften of local origin, from the Isle of Man. In some cases such names are usually found with the patronymic -s, e.g.Masters,Fellows, while in others this is regularly absent, e.g.Guest,Friend. The latter name is sometimes a corruption of Mid. Eng.fremed, stranger, cognate with Ger.fremd,sothat opposite terms, which we find regularly contrasted in Mid. Eng. "frendandfremed,"have become absorbed in one surname.

The frequent occurrence ofFellowsisdue to its being sometimes for the localFallows. From Mid. Eng.fere, a companion, connected withfaren, to travel, we getLittlefairandPlayfair. In Wyclif's Bible we read that Jephthah's daughter—

"Whanne sche hadde go with hir felowis andpleiferis,sche biwept hir maydynhed in the hillis" (Judges xi. 38).

Springettis for springald, and Arlett is Mid. Eng. harlot, fellow, rascal, a word which has changed its gender and meaning—

"He was a gentilharlotand a kynde,A betre felawe sholde men noght fynde."(A, 647.)

"He was a gentilharlotand a kynde,A betre felawe sholde men noght fynde."

(A, 647.)

KINSHIP

In surnames taken from words indicating family relationship we come across some survivals of terms no longer used, or occurring only in rustic dialect. The Mid. Eng.eme, uncle, cognate with Ger.Oheim, has givenEames. In Chaucer'sTroilusandCriseyde, the heroine addresses Pandarus as "uncle dere" and "uncle mine," but also uses the older word—

" 'In good feith,em,' quod she, 'that liketh me' "(ii. 162);

and the word is used more than once by Scott—

"Didna hisemedie. . . wi' the name of the Bluidy Mackenzie?"(HeartofMidlothian, ch.xii.)

"Didna hisemedie. . . wi' the name of the Bluidy Mackenzie?"

(HeartofMidlothian, ch.xii.)

It is also one of the sources ofEmpson, which thus corresponds toCousinsorCozens. InNeamewe have a prostheticn- due to the frequent occurrence ofmineme(cf. the Shakespeareannuncle,Lear,i.4). The names derived from cousin have been reinforced by those fromCuss,i.e. Constant or Constance (Chapter X). ThusCussensis from the Mid. English dim.Cussin. Anglo-Sax.nefa, whence Mid. Eng.neve,neave,iscognate with, but not derived from, Lat.nepos.[Footnote:In all books on surnames that I have come across this is referred to Old Fr.leneve. There is no such word in old French, which has nom.niés,acc.neveu.]

This is now replaced as a common noun by the French word nephew, but it survives in the surnameNeave. It also meant in Mid. English a prodigal or parasite, as did also Lat.nepos—

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