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THE SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS
OP LONDON
P a p e r r e a d at the
Q U A R T E R L Y ]VC E B T I N Q
10th March,
1917
BY
W.
P.
HASKETT-SMITH,
M.A.
Barrister-at-Law,
u
S U R N A M E S .
The Socitty s Room s:
5
BLOOMSBUEY SQUARE, LONDON, W .C.I
P R I C E S I X P E N C E .
GENEALOGICAL PARTMEH1
CHURCH
Oh
j c ^ U S C H R Iol
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P R I N T E D B Y
T H E E A ST E RN P R E S S L I M I T E D
LONDON AND READING
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n a m eonitand onA n s t e y E e i g n e y , w h i c h are nom o r e n a m e d f ro m
d i t c h e s t h a n C a m i l l a L a c y f r o m l a c e .
A le s s g la r ing andqu i t e v en ia l e r ro r oc cur s in thes a m e b o o k
w h e r e E G E R T O N in K e n t is s t a t e d to be E d g a r ' s t o w n . U n f o r
t u n a t e l y
the
ea r ly fo rm s shew
it to be for
E d g a r d i n g d e n
or
E c h a r d i n g d e n and, p o s s i b l y , e v e n E d e l e c h a r d i n g d e n , w h i c h ,
t h o u g h
not
p r o v e d
to
b e l o n g h e r e ,
was
c e r t ai n l y s o m e w h e r e
in the
i m m e d i a t e n e i g h b o u r h o o d .
F L I M W E L L
onthe S u s s e x b o r d e risa n o t h e r c a s e . J o h n s t o n s a y s
i t maym e a n an o u t l a w , but thee a r ly f o r m s s h e w t h a t it is
m e r e l y a c o n t r a c t i o n ofF l e m in g w e l l , and it isk n o w n t h a t m a n y
F l e m i n g s hads e t t l e d int h a t n e i g h b o u r h o o d .
B u t wem u s t nota ll ow p l a c e n a m e s to l u r e usa w a y f ro mour
s u b j e c t , t h o u g h
it is
s e l d o m p o s s i b l e
to
d e a l w i t h
one for
long
w i t h o u t theo t h e r , and on thew h o l e the p e rs o n a l e l e m e n t inp l a c e -
n a m e s and the l o c al e l e m e n t in s u r n a m e s h a v e b e e n g r e a t l y
u n d e r e s t i m a t e d . The t r u e f u n c t i o n form o s t of us ofc o u r s e is to
c o l l e c t w i t h p a t i e n t t o i l a c t u a l , r e c o r d e d f o r m s top r o v i d e a basis.
o n w h i c h them a s t e r ofp h o n e t i c s may safe ly w ork .
T h e m o s t c o m i c a l m i s t a k e s , h o w e v e r , arem a d e n e i t h e r by the
p e d a n tnor by thed u n c e , but by t h o s ewhoh a v e b e e n a p t l y t e r m e d
t h e m o r e c u l t i v a t e d p o r t io n of the i g n o r a n t . T h e se
half-
l e a r n e d e n t h u s i a s t s g e n e r a l l y f a l l e a s y v i c t i m s
to the
p l a u s i b l e .
T h e i r b l u n d e r s may p e r h a p s s e rv e tob r i n g h o m e to usoneof the
f i r s t lessons tha t
the
p h i l o l o g i s t
has
tol e a r n (al e s s o n by the
way
a g a i n s t w h i c h the p o e t L o n g f e l l o w f o o li sh l y p r o t e s t e d ) , for t h e y
T e l l
us all in
m o u r n f u l n u m b e r s .
C e r t a i n t y ' s ane m p t y d r e a m .
O ft
the
c o c k s u r e p u n d i t s l u m b e r s ,
O f t t h i n g sare not w h a t t h e y s e e m .
E v e r y o n e k n o w s t h a t n e a r l y
all
s u r n a m e s e m b o d y e i t h e r
the
p e r s o n a l n a m e , the d e s c r i p t i o n , orthea d d r e s sof ana n c e s t o r ,but
w h a t l o o k s l i k eanu n q u e s t i o n a b l e e x a m p l e ofonec l a s s may rea l ly
be long to one of theo t h e r s .
D E N N I S , D I C K S O N , H E W I T T , L U C A S , S A N D E R S are not always of
b a p t i s m a l o r i g i n .
P L U M B E R , B U T C H E R , S M I T H , C H E ES EM A N are frequently not due
to the w e l l - k n o w n t r a d e s .
CO R N F O O T , G U M B O I L, M A T T E R F A CE are no tpersonal descriptions.
B E E T L E ,
B U G ,
L O C U S T
are no t
b a s e d
on
r e s e m b l a n c e
to
t h o s e
i n s e c t s .
F o r e x a m p l e , D I C K S O N is s o m e t i m e s forD i c k l e s t o n , LUCASfor
L u c k h u r s t , SA N D ERS for S a n d h u r s t , PLUM B ER for P l u m b e r g h ,
B U T C H E R for
Bourchier,
S M I T H for
Smeeth,
L O C U S T for
Lockhurst.
T h e r e is nog r e a t e r m i s t a k e t h a n t h a t of us in g terms em plo ye d
in
one
p a r t of
the
c o u n t r y toe x p l a i n n a m e s o r i g i n a t in g in a n o t h e r .
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I n C u m b e r l a n d a m o u n t a i n p a s t u r e u s e d by a p a r t i c u l a r flock i s
s o m e t i m e s c a l l e d a ' ' heaf. I n H e r e f o r d s h i r e t h e r e is a p l a c e
n o w c a ll e d B r o m s A s h a n d f o r m e r l y B r o m s E s s e , o r H e s s e , w h i c h
i n M S S . o f t e n l o o k s l ik e H e f f e . M r . J o h n s t o n d o e s n o t h e s i t a t e
t o e x p l a i n t h e l a t t e r b y i m p o r t i n g t h e f o r m e r .
T e n t e r d e n i n K e n t h e e x p l a i n s b y ' ' T e n t e r s ' ' u s e d i n t h e
c l o t h t r a d e , f o r g e t t i n g t h a t t h e n a m e m u s t h a v e b e e n g i v e n a g e s
b e f o r e t h e r e w a s a n y c l o t h - m a k i n g t h e r e , a n d i n s p i t e o f h i s o w n
b e li ef t h a t t h e e a r l i e r f o r m of t h e n a m e w a s T i n t e n t o n e . I n t h i s
l a t t e r p o i n t , h o w e v e r , h e is e n t i r e l y m i s t a k e n , a s t h e T i n t e n t o n e of
" D o m e s d a y " w a s n o t h e r e a t a l l , b u t m i l e s a w a y a t W a r e h o m e .
M o r e o v e r w e h a v e t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e o l d f o r m s , T e n t w a r d e n a n d
T h e i n w a r d e n , w h i c h g u i d e u s r e a d i l y t o t h e r e a l o r i g i n a l , T h e n k -
w a r d e n o r , m o r e l i k e l y , T h e n k w a r d i n g d e n , " d e n e o f t h e f a m i l y o f
T h e n k w a r d . " T h i s w a s a c o m m o n S a x o n n a m e , m o r e f a m i l ia r t o
u s a s T a n c r e d , a n d a p p e a r s a g a i n in t h e m a n o r of T a n c r e t o n i n
t h e s a m e c o u n t y . M a n y c o u n t r y p l a c e s h a v e w h a t m a y b e c a l le d
a de r i s iv e fo rm use d by sp i t e fu l ne ig hb ou rs . In th i s cas e i t i s
T e n k e r d e n ( '' t e n k e r ' ' b e i n g t h e l o c a l p r o n u n c i a t i o n of ' ' t i n k e r ,
w h o s e t r a d e is n o w h e r e h e l d in m u c h e s t e e m ) , a n d c u r i o u s l y p r e
s e r v e s a l e s s c o r r u p t f o rm t h a n t h a t n o w c u r r e n t . T h e s u c c e s s fu l
e t y m o l o g i s t m u s t t h e r e f o r e k e e p h i s t o r y , g e o g r a p h y , a n d l a n g u a g e
s t e a d i l y i n v i e w .
T o t a k e a n o t h e r e x a m p l e fr om p l a c e n a m e s , w e a l l k n o w
LAMBETH,
w h e r e t h e p a l a c e of t h e A r c h b i s h o p h a s s o l o n g s t o o d .
H o w b e a ut if u ll y s i m p l e i t i s t o s a y : " L a m a , " a h i g h p r i e s t ,
" b e t h , " a d w e l l i n g, " t h e d w e l li n g of t h e h i gh p r i e s t . " T h e
t ri f ling f ac t th a t one w ord co m es f rom T ibe t an d th e o t he r f rom
P a l e s t i n e w o u l d n o t f o r o n e m o m e n t d i s t u r b t h e j o y o u s i n v e n t o r
o f t h i s c h a r m i n g d e r i v a t i o n .
T h e m e n t i o n of a r c h b i s h o p s m a y s e r v e t o r e m i n d u s t h a t
B o n i f a c e , t h e l a s t o f t h e m w h o h a d n o s u r n a m e , w a s a b o u t 1 2 0 0 ,
a n d , r o u g h l y , t h a t m a r k s t h e t i m e w h e n t h e c r e a t i o n o f s u r n a m e s
b e g a n t o g o a h e a d . N a m e s w h i c h o c c u r b e fo r e t h a t d a t e a r e m o r e
p e r s o n a l . A s a g e n e r a l r u l e t h e S a x o n s n a m e d a m a n f ro m h i s
t r a d e o r d w e l l i n g , w h i l e t h e e a r l y N o r m a n s l o v e d t o c o n d e n s e i n t o
t w o o r t h r e e s y l l a b l e s a m a n ' s p r i n c i p a l d e f o r m i t y o r t h e m o s t
d i s c r e d i t a b l e i n c i d e n t i n h i s c h e q u e r e d c a r e e r .
If t h e y u s e d a p l a c e n a m e a t a ll i t w a s u s u a l l y n o t t h e m a n ' s
r e s i d e n c e , b u t h i s b i r t h p l a c e .
W h a t a t first s i g h t s e e m s a c o m p l i m e n t a r y n i c k n a m e w a s b o r n e
b y o n e of t h e D e T o n b r i d g e s E i c h a r d d e B i e n f a i t a n d I o n c e
h e a r d a w o r t h y m a n h o l d i n g fo r t h u p o n i t a s " a n o b l e r t i t l e t h a n
a n y m o n a r c h e v e r b e s t o w e d , ' H e of t h e g oo d d e e d ' " ; b u t a l a s
E i c h a r d d i d n o t w i n i t b y h i s n o b l e c o n d u c t , b u t b y t h e a c c i d e n t
of h a v i n g b e e n b o r n i n t h e N o r m a n c a s t l e of B e n e f a c t a n a m e l y ,
" T h e w e l l - b u i l t . " I t s h o u l d a lw a y s b e b o r n e i n m i n d t h a t t h e
g r e a t b u l k of t h e s u r n a m e s t h a t w e u s e t o - d a y c a m e in t o b e i n g
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between 1200 and 1400; and when we consider the vicissitudes
through which they and their successive bearers have passed, we
cannot wonder if their forms have undergone some strange modi
fications. W e seldom know the full histo ry of a wo rd, and w ith ou t
it we m ay go wofully as tray althou gh equipp ed w ith th e very
best phonetic rules.
Imagine, for instance, Macaulay's New Zealander, professor,
let us suppose, of etymology in the University of Otago, visiting
th is country in 2500. H e journ eys by aeroplane to visit the ru ins
of Manchester, and a few miles south of them notices several
arch es of a lofty aq ue du ct crossing th e river M ersey. A pe as an t
tells him that there is a tradition that it carried a canal called
" T h e B r i d g w a t e r . "
" A h , y es, of cou rse, th e canal would be so called from th is
aqueduct, which is a ' bridge for water, ' doubtless a rare feat for
the engineers of th at d a y ." Lu ckily, however, the Brisbane pro
fessor of history is one of the party, and is able to tell him that
the canal was not named after the bridge, but the bridge after the
canal; the canal after a duke who made it ; the duke after a town
in Somerset where there was an important bridge over the river
Parret .
" Now, th a t ' s very inte res t in g," says th e Otago m an , " bu t
after all it only p u ts it a stage or tw o furthe r back. Th e nam e
does come from a bridge, but it was an earlier one than I
su p p o se d . "
Yet even th at is not tru e, for Brid gew ater had been Br ug ew ater,
and before that Burgh-Walter, called after i ts founder, Walter of
D oua i. I t h as therefore little to do with " bridge " and noth ing
at all with ' ' water.
As a more modern instance, you wouldn't think that there could
be a simpler name than P E T E R S . B u t early in the cen tury before
last there was one of that name in Kent whose father was really
a Frenchman, and to please English ears had t ransla ted his name
into their language, or rather tried to do so, for, as his proper name
was not Pierre, but De la Pierre, he ought really to have called
himself Mr. Stone.
The fact is that we very seldom know how many stages a name
may not have gone through before reaching us.
r M any yea rs ago I w as talking to an ancie nt rusti c, when a m an
passed by whom I knew to be one of a certain fam ily. I asked
which one he w as. My com panion chu ck led :
" W hoy Da t be P i ke y . "
" Why do you cal l him Pikey?"
" Well, ye see, sir , some on us does and some on us don't ."
" Never m ind those who d on 't . Tell m e why anyone calls
h im so . "
" Ah . B u t, Lo r' bless yer, he baint Pikey , only in a m an ne r
of sp eak in' . I t be ee 's cousin w ha t be de real Pi k e y ."
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' ' And how did he come to get the name ? ' '
" Dey do say dat at one time 'e wur turble fond of havin' dees-
ere furriners fur his 'op pickin ' ."
' ' Well , what of that Many growers get foreigners in to pick. ' '
"' Surealie dey do, bu t yer see dat m a n 's un cle, wh at 'ad de
farm afore ' im, 'e wouldn't have no furriners, an' went an' got
in a lot of deeseere old-fashioned ' pike ys '; you know de so rt I
mean.
" O h G i ps ie s."
" A y d a t ' s wh a t d ey c all ' e m . "
So we had at last come to the beginning of the story, and now
just observe the development of meanings.
A pike is a sort of protection to a gate.
Next i t is applied to the gate
itself
Such gates being often put up with the object of levying tolls,
the word next means a tollgate, even though devoid of such pikes.
Then a road on which such gates are erected.
Then a high road, even though without any such gates.
Hence a " pikey " is a person who passes much of his life on
the roads as gipsies do.
Later i t includes all habitual vagrants.
Then an employer of such vagrants.
Lastly, the relations of such an employer.
To an enquirer a few hundred years later, what a terrible tangle
these changes would present, especially as several links of the
above chain of evidence would by that time certainly be missing.
So it is difficult to at ta in c erta inty w ith any s ur na m e, especially
as many names have more than one origin; and, moreover, just
as we find one river cutting off and capturing the water-supply of
others, so a well-established name will often absorb another which
is of less familiar form. Fo r ins tan ce , in Virginia the baron ial
name of P E C H E is represe nted by a well-known family, b u t t he
same name is also borne by the descendants of a more or less
worthy German who found that as
B I T S C H E
he met with a less
eager welcome.
The shift ing character of English surnames is partly due to the
law, which has always treated them as l i t t le better than nick
names, convenient for identification, but not forming an essential,
pa r t of a m an 's nam e. Th at is why a w om an 's surn am e is t ran
sitory and a pe er 's al together in abeya nce. N ow adays we are ap t
to consider that a Mr. Hampden is called John to dist inguish him
from the other H am p d en s; but formerly he w as only called
H am pd en to distinguish him from the other Jo hn s. One l i tt le-
noticed proof of this is that in early days you could not speak of
" J o h n H a m p d e n ' s c o o k " ; yo u h ad t o say " J o h n ' s cook
H a m p d e n ," and in legal doc um ents , instead of " the aforesaid
H am pd en , " they then pu t " the a fo re sa id J o h n . "
Our object to-day is not so much to put forward novel explana-
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t ions as to point out tha t even the soundest authori t ies must not
be blindly followed, and that they cannot always stand the test
of evidence. Th e mo st helpful books on th is subject are by
Ba rdsley, Week ley, and H arrison . N o one ha s done m ore useful
work tha n Ba rdsle y. I t is ra th er th e fashion now to slight his
efforts . H e certainly m ade m any mista kes and in some respects
lacked the necessary training for his task; but he broke a huge-
amount of new ground, and was the first to grasp the necessity of
working on historical and geographical evidence. M any of our
best workers received their first impetus from his books.
A capital work on surnames recently appeared from the pen of
Professor Weekley. I t is attractively written and in m an y w ays
quite a scholarly production, giving evidence of great industry,
keen intelligence, and wide know ledge. H e clears away a good
many errors which have long held the field, but not all of his own
shots succeed in hitt ing the m ark. H e is som ewh at over-anxious
to find French explanations, and often misses words rather
obviously marking trades or places.
Mr. Harrison, on the other hand, is very strong on the Anglo-
Saxon side, and his great work, now nearing completion, will be
a fine stand by for future stu de nt s. Ac curacy and ster n concise
ness are h is watchw ords . B u t even H om er sometimes nods .
Let us now run through a few names which have been misunder
stood or still cry out for investigation.
Weekley derives
B A T H O S from Bathurs t , evidently unaware that the la t ter unt i l
quite lately was always pronounced B att -u rs t , and therefore
frequently takes the form of
B A T T E R S ,
which Weekley would ascribe to a personal name,
Beaduric .
-BERRY.
Several na m es w ith thi s term ination are take n by
W eek ley to be from fru its. Th ey are far m ore often from
-bury, and Mul- is much more likely to stand for Malbury
(Malborough), just as Albery and even Elderberry stand for
Aldb ury. An am using case of histo ry repea ting itself is seen in
ADSBERRY, of which name in 1679 was a gentleman who, having
to sign a legal document, suddenly lifted the veil and disclosed
himself as Cosmann
ERTZBERGER.
BIDDLE,
expla ined by Harrison as b e a d le and by W eekley
as Ap I th e l , is in m ost cases nothing more tha n Biddulp h.
On the other hand
B I F F I N
really does come from Ap Ithel.
W eekley says th a t the G erman nam e
BIRKEN-RUT is B ir ch -r od , bu t of course it is Birk-roy d or
birch c learing.
B E N J A F I E L D , Weekley calls insoluble, but it may be only a form
of Bende-ville, or it may contain the Wilts surname seen in
Sutton Benger.
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B L A C K M A N .
W e e k l e y c a l l s t h i s " a p u r e n i c k n a m e of m e d i a ev a l
o r i g i n " ; b u t i t s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n a p e r s o n a l n a m e e v e n i n
S a x o n t i m e s , a s it f o rm s p a r t of a K e n t p a r i s h B l a c k m a n s t o n e
a n d a s l a t e a s 1 27 9 w e f ind B l a k e m a n B r i d a n d J o h n F i t z b l a k e m a n .
P o s s i b l y i t r e p r e s e n t s
P L E G M U N D .
B O U N G E L S H E R T E
s o u n d s l i k e t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f a m a n w h o w a s
a p t t o p a y s c a n t a t t e n t i o n t o th o s e l i tt l e d e t a i l s of t h e t o i l e t w h i c h
ad d so m u c h to t h e g e n e r a l e ff ec t.
B O R R O W H A R D
l o o k s o b v i o u s . P h . d e B o r r o w h a r d l iv e d in
c o u n t y C o rk t e m p . H e n r y I I I . , a n d s in c e h i s t i m e m a n y a
' ' f o in e o ld O i r is h g in t l e m an ' ' h a s t h o r o u g h ly l i v ed u p t o t h e
n a m e ; b u t in 1 30 4 S o l o m o n d e B o r r o w h a r d w a s a t h r i v i n g c i ti z e n
o f L o n d o n , a n d i n r e a l i t y b o r e a fine o ld N o r m a n n a m e ,
D e B o i s - E o h a r d or D e B o s c o - R o h a r d i , w h i c h , i n t h e W e s t of
E n g l a n d , b e c a m e
B O R A R D ,
a n d is s c a r c e l y r e c o g n i s e d in t h e D e v o n
par i sh o f
B R O A D
H c m p s t o n , w h i c h i n t h e H u n d r e d E o l l s is c a ll ed
H e m p s t o n B o r a r d , a n d h a d p a s s e d f ro m t h e B o r a r d fa m i ly t o t h a t
of C a n t i l o u p e .
B O W S E R , W e e k l e y s a y s , i s B e l - s i r e ; b u t I find J n . B o w s e r , a l io s
B O U R C H I E R , C . 1 4 7 5 .
C O R B R A N D
l o o k s v e r y s im p l e , b r an d b e in g s o co m m o n in S ax o n
n a m e s ; b u t a l a s fo r d o g m a t i s m , w e find o n e i n H e n r y I I I . ' s d a y
" a l i as
C U R T - B R A V I N T , "
SO t h a t h e w a s r e a l l y a s h o r t m a n f ro m
B r a b a n t .
S H O O L B R E D .
H a r r i s o n s a y s t h i s i s " s c h o o l - b r e d , " w h i c h i s n ot-
v e r y c o n v i n c i n g . I t m a y w e l l b e " s h o v e l - b e a r d , " a s " s p a d e -
b e a r d " w a s a c o m m o n p h r a s e , a n d i n m a n y d i a l e c t s " s h o v e l " i s
p r o n o u n c e d " s h o o l , " b u t c o m e s m o r e p r o b a b l y fr o m a p l a c e i n
S u s s e x c a l le d S h u l b r e d e , t h e t e r m i n a t i o n m a r k i n g p e r h a p s p l a c e s
w h e r e b i t s o f o p e n c o m m o n l a n d i n c r e a s e t h e b r e a d t h o f t h e r o a d
w a y , j u s t a s t h e e x p a n s i o n of t h e N o r fo l k r i v e r s a r e c a l l e d B r o a d s .
B R E N G E S T ,
W e e k l e y r e g a r d s a s t h e n i c k n a m e o f a m a n w h o s e
a m i a b l e h a b i t i t w a s t o " b u m g u e s t s . " B u t i t is f ar m o r e li k el y
t o b e f ro m t h e p l a c e c a ll e d B r i n g h u r s t o r f ro m B r o n g e s t i n W a l e s .
- B R O O K , 1 59 2 ( A n n
W H Y S S E - ) .
T h i s h a s n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h t h e
" b a b b l i n g b r o o k , " b e i n g o n e o f t h e m a n y c o r r u p t f o r m s o f a s u r
n a m e t a k e n f ro m t h e m a n o r of W h i t s p e r h a w k .
C A T C H F R E N S H . W e e k l e y e v i d e n t l y t a k e s t h i s l i t e r a l l y ; b u t , a s
i t i s a p l a ce i n C o r n w a l l , w e n e ed s ay n o m o r e .
C A P R O N .
W e e k l e y s a y s a F r e n c h f o rm of " H o o d " ; b u t i t i s a
N o r t h of E n g l a n d l o c al n a m e , a n d , a s K i d b u r n ( K i d b o r ra n ) is
p r o n o u n c e d K i p p r a n , t h i s m i g h t e a si ly b e " C a t - b o r r a n . "
C H I L D R E N .
H a r r i s o n t h i n k s t h i s m a y b e fo r C e o l -r e d , a n a m e
w h i c h A d m i r a l T i r p i t z m i g h t w e l l b e a r , a s i t i s s a i d t o m e a n
" K e e l - c o u n s e l . " W e e k l e y s a y s i t m e a n s " w i t h m a n y c h i ld r e n " ;
b u t a s a l l t h e e a r l y e x a m p l e s h a v e " A t t e " p r e f ix e d , w e m a y b e
s u r e it i s l o ca l , an d I h av e s h ew n e l s e w h e r e t h a t it m e a n s " a t t h e
s p r i n g s , " b e in g m e r e l y t h e S o u t h e r n f o rm of t h e N o r t h e r n " k e l d . "
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C L A R A B U T T wi l l su gg es t to som e a pow er fu l l ady s ing e r r a t h e r
t h a n a m e r e K e n t i s h m a l e . I t i s i n f a c t t h e a n c i e n t C l a r e m b a l d ,
a n d h a s f ol lo w e d m u c h t h e s a m e c o u r s e a s A r c h e m b a l d , n o w o f t e n
s e e n a s A r c h b u t t .
C L U T T E R B U C K .
T h i s v e ry D u t c h - s o u n d i n g n a m e m a k e s f air
s e n s e i n t h a t l a n g u a g e , a s C l o e t - te r - b o g t w o u l d m e a n " p u n t p o l e
a t t h e b e n d " ; b u t t h e r e i s a t p r e s e n t n o e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t a
D u t c h o r i g in , a n d i t i s s a id t h a t C o w b a c h in W o r c e s t e r s h i r e w a s
o n c e c a l le d C l a t t e r b a c h , w h i c h is n e a r e n o u g h .
C O L E P E P E R . O f t h i s g r e a t K e n t n a m e W e e k l e y s a y s t h a t w e
m a y c o m p a r e P l u c k r o s e a n d C u l b e n e , o r t h a t i t m i g h t m e a n
" b l ac k p e p p e r . " I t w a s c e r ta i n l y a t h i r t e e n t h - c e n t u r y n i c k n a m e ,
a n d i t i s a c u r i o u s f a c t t h a t m a n y o f t h e i r r e n t s w e r e p a y a b l e i n
p e p p e r . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e r e w a s a s t o r y a g a i n s t o n e of t h e m
t h a t h e a t t e m p t e d t o s u b s t i t u t e p o w d e r e d c h a r c o a l a s r e n t d u r i n g
a d e a r t h o f t h e p u n g e n t s p i c e .
C O R N E D E B O E U P ( t e m p . H e n r y I I I . ) h a s a v e r y c u l i n a r y s o u n d ;
b u t t h e o w n e r of t h e n a m e m a y h a v e e a r n e d i t l e s s b y m e a t t h a n
b y d r i n k . H e p o s s e s s e d p e r h a p s s o m e m i g h t y a l e h o m ( c o m e d e
bosuf ) and d ra ined i t w i th an ea se which ea rned the admi ra t ion o f
h i s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s .
C U T W E S Y L L p u z z l e s W e e k l e y , b u t a s t h e r e i s a C a t s w e a s e l i n
K e n t w e m a y w e l l r e g a r d t h e n a m e a s m e r e l y l o c a l .
C U X O N , H a r r i s o n s a y s , m u s t b e " C o o k ' s s o n " ; b u t t h i s i s t h e
e x a c t p r o n u n c i a t i o n of C u c l e s t o n o n t h e M e d w a y .
D A N D E L I O N , t r e a t e d b y W e e k l e y a s t h e w e e d , i s t h e n a m e of a
f a r m i n T h a n e t , p o s s i b ly o n c e h e l d b y a " l i o n - t o o t h e d " N o r m a n .
D O U B L E DA Y . H a r r is o n s a y s " b o m a t m i d n i g h t " ; b u t s u ch a
f a c t w o u l d s o o n b e f o r g o t t e n . W e e k l e y s u g g e s t s " d o i n g a d o u b l e
d a y ' s w o r k " ; b u t i t s u r e l y re f e r s t o a m a n of n o c t u r n a l a c t i v i t i e s ,
l ik e a m a n I w e l l r e m e m b e r i n m y c h i ld h o o d w h o w a s k n o w n to
al l as "
N O E E S T . "
H e w a s a n o t o r i o u s p o a c h e r .
E N T I C K N A P .
W e e k l e y g i v e s t h i s u p a s h o p e l e s s ; b u t a s " a n t i c "
in our rus t i c speech means bo th a buf foon and a gob l in , i t may
s i m p l y d e s c r i b e a " f a ir y - k n o ll " o r P o o k ' s H i l l . I t i s s o m e t i m e *
s p e ll e d E n t i n k n a p , a n d t h e r e w a s a f a m i ly c a ll e d E n t i n g a n d
A n t i n g .
- F I T T . T h i s t e r m i n a t i o n h a s b e a t e n a l l t h e p u n d i t s . W e e k l e y
sa y s i t is for - f ie ld, - foot , or - ford, an d q u o te s
Bref-
B r u m - , M u r - ,
R u m - , W e i -. H a r r i s o n t h i n k s S m u r - m a y b e " s m a l l f e e t , " a n d
de l ibe ra te ly r e j ec t s fo r i t t h e t r u e ex p l an a t i on , w hich i s th a t , i n al l
the se ca ses , the o r ig ina l fo rm i s
" - T H W A I T E
" B r a i - , B r u n - ,
M o o r- , E o w n - , S m u r - , W a l l - , L i n - . T h i s c h a n g e t a k e s p l a c e
a l m o s t i n v a r i a b l y w h e n e v e r t h e p r e v i o u s s y l l a b l e e n d s i n a l i q u i d
le t te r , though we of ten f ind - fa t or
- F O O T ,
a s i n B u r - , C r o w - , G r a y - , K i r -, L i n - , L o n g - , C o r n -.
F o r w a n t of k n o w i n g t h i s , W e e k l e y i s d r i v e n t o t h e w il d g u e s s t h a t
B r a n f o o t w a s a m a n w h o s e o c c u p a t i o n w a s t o " b r a n d f e e t "
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T h e f o l l o w i n g l i s t p l a c e s b e y o n d d o u b t thec o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n
t h e s e t h r e e t e r m i n a t i o n s
mein - T H W A I T E
B U R -
G A R -
G R A Y -
K I R -
L D J -
MOOR-
S M U R -
B R A I -
B R U N D -
E O W N -
W A L L -
CO R N -
C R O W -
L O N G -
Surname in - P I T T
B U R -
G A H -
G R A F F -
K E R -
L I N -
M U R -
S M U R -
B R E F F -
BETTM-
E U M -
W B L -
Surnamein-FOOT
BUR-
G A R -
G R A Y -
K L R -
L I N -
M O O R -
S M U R -
C O R N -
C R O W -
L O N G -
The terminations -FOWL, -COCK, -WEATHER are somewhat
p u z z l i n g , but
may
s o m e t i m e s r e p r e s e n t a mediaeva l fo rm of the
c u r i o u s t r i c k wes t i l l ha veofa d d r e s s i n g ourm o s t i n t i m a t e f r ie n d s
a s
old
b i rd or
old
c o c k , " w h i le A m e r i c a n s c h e e rf u ll y a c c o s t
a t o t a l s t r a n g e r as old h o r s e . " It is s a id t h a t M a c r e a d ythe
a c t o r , w h i l e t o u r i n g in theS t a t e s ,
was
a n n o y e d to f i nd tha tthe
Y a n k e e s
did not
g i ve
him
t h e i r u n d i v i d e d a t t e n t i o n , b e c a u s e
a
mere f iddle rthe ce lebra ted
Ole
B u l lofN o r w a y w a s t ou r in g
the
s a m e p a r tof thec o u n t r y . T h i s l e dto anu n f o r t u n a t e m i s t a k e , A
b u r ly W e s t e r n e r ,
who
hadh e a r d of on l y the N o r s e m a n ' s v i si t,
e s p i e d the E n g l i s h m a n s e a te d onthe d e c k of a s t e a m e r w r a p p e d
in
his
t r a g e d i a n ' s c lo a k
and his own
g r e a t t h o u g h t s . Hes w o o p e d
u p o n him,c a u g h t hima t r e m e n d o u s s la p b e t w e e n the s h o u l d e r -
b l a d e s ,
and
s h o u t e d g e n i a l l y , H e l l o ,
ole
h o s s H e l l o ,
ole
B u l l
W h a r ' s
yer
fiddle?"
The
g r e a t t r a g e d i a n r o s e
and,
in
his
m o s t
a w e - i n s p i r i n g t o n e s s a i d :
Sir You are
t r i p l y d e c e i v e d . I
beg
t o a p p r i s e
you
t h a t
I amnota
h o r s e . N e i t h e r
amI a
b u l l .
Nor
h a v e I e v e r p o s s e s s e d a fiddle."
G R A I N .
H a r r i s o n t h i n k s t h i s
is the
s e e d ; W e e k l e y s a y sit m e a n s
" m o r o s e ; n e i t h e r g r a s p s t h a t t h i sis thec o m m o n N o r t h e r n t e r m
for
the
fork of a s t r e a m .
H A L F N I G H T .
W e e k l e y r e g a r d s t h i s as a m o i e t y ofthe w a r r i o r
k n i g h t ; r e a l l y , l i k e
D O U B L E D A Y ,it
r e f e r s
tothe
n o c t u r n a l h a b i t s
of
i t s o w n e r .
W A L K L A T E
h o w e v e r isp r o ba b l y d i f f e re n t .
HAYCOMPLAINT. Our
m e d i c a l m e m b e r s
may
p e r h a p s w e l c o m e
i n t h i sane a r l y c a s eofc o n g e n i t a l h a y f e v e r . Ito c c u r sat A s h f o r d ,
1642 .
H E W I T T .
D o u b t l e s s o fte n d e r iv e d fr om H u g h ; but the a u t h o r i
t i e s
areall
u n a w a r e t h a t
in
K e n t e a r ly f o r m s
are
a t t e
H.andde
la H . , sot h a tit isc l ea r ly l oca landpos s i b l y on l ya S o u t h e r n f or m
of
t h w a i t e , "
h e w i n g - p l a c e
;
pos s i b l y
q u a r r y . "
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H O A T H . W e e k l e y s a y s a r c h a i c fo r H e a t h , b u t o n l y o n H a l l i -
w e l l ' s a u t h o r i t y . H a l l i w e l l is q u i t e r i g h t , fo r a s a K e n t i c i s m t h e
wo rd ex i s t s to th i s da y . I l i ve in s igh t of L ew is H e a th , a l so ca l led
L e w i s H o a t h , a n d a l l o v e r K e n t t h e o ld e r p e o p l e g e n e r a l l y c a ll a
p i e c e of w a s t e a h o a d .
H O U L D
T H E N E S T (1632) . A good ex am pl e of th e w ay in w hic h
p a r i s h c l e r k s m a d e t h e b e s t s e n s e t h e y c o u l d o u t of u n f a m i l i a r
n a m e s . T h e r e a l n a m e , of c o u r s e , m u s t h a v e b e e n H O L D E R N E S S .
H O L N E S S .
W e e k l e y s a y s t h i s i s u n d o u b t e d l y fo r h o l i n e s s .
I f s o , i t m u s t b e t h a t k i n d o f h o l i n e s s w h i c h e x h i b i t s m u c h f a i t h
and a sks fo r no
proof
By the l e s s insp i r ed me thod o f t r ac ing i t
b a c k w a r d s w e g e t t h e p r o s a i c r e s u l t o f H O N E S S , H O L N E S S ,
H O L N E R S , H O L I N H U R S T .
H O W G E G O a n d H O W S E G O . A n e m i n e n t l i t e r a ry m a n c o n fi d ed
to me h is se r ious be l ie f tha t these a r i se f rom the e f for ts of fore ign
s a i l o r s t o e n q u i r e a f t e r t h e h e a l t h o f t h e i r B r i t i s h c o m r a d e s ; b u t
bo th n a m e s go back to o f a r fo r th i s .
- H U R S T
t a k e s m a n y fo r m s w h i ch H a r r i s o n a n d W e e k l e y d o n o t
su sp ec t . I t is o f t en wh i t t l ed do w n to - e r s , - e s t , -e r , - us , - a s ;
B a t t e r s , B r e n g e s t , H o l n e s s , L u c a s a r e in s t a n c e s .
I D D O L S . W e e k l e y ca l ls t h i s a W i l t s f o r m of W e l s h I t h e l l ; b u t
is i t n o t s i m p l y E d o l p h ?
L I M P B N N Y . W e e k l e y d e r i v e s i t c o n f id e n t ly f ro m L y m p n e ; b u t
t h e p t h e r e i s w h o l l y m o d e r n a n d is n e v e r p r o n o u n c e d , s o t h a t
the whole word i s sounded L I M , a n d W e e k l e y i s j u s t a p e n n y w r o n g
i n h i s a c c o u n t . L i m p e n h o e , in N o rf o lk , is a m u c h m o r e p r o b a b l e
or ig in .
L I M M A G E . W e e k l e y ' s F r e n c h p r e d i l e c t i o n s i n d u c e h i m t o t r e a t
t h i s a s L ' I m a g e ; b u t L i m m a g e is t h e u s u a l s o u n d of t h e K e n t
v i l l a g e o f L i m i n g e .
M A N K T E L O W .
W e e k l e y , e v e r F r e n c h , r e a d s t h i s a s m a n q u e
d e 1 'eau ; b u t sco res of M A N E K E S c a m e t o C a n t e r b u r y f r o m t h e
L o w C o u n t r i e s , a n d t h e r e s t m a y b e ' ' t e r L o o , ' ' m a k i n g u p ' ' l i t t l e
fe llo w a t t h e m e a d o w .
M A T T E R F A C E m i g h t a p p e a r t o b e a p e r s o n a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e
m o s t u n c o m p l i m e n t a r y k i n d ; b u t , l i k e t h e u n p l e a s i n g
G U M B O I L ,
sa id to s t an d for G U N D O B A L D , i t i s n o t so bad as i t loo ks . I h a v e
e s t a b l i s h e d i t s i d e n t i t y w i t h M a l t r a v e r s .
M I D D L E M I S T . I t i s a s s u m e d by H a r r i s o n a n d W e e k l e y t h a t
M i d d l e m a s s w a s a f o rm of M i c h a e l m a s . T h e y o ffer n o e v id e n c e
o f t h i s , a n d , h a v i n g f o u n d c a s e s w h e r e t h r e e b r o t h e r s o f t h e s a m e
b a p t i s m a l n a m e w e r e d i s t in g u i s h e d a s E l d e s t , M i d d l e m o s t , a n d
Y o u n g e s t , I f ee l l i t t l e d o u b t t h a t in t h i s c a s e w e m a y s a fe l y l e a v e
M i c h a e l m a s t o t h e b i rd s m o s t i n t e r e s t e d in t h a t s e a s o n .
M O W C O M B E R
: poss ib ly a fo rm of M o n te G om er i i , t h e f i rs t
sy l l ab le hav ing behaved l ike tha t o f M O W B R A Y .
N O B R I G H T .
W e m i g h t h e s i t a t e w h e t h e r t h i s s h o u l d b e d i v i d e d
s o a s t o offer a c o m p l i m e n t o r a s n e e r W a s t h e b e a r e r N o - b r i g h t ?
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o r w a s h i s N o b - r i g h t ? b u t a s ' ' a t t e ' ' i s p r e f ixed i t m u s t be l oca l ,
a n d , b e i n g f o u nd n e a r t h e g r e a t p a r k of N o r t h F r i t h , s o m e t i m e s
p r o n o u n c e d
N O R V R I G H T ,
i t m ay a r i s e f rom t h a t .
P A I N E
(of course for
P A G A N U S )
b e c a m e a s u r n a m e e a r l y , a n d t o
s o m e e x t e n t w e a r e a b l e t o p u t a d a t e t o i t s a d o p t i o n . T h e f a m o u s
l e t t e r t o t h e P o p e i n 1301 w as s i gned by E o b . F i t z p a i ne a s filius
P a g a n i , a n d , a s h i s f a t h e r w a s a l s o E o b e r t , i t i s c l ea r t h a t
F i t z P a y n e w a s a t r u e f am i ly n a m e a n d n o t m e r e l y p e r s o n a l . O f
h u m b l e r r a n k a b o u t h a lf a c e n t u r y l a t e r w a s a p l a i n P a g a n u s , b u t
h i s d e s c e n d a n t e a r l y i n t h e n e x t c e n t u r y w a s J o h n
P A I N E .
P A N K H U R S T .
S o m e y e a r s a g o t h i s n a m e w a s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e
P r e s s ,
an d i t w a s sug ges t ed t h a t i n som e ca s e s a t l e a s t i t s t ood fo r
P e n t e c o s t , b u t n o e v i d e n c e w a s g i v e n . I n h i s e a r l ie r b o o k W e e k -
l ey r e p e a t e d t h i s . H a r r i s o n , r e v ie w i n g h i m , d e n o u n c e d t h e id e a
a s d i s p o s e d of a n d f a r - f e t c h e d . I t w i l l p e r h a p s b e s u ff ic ie n t
a n s w e r t o t h i s c r it ic i s m to s a y t h a t i n E o m n e y M a r s h
P E NT E C O S T
i s a v e r y c o m m o n n a m e o n p a p e r ; b u t in t h e m o u t h s of m e n a l m o s t
u n k n o w n , b e i ng a l w a y s p r o n o u n c e d P a n k h u r s t . I c a n a ls o p o i n t
t o a r e co r d m o r e t h a n 3 0 0 y e a r s o ld w h e r e J o h n P a n k h u r s t of
S uss ex i s c a l l ed a l ia s
P E N T E C O S T .
P E C H E m i g h t m e a n fished u p , b u t d o e s n ' t , s o c a n n o t b e u s e d
a s t h e fo u n d a t i o n of a c l a i m t o a d e s c e n t f r o m J o n a h o r M o s e s i n
t h e b u l r u s h e s . I t s e a r l ie s t f or m is P e c c a t u m , t h e s in a
r a r e c a s e of a n a m e a r i s in g f ro m a n a b s t r a c t n o u n .
P I L B E A M .
W e e k l e y t a k e s t h i s t o b e b a r k e r of t r e e s . I t is
n o t a t r a d e n a m e a t a ll , b u t p u r e l y lo c a l , d e r i v e d f ro m t h e K e n t
m a n o r o f P E L T E B E ME . P o s s i b l y t h e p e e l i n g of t r e e s m a y c o m e
i n t o i t , fo r t h e m a n o r i a l l a n d m a r k m a y h a v e b e e n s o m e p e e l e d
t r e e .
Q U A T E R B U C H E S . W e e k l e y s a y s a n i c k n a m e , e v i d e n tl y t a k i n g
i t t o m e a n f o u r m o u t h s , w h i c h i s p o o r s e n s e u n l e s s i t r e fe r s
to a w ou nd seve r i ng bo t h t h e up p e r an d t h e l owe r l i p . I t m a y ,
h o w e v e r , p o s si bl y m e a n s k e w - m o u t h e d , fo r w e h a v e a w o r d
in d ai ly u s e in K e n t , c a t e r , w h i ch m e a n s d i a g o n a l . T h i s
wo u l d a l so g i ve a m or e sa t i s f ac t o r y sen se t o
Q U A T E E M A I N S .
S N O O K .
W e e k l e y s a y s f ro m S e v e n o a k s , t h e c l a s si c a l
e x a m p l e ; b u t t h e r e a r e d if fic u lti es . I t i s a m p l y p r o v e d t h a t
o n e S n o o k w a s c o n n e c t e d w i t h S e v e n o a k s 5 0 0 y e a r s a g o . B u t t h e
p lace i s ca l l ed
S E N N O C K
wi th a s t ro ng ac ce n t on th e first sy l l a b le ,
and t he r e f o r e wou l d no t ea s i l y f o r m
S N O C K .
I f i t d id w e sho u ld
e x p e c t t o find c a s e s of D e S n o o k ; b u t w e d o n ' t . O n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , we do find t he na m e of L e
S NO K E ,
an d on t h e wh o l e t h e
popu l a r de r i va t i on i s ha r d t o swa l l ow .
S T E E L .
A c o p i o u s s o u r c e of t h i s i n t h e N o r t h of E n g l a n d h a s
b e e n m i s s e d b y H a r r i s o n a n d t h e o t h e r s . I t m e a n s a s l op i n g
bu t t r e s s t o a h i l l .
S T U T F I E L D .
H a r r i s o n s e e m s t o t h i n k t h a t
S T O V E L
i s t h e t r u e
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of E s t o u t e v i l l e , w h i c h h e s a y s m e a n s f a r m of
13
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S t o u t . H e qu otes de Stotevile in 1260 and de Stovile in 1274.
But to me the early appearance of the second name lessens the
likelihood of its being a corruption of the first, which we know to
have gone on un altere d for cen turies after th a t. Th e chang e of
-ville to -field is of course very general.
V I V E R S . W eekley say s th is is from a gen eral te rm for food
and drink ' ' ; but does it not stand for the familiar De Vivariis, ' ' of
th e fishponds ?
In conclusion let me add to a paper already unduly long one
word to explain why I said th a t in working out th is subjec t even
the hum bles t can h e lp . They can help mainly in three ways
By noting (1) when and how in any pedigree with which they
are familiar the surname has been modifiede.g. Ellerington-
Elr ing tonBldr ing tonElder ton .
(2) How and when title-deeds or parish registers prove the
replacement of one form by another.
(3) The invaluable al ia s , such as Plu m be r als Plu m -
be rro w , Cateline als C ate lo yn e. B y intell igent use of these
three sources we shall escape from irresponsible guesswork and
ultim ately arrive at a really com prehen sive Prov ed and D ated
His tory of Surnames .