Qn Proper frames, s27if 



T5ne name was mentioned, it was understood to have been for 

 the sake of brevity, as Cicero remarks ; nomen cum dicemus^ 

 cognomen quoque et agnomen intelligantur oportet. Many of 

 their surnames were evidently taken from the Greek, as Cato, 

 Priscus, Coccus, &c. ^'^^ ^^^'" '". 



I shall not say much respecting the proper names of the 

 nations of modern Europe, because what I have to remark 

 concerning English names will comprise nearly all that is 

 essential to the subject. It is observable, that the French, 

 even more than the English, confine their sirnames principally 

 to the names of places : in general, the individual's place of 

 birth, residence, property, or patrimony. They have very few 

 patronymics, (in the sense in which that word has been used in 

 this essay,) but a considerable number of such as may be 

 called capricious, attributive, or, in English, nick-names. The 

 great mass, however, as before observed, are derived from 

 names of places, as 



Jean du Vivier , . John of the fish-pond. 



Guillaume de Rouen . William of Rouen. 



Matilde de le Bastide . Matilda of the cottage. 



Pierre de la Metairie . Peter of the farm. 



Louise du Mont . . Louisa of the mountain. 



Lisette du Tertre . . Lisette of the little hill. 



The capricious or attributive names are much less fre- 

 quent, as 



Jean Jacques Rousseau John James the red-haired. 



Robert de I'oiseau . . Robert of the bird. 



Henri le gros . . . Henry the fat. 



Baptiste le petit . . Baptiste the little. 



Marie la bonne . . . Mary the good. 



Jeannette le sage . . Jane the wise. 



We come now to British sirnames, and this branch of 

 the subject, it must be confessed, is abundantly copious, from 

 the variety of stirpes, or national mixtures, and foreign inser- 

 tions, from which our actual population is derived. 1 shall, 

 however, attempt no more than a very concise sketch, merely 

 in the hope of imparting to such as have never paid particular 

 attention to the subject, some information on a matter con- 



