202 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 148. 



language.* And, as descriptions of places and 

 persons are transcribed for the most part from one 

 such document into anothei', this error is per- 

 petuated, to the infinite bewilderment and discom- 

 iiture, not only of the etymologist, but also, which 

 is of far more consequence, of the conveyancer and 

 the genealogist. 



Although it must be admitted that, when rightly 

 tmderstood, the vulgar provincial sound of a word, 

 if it be one of native growth, is frequently our 

 safest clue to its unde derivatur, still the misspel- 

 ling, mispronunciation, and other changes surnames 

 are perpetually undergoing, as they spread them- 

 selves over a country, present obstacles in the way 

 of tracing personal designations to their true 

 origin, which demand much diligent inquiry and 

 local information to surmount. I have met with 

 many a man who could not give me what I knew 

 to be his own proper name with any approach to 

 correctness ; and thus, as my own experience 

 testifies, Edmondson is transformed into Emmer- 

 son, Immerson, and Impson ; Parrington into 

 Parnton, Panton, and Barnton ; Peremore into 

 Perramore and Palmer, &c. Still, such like acci- 

 dental and unintentional effects of blundering ig- 

 norance, for similar varla; lectiones rarely exist in 

 reference to the patronymics of the educated 

 classes, are not, I would suggest, sufficient to 

 justify Mr. Lower's remark "(Vol. v., p. 509.), 

 "That family names have scarcely become liere- 

 ditary, in some parts of England, even now in the 

 middle of the nineteenth century." The right 

 name is still there, and is meant to bo expressed, 

 if its owner did but know how. But until we can 

 all of us " speak, read, and write with propriety," 

 such like variations must continually occur ; nor, 

 I would beg W. L. (Vol. v., p. 424.) to observe, do 

 they at all invalidate the somewhat indefinite 

 statement made by me (Vol. v., p. 290.), that 

 " surnames were not completely adopted by the 

 mass of the people until the close of the fourteenth 

 century." 



AVe find, however, " in many isolated parts of 

 the country," as that statement asserts, occasional 

 instances of " a total change from one designation 

 to another," that is to say, a person obtains a nick- 

 name, and this, here and there, as in the case re- 

 ferred to by E. S. (Vol. v., p. 425.), may haply 

 supersede his paternal name, and be transmitted 

 to his children. But this is an unwarranted irre- 

 gularity, for, after all, the newly adopted appellative 

 does not legally belong to him ; and its use, in 

 certain proceedings, might subject him to unplea- 



* What would the sharpest London reporter make 

 of the following, when spoken by a native of the Fells, 

 " En udder blae el doat ? " What again of the ex- 

 clamation of an " Owdhum" gossip, " Farttle be ith' 

 Foyar ? " But both these expressions are pure English 

 nevertheless. 



sant consequences. The truth is, a man, propria 

 motu, may not lawfully divest himself of his pa- 

 rental surname ; it descends to him as an inde- 

 feasible inheritance ; and, till within the last few- 

 years, no less a sanction than that of a solemn act 

 of the legislature was necessary to enable him to 

 change or modify it, though now the licence of the 

 crown alone suffices for that purpose. 



The still prevailing custom referred to by 

 W. L. (Vol. v., p. 424.), of distinguishing an in- 

 dividual by the addition of his father's or mother's 

 Christian name to his own Christian name, and 

 which, I may remark, is by no means confined to 

 the locality indicated by that coi'respondent, will 

 in itself immediately account for the anomalous 

 personal description to which he alludes as occur- 

 ring temp. Car. I. I could readily exemplify this 

 custom by innumerable instances, some of them 

 sufficiently curious, e.g. "Matty Johan N^ed," 

 " Dick o' Dick o' Dicky's," &c., and point to other 

 similar peculiarities of a highly suggestive cha- 

 racter. It is enough, however, to invite especial 

 attention to these accidental names, in the use of 

 which multitudes of existing surnames had their 

 origin ; and the places to look for them in most 

 abundance are those where the same family de- 

 signations largely prevail, as in Wensleydale, 

 amongst the ISIetcalfes and DInsdales, and in 

 AVeardale amongst the Featherstons and AValtons. 

 Old parish registers, again, will amply reward the 

 labour of investigation ; they are full of illustrative 

 matter. Cowgili.. 



A. C.'s excellent observations on the assumption 

 of surnames embolden me to offer a suggestion 

 which, I conceive, if commonly adopted, would 

 tend to clear up family history very remarkably. 

 Suppose that every child was given as a second 

 name (between his Christian and surname) that of 

 his mother's family. By this means the cotem- 

 porary branches of each family would be instantly 

 distinguished, and after the lapse of a iQvr gene- 

 rations, the clue to the maternal lines would be of 

 incalculable service. Thus, three brothers, Charles, 

 llobert, and Thomas Bussell, marry respectively 

 Mary Howard, Anne Somerset, and Jane Caven- 

 dish. Tiie children of Charles Russell and Mary 

 Howard are Charles Howard Russell, William 

 Howard Russell, and Mary Howard Russell. 

 Their cousins, the children of Robert Russell and 

 Anne Somerset, are Richard Somerset Russell 

 and Charles Somerset Russell. The third branch 

 similarly are Cavendish Russells. By this means 

 there can be no confusion between cousins, even 

 if two or more should bear a favourite Christian 

 name ; and in speaking of the various branches 

 collectively, there would be great convenience in 

 designating not only the family but the generation, 

 as the " Somerset Russells," the " Howard Rus- 

 sells," &c. Of course in the second generation 



