72 



PEESONAL NAMES. 



By Peter Haeeison, (Keswick.) 



I jjurpose in this paper on " Peksonal Names," to take a passing 

 glance at their origin and significance, and — in order to relieve the dryness 

 of the subject — to add such little bits of history or anecdote as I have met 

 with in connection with some of these names. 



I use the term " Personal Names " i.e. the names of persons or 

 individuals, in contradistinction to the term " Local Names," or the names 

 of places. Nomenclature may be defined either as the science of name- 

 giving, or as that science which investigates the principles upon which 

 names are given, and forms a branch of what is termed Philoloytj, which 

 latter term, as understood at the present day, is a very large and a very 

 wide subject indeed, embracing as it does the whole science of language 

 or speech, but which fortunately it is not necessary to my present purpose 

 to enter into upon this occasion. Indeed, if you consider for a moment 

 how multitudinous is the variety of names found in the Directory of one 

 of our large towns or cities, or even in a single copy of one of our Daily 

 Papers, e.g. the " Times" or " Telegraph," and if you still further consider 

 that every one of these different names has a history and significance of its 

 own — although we may not always be able to get at the correct inter- 

 pretation—you will readily understand that the subject I have taken in 

 hand is a very large one of itself : so large, in fact, that it would be 

 altogether impossible to do full justice to it in the compass of a single 

 paper. I am therefore under the necessity of confining myself chiefly to a 

 consideration of one branch of the subject, viz., to that of Surnames, which 

 will however necessitate occasional references to Prtnomens, or what we 

 understand by baptismal or Christian names. 



