•29 



Many of these names, however, have undergone a second abbreviation. 

 Thus, Johns has become Jones, Davids Davis, and Harry's Harris. 



As however these christian names are but few in number, when 

 they become surnames, descending from father to son, their paucity 

 renders them comparatively useless. Thus it is not uncommon in 

 Wales to find a whole village populated with Jones, Williams, Roberts, 

 and some half dozen other patronymics of this kind ; and this may in 

 some degree account for the very limited number of Welsh names. 



In Ireland, and Scotland, the Celtic form of the sire-name was 

 obtained by prefixing the little word "Mac," equivalent to our 

 " son," as in Mac-Donald or Donaldson, Mac-Pherson, Mac-Neile, 

 Mac-Rae, and Mac-Ready. 



Another fonn of the sire-name in these two countries takes its rise 

 from the prefix " Oy " or " 0," meaning a " grandson." Thus, we have 

 O Connell, Connor, and Neil, the latter signifying Neilsou, or 

 rather " Neil's grandson." The wits have been as facetious on the 

 " Macs " and " 0" 's as on the " Aps." Witness the following well- 

 known translation of two well-known Latin lines : — 



" By Mac and O 



" You '11 always know 



" True Irishmen they say ; 



" For if they lack 



" Both O and Mac, 



" No Irishmen are they." 



Other Celtic forms of the patronymic which prevail in these coun- 

 tries, are obtained (Ij by prefixing the word Clann (= offspring or chil- 

 dren), as in Clanricarde (= Richardson), Clann Dounell, i.e. Donald's 

 children or the Macdonalds ; (2) by the afiix " ach," an abbreviation of 

 the Celtic " Merch," a daughter, as in Gnogarach (:= Mac-gregor) 

 Grantach, &c. ; and (3) in Irish sire-names, by the prefix " ni " or 

 " nic," a daughter, as Mabel ni Neill, i.e. Mabel Neill, Caitrin 

 Mc Seain, or Catharine Johnson. 



Among the Saxons, the sire-name had a great variety of forms. One 

 of the oldest of these was obtained by the affi.xing of "ing" (meaning 

 offspring), to the father's name.- Thus in a genealogy of the West 

 Saxon Kings we have Edgar Eadmunding, Edwarding, and so on up to 

 Seefing, which Seef (adds the chronicler) was Noah's son, a specimen of 

 carrying the pedigree tolerably high. So too in the Anglo-Saxon trans- 

 lations of the Bible, we find the son of Elisha called Elising ; and the 



♦ All these terminations, " o," " ing," " ock," " o'kin," are constantly used as diminutires ; 

 " inj?," for instance, in such words as " dnMing," " gosMng," " iXarling ;" " ock," in " hillocJ:," 

 "l)iilluc/f,' " kin," as in " lambfcin," " maiinikin." The diminutives "et' and " ey," are also 



