28 USE AND ORIGIN OF SURNAMES. 
form of proper names in subsequent times adopted 
by the Irish, Scots, and Welsh, was either bor- 
rowed from former usage among more ancient 
nations, or adopted as that which naturally occurs 
to the minds of men in all places and times. In 
these languages the particles Mac, Map, and Ap 
prefixed to personal names mean son; but O’, I 
imagine, refers in most instances to the place of 
residence. This last mentioned mode was com- 
mon in England before the introduction of sur- 
names as now used, of performing the same office 
as the Irish O’; thus Florence of Worcester, 
William of Malmesbury, John of Gaunt, with 
many more. It may be here added, that the 
prefix fitz—from the Norman French fi/s—is still 
used in some instances—chiefly in cases of illegi- 
timacy—to indicate the relation of son. 
In the second class of surnames I place those 
which have the termination ton. This termina- 
tion, whether occurring in surnames, or in the 
names of pluces, is an abbreviation of the word 
a reference to the nation, character, or some circumstance 
peculiar to the individual; as, KAeredyc Kopibwe, 
Aoptoroénpoe 6 Muxpoc, appacwe 6 Zwypapoc. In Latin 
the cognomen often expresses a characteristic distinction, as 
Lucius Junius Brutus. 
