Surnames of Rank , Office, and Occupation. 9 
It should be said that the use of two Christian names, now so 
common, was an unusual thing before 1800. The heroes of the 
Revolution were content with two names each, including the 
surname. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are exam¬ 
ples. These names serve merely for the beginning of some mod¬ 
ern names. 
SURNAMES OF RANK, OFFICE, AND OCCUPATION. 
From the frequency of the name King, one might think that 
“ kinging it ” was at one time a very common occupation in 
England; but the name is, of course, always a nickname, having 
at least three different sources, and belongs properly in the next 
class. In the first place, a person with a haughty bearing some¬ 
times found himself dubbed King, much against his will. 
The name of Shakespeare’s comedy, “ Twelfth-Night, ” calls 
to mind the festivities which marked the twelfth day after Christ¬ 
mas, or Epiphany. The three wise men, whose visit to the 
Saviour was commemorated at that time, were known in legend 
as “ the three kings. ” A person who took the part of one of 
these royal visitors in a rude Twelfth-Night representation of the 
coming of the Magi, might henceforward be called King. Again, 
the old English custom of marking shops as well as inns with 
some distinctive sign, and the known popularity of “crowned 
heads ” for use upon sign-boards, makes it almost certain that 
King sometimes meant originally at-the-sign-of-the-king. 
Of the names derived from occupation, I will select a few 
which need special explanation. Day means dairyman. Chap¬ 
man means the same as merchant (Kaufmann); his goods were 
cheap. Clark was a clergyman, or one who, like a clergyman 
(clericus), was a scholar. The Barbers were also surgeons. 
Fletcher was an arrow-maker (la fleche, an arrow). Scribner 
was a writer (scrivener) by trade. The Arkwright made the 
great chests, called “ arks, ” in which the family valuables were 
kept; or less elaborate ones used as bins for the family flour. 
Bagster and Baxter (bake-ster) were plain Bakers; -ster origin¬ 
ally denoted a woman, as in spin-ster, but lost that special 
meaning. 
Let us put together names that come from the manufacture 
