514 
A M 
NAMAN'DA, a town of Japan, in the ifland of Ni- 
phon : thirty-two miles fouth-fouth-weft of Iga. 
NAMAQUA'S, a people of Africa, near the weft coaft, 
north of the Cape of Good Hope. 
NAMAS'KET, a river of Connefticut, which runs 
into Narraganfet-bay. 
NAMAS'KET. See Middleborough. 
NAMA'TION, f. [ namatio, Lat.] Inlaw, the aft of 
diftraining, or taking a diftrefs. See Naam. In Scotland 
the word is particularly ufed for impounding. 
NAMBAL'LA, a town of Peru, in the audience of 
Quito: forty miles north-weft of Jaen de Bracamoros. 
NAM'BE, a town of New Mexico : forty miles north 
of Santa Fe. 
NAMBIOO'R, a town of Hindooftan, in Myfore: 
twenty miles weft of Erroad. 
NAMBU', a feaport of Japan, on the eaft coaft of the 
Ifland of Niphon : two hundred miles north of Jeddo. 
Lat. 38. 58. N. Ion. 14.2. 20. E. 
NAM'BY-PAM'BY, adj. Having little aftefted pretti- 
nefles. AJh. —A cant term, or rather a term of contempt. 
Todd. 
NAMDO', an ifland in the Baltic, near the eaft coaft of 
Sweden. Lat. 59. 55. N. Ion. 18. 10. E. 
NAME,/! [namo, Goth, n am a, Sax. naem, Dut.] The 
difcriminative appellation of an individual.—He called 
their names after the names his father had called them. 
Gen. xxvi. 18. 
Thoufands there were in darker fame that dwell, 
Whofe names fome nobler poem fliall adorn. Dryden. 
Proper names, with us, are either called Chrijlian-names, 
as being given at baptifm ; or frnames, from the fire, or 
father. Of the diftinftion between fir-names and J'ur-names, 
we fliall fpeak farther on. 
Originally, every perfon had but one name; as among 
the Jews, Adam, See. among the Egyptians, Bufiris; 
among the Chaldees, Ninas; the Medes, Aftyagcs; the 
Greeks, Diomedcs; the Romans, Romulus; the Gauls, 
j Oivitiacus; the Germans, Ariovijlus; the Britons, Cafi- 
belun; the Englifh, Hengift, &c. And thus of other 
nations, except the favages of Mount Atlas, whom Pliny 
and Marcellinus reprefent as anonymi, “ namelefs.” And 
Lichtenftein, a late traveller into Southern Africa, aflerts 
pofitively, that the Bosjefmans have no names, and feem 
not to feel the want of fuch a means of diftinguifliing one 
individual from another. This circumftance, which, 
without the molt exprefs teftimony, we could not have 
believed, is doubtlefs quite Angular. We thought, till 
now, that the profound obfervation with which the king 
of Pheacia begins his difeourfe to Ulyfles, “ That every 
man has a name,” was one of thofe found maxims which 
•was never to be controverted. 
The Jews gave the name at the circumcifion, viz. eight 
days after the birth : the Romans, to females the fame 
day, to males on the ninth ; at which time they held a feaft, 
called nominalia. 
The firft impofition of names was founded on different 
views, among different people j the moft common was to 
mark the good willies of the parents, or to entitle the 
children to the good fortune a happy name feemed to 
promife. Hence, Vi 61 or, Ca/lor, Faiftus, Statorius, Probus, 
Szc. Accordingly, we find fuch names, by Cicero called 
bona nomina, and by Tacitus faufta nomina, were firft en¬ 
rolled and ranged in the Roman mufters ; firft called to 
ferve at the facrifices, in the foundation of colonies, &c. 
And, on the contrary, Livy calls Atrius Umber, abomi- 
nandi omnis nomen; and Plautus, on occafton of a perfon 
named Lyco, i.e. Greedy Wolf, fays : 
Vofmet nunc facite conjcdluram ccetcrum 
Quid id fit hominis, cui Lyco nomen fiet. 
Hence, Plato recommends it to men to be careful in giv¬ 
ing happy names 5 and the Pythagoreans taught exprelsly, 
that the minds, aftions, and fuccefles, of men, were ac¬ 
cording to their names, genius, and fate. Thus Panor- 
N A M. 
mitan, ex bono nomine oritur bona prafumptio ; and the 
common proverb, Bonum nomen, bonum omen ; and hence 
the foundation of the onomomantia, or the art of divining 
the good or evil fortune which fliall befall a man, from 
the letters of his name. One of the greateft rules of 
onomancy among the Pythagoreans, was, that an even 
number of vowels in a name, flgnified an imperfeftion 
in the left fide of a man, and an odd number in the 
right. Another rule, about as good as this, was, that 
thole perfons were the moft happy, in whofe names the 
numeral letters, added together, made the greateft fum ; 
for which reafon, fay they, it was, that Achilles van- 
quilhed Heftor ; the numeral letters in the former name 
amounting to a greater number than the latter. And 
it was, doubtlels, from a principle much of the fame 
kind, that the young Romans toafted their miftrefles at 
their meetings as often as there were letters in their 
names. Thus Martial : “ Naevia fex cyathis, feptem 
Juftina bibatur.” 
The Romans paid particular regard alfo to lucky and 
unlucky names ; at public luftrations, the perfons who 
brought the viftims were required to have bona nomina r 
fortunate names ; and regard was had to the famecircum- 
ftance in railing their levies : efpecial care was taken that 
the firft man who enrolled himfelf fliould have a name of 
good augury ; and the cenfors, in taking the cenfus of 
the citizens, always began with a fortunate name, fuch as 
Valerius, Salvus, Szc. and in the abjudication of public 
property, they began with fome that had a fortunate ap¬ 
pellation, boni ominis ergo. Feftus relates, that the feru- 
pulous regard to names of good and bad omen was fo 
minute and excefiive among the Romans, that the women, 
during their pregnancy, offered facrifices to the goddefs 
Egeria, becaufe the name Egeria had a clofe relation to 
child-delivery, “ quod earn putarent facile feetum alvo 
egerere." When Julia, the wife of the emperor Severus, 
had rendered herfelf infamous by her debauched and pro¬ 
fligate courfe of life, her hufband confoled himfelf for his 
misfortune, by his belief that her name was one of bad 
omen ; all who had borne this name, in his opinion, hav¬ 
ing been remarkable for loofe and lewd manners. This 
idea is purfued in an admirable vein of irony by Sterne in 
his Trirtram Shandy. 
The abbe Barthelemi (Travels of Anacharfis, vol. v.) 
mentions it as a circumftance worthy of attention, that the 
greater part of names found in Homer are marks of dif¬ 
tinftion. They were given in honour of the qualities 
moft efteemed in the heroic ages. From the word polemos* 
which fignifies “ war,” have been formed Tlepolemus and 
Archepolemus, the names of two heroes mentioned in the 
Iliad. The former name fignifies “ able to fupport,” and 
the latter, “ able to direft, the labours of war.” By 
adding to the word mache, or “ battle,” certain prepofi- 
tions and different parts of fpeech, which modify the fenfe 
in a manner always honourable, are compofed the names 
Amphimachus, Antimachus, Promachus, Telemachus, 
Szc. Proceeding in the fame way, with the word lionorea, 
“ ftrength or intrepidity,” they formed the names Aga- 
penor, “ he who efteems valour j” Agenor, “ he who di- 
refts it.” From thoes, “ fwift,” are derived, Alcathoes, 
Panthoes, Perithoes, Szc. From nous, “ mind or intelli¬ 
gence,” come Aftynoes, Arfinoes, Autenoes, Szc. From 
medes, “counfel,” Agamedes, Eumedes,Lycomedes,Thra- 
fymedes ; and from olios, “ glory,” Amphicles, Agacles, 
Iphicles, Patroclu^, Cleobulus, with many others. 
Hence Camden takes it for granted, that the names, in 
all nations and languages, are fignificative, and not fimple 
founds for mere dillinftion’s fake. This holds not only 
among the Jews, Greeks, Latins, Szc. but even the-Turks; 
among whom, Abdalla fignifies God’s Servant, Soliman, 
Peaceable j Mahomet, Glorified, Szc. and the favages of 
Hifpaniola, and throughout America, who, in their lan¬ 
guages, name their children, Glijlering, Light, Sun, Bright, 
Fine, Gold, Szc. and they of Congo,, by the names of pre¬ 
cious ftones, flowers, Szc. 
3 
The 
