September 26, 1918 
LAND 6? WATER 
13 
Life and Letters Qj J X Squire 
\ 
Surnames 
IN spite of the paper shortage and a noticeable distrac- 
tion that need not be specified, the learned still manage 
to continue their labours on certain elaborate standard 
works. Amongst these is Mr. Henry Harrison's 
Surnames of the United Kingdom : A Concise Etymo- 
logical Dictionary, which has been coming out in parts for a 
very long time. The publishers (the Morland Press, 190 
Ebury Street) have just sent me vol. 11., part 21. A stranger 
opening it at the dictionary instalment would have something 
of a shock. For the first page contains consecutively series 
of entries like this : 
ECKm)ART!~(Ger.) Sword - Brave [Q.H. Ger. ecka, 
ECKERT 1 weapon-point, sword + hart, hard, brave] 
The A.-Sax. Ecgh(e)ard. 
EDELMANlSf (Ger.) Nopleman [O.H.Ger. edili, noble + 
man[n'\ 
EDELSTEIN (Ger.) Precious Stone ; Jewel [O.H.Ger. 
edili, noble -i- stein, stone] 
EHRLICH (Ger.) Honourable [f. O.H.Ger. era, honour 
+ the adj. sufiE. -licK] 
EHRMANN (Ger.) Honourable Man ; Worthy [f. O.H. 
Ger. era, honour + man(n] 
ELKAN (Heb.) an apocopated form of Elkanah (Vulgate 
JLlcana) = Possession of God, or Whom God hath 
Redeemed [Heb. Elqanah ; i. El, God, and qanah, to 
possess, redeem] 
ENGEL (Ger.) i the first elem. of various compd. names 
(see following) : it is the sing, of the national name 
(O.E. Engle, Angles or English : see England in Diet.) 
[The etym. is an O.Teut. word for 'meadov^,' 'grass- 
land,' seen in O.N. eng, M.Dut. engh, and O.L.Ger. and 
O.H.Ger. angar (mod. Ger. anger), in which last the -ar 
is really a pi. suff. corresp. to the O.N. pi. -iar, -jar {engiar, 
meadows) : -el is the dim. suff.] 
2 Angel [see Angel in Diet.] 
Should a copy fall into the hands of Mr. Billing he might 
hastily conclude that the situation was even worse than he 
had realised, and that the British race, with the exception 
of himself, had completely died out. Reference to the index 
explains this alarming sequence. The dictionary proper has 
already been completed, and the present instalment is part 
of an appendix covering the Principal Foreign Names found 
in British directories. No English names are given except 
a few in a list of "amendments and additions" at the end. 
Amongst these is "Garvin," which is defined as "the Fr.- 
Teut. form of the A.-Sax. Garwine - Spear - Friend." 
The instalment, being foreign, is not so interesting to an 
Englishman as its predecessors. "Pinto," it appears, is 
Portuguese for "Chick," or "Chickling"; "Schenck" is 
German for "Wine and Spirit Retailer," and the entry of 
Schiller runs pathetically as fpBows : 
SCHILLER (Ger.) Squinter [for Ger. schieler, squinting 
person ; f. schel. M.H.Ger. schel (ch. O.H.Ger, scelah, 
awry, squint-eyed] 
Many admirers of the German poet, however, prefer 
to connect his name with Ger. schiller, i' colour-play,' 
'irridescence.' 
We are not all of us, however, philologists. Philology has 
got beyond the ordinary reader. In Dr. Johnson's day 'one 
was still allowed to put up a little speculation of one's own 
without the slightest knowledge of Celtic, M.H.Ger., or 
O.H.Ger. Nares, in his Glossary, says that in the generation 
before his a commentator on the old word "gallimaufry" 
(hotch-potch) seriously suggested that it was originally a 
fry made for the maws of galley-slaves. When philology 
was at that stage of development the determination of name- 
origins would have made an agreeable round game. But 
we have got past this, and only the experts are able to express 
an opinion. The ordinary reader will get entertainment only 
out of the selected results of research, 
it * * * * * 
In his Introduction, Mr. Harrison gives a variety of amusing 
detail. It is nothing new that Smith is the commonest 
^ English surname ; but there are some surprises amongst 
the next nineteen : Jones, Williams, Taylor, Davies, Brown, 
Thomas, Evans, Roberts, Johnson, Wilson, Robinson, Wright, 
Wood, Thompson, Hall, Green, Walker, Hughes, Edwards. 
This, be it observed, is a list* for England, including Wales. 
The Welsh element is very noticeable ; the reason is that 
Wales is abnormally poor in surnames. Ahnost every 
Welshman derives his surname from a Christian name, 
either via "Ap-" (Ap-Hugh = Pugh) or via the genitive 
(Hugh's [son] = Hughes). John, William, David, Evan, and 
Robert being the surnames almost exclusively affected by 
the Welsh, the whole country is covered with Joneses, 
Williamses, etc. "In many a district Williamses, often not 
all related to one another, are ridiculously numerous, and 
various expedients have to be adopted whereby to distinguish 
one family from another." It has therefore been suggested 
that the Joneses and Williamses should adopt new names 
which the State might authorise. It would not be a bad 
plan. A Llanelly or Neath football team must be the despair 
of the reporters who have to write sentences like "Danny 
Jones got the ball from the scrum, sent a long pass across to 
Dai Jones, who in his turn disposed of the leather to the 
red-headed Dai Jones. The latter sprinted along the touch- 
line, passed to Evan Jones, who kicked across, followed up 
well, his sprightly namesake reaching the corner before 
neatly tricking Dai Jones (Neath), and at the last moment 
sending John Jones (forward) in with a pretty try right 
behind the posts." 
■* ♦ * Hi it. * 
It is in Wales that this paucity of surnames is most notice- 
able ; in England, however, it is striking in many rural 
locaHties. There are colonies of Hunkins in Cornwall, 
villages erf Greens in East-Anglia, and Mr. Harrison records 
a bad Lancashire example from the district of Marshside, 
Southport, where the names of Wright, Ball, Sutton, and 
Rimmer have to do hard service. A supper was given to 
fishermen and boatmen. At this supper "no fewer than 
thirty-one men of the name Wright were present. Of these 
twelve bore the Christian name John ; five William ; four 
Thomas ; four Robert ; two Henry ; and two Richard ; 
and, in consequence, the above-named Wrights and others 
are distinguished in the newspaper report by the following 
nicknames in brackets after the name proper : Toffy, Clogger, 
Wheel, Stem, Pluck, Diamond, Shrimp, Hutch, Cock, Sweet, 
Pantry, Fev/, Pen, Fash, Mike, Willox, Strodger, Daddy, 
Smiler, Nice, Jenny's, Manty, Fullsea, Music, Owd Ned, 
Margery, Buskin, Orchard, Siff, and Muff." In Scotland, 
"Smith" is very plentiful, being much the commonest name 
in the Lowlands. Local peculiarities are very noticeable. 
In Inverness scarcely a Smith is to be found ; but one person 
in thirty-three is a Eraser, and one in forty-three a 
Macdonald. There is something to be said for clan narhes, 
however inconvenient ; but there can be no sentimental 
attachment to names which have originated as the Welsh 
names did, and much could be said in favour of a deliberate 
change in Wales. 
* * * 41 * « 
There is on record one example of a general deliberate 
adoption of surnames with the co-operation of authority. 
In the eighteenth century millions of Jews in Central and 
Eastern Europe were compelled by their Teutonic govern- 
ors to take surnames. There was good administrative 
ground for the reform ; but instead of being allowed to 
choose their own names, the unfortunate Jews were com- 
pelled to take names given them by busy or cynical officials. 
Mr. Harrison tells a story of two Jews coming out of the 
police office : 
One of them had wisely released a little cash privately 
over the transaction, and had received a correspondingly 
respectable name — Weisheit (Wisdom). The other had to 
be more or less content with Schweisshund (Bloodhound). 
"Why Schweisshund?" said the first; "hast thou not 
paid enough ?" " Gott tmd die Welt!" returned the second 
Israelite. "I gave half my fortune to have the one letter 
'w' put in" — -which meant, euphoniously speaking, that an 
attempt had been made, in the first place, to impose on the 
unfortunate individual a German equivalent of "Dirty- 
dog." 
Other names recorded by Mr. Harrison as dating from this 
period of compulsion are Eselshaupt (Ass's-head), Kohlkopf 
(Cabbage-head, i.e.. Block-head), Kanarienvogel (Canary- 
bird), Kanalgeruch (Canal-smell), Kussemich (Kiss-me), 
Muttermilch (Mother's Milk), and Temperaturwechsel (Change 
of Temperature). He does not record the worst I have ever 
seen. It was refetred to in a recent number of New Europe 
by a writer who was discussing Prussian brutalities in Poland. 
I have forgotten what the German word was ; but the English 
for it is "Abdominal Ulcer." "The Rise of the House of 
Ulcer 1" I doubt if any patronymic on record can equal that. 
