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I 




THE 
MEANINGS AND DERIVATIONS 

OF 

CHRISTIAN NAMES. 



LOHBOir 

PBIKTBD BY BPOTTX8WOODB AXTD 00. 

BBW-BTBBBX 8QUJLBB 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



A POFULAB ACCOUNT OF THE 



MEANINGS AND DERIVATIONS OF CHBISTIAN NAMES. 



A17TH0B OP * THE FAIBT TREE,' * THE PALM TREE,' ETC. 

Let \is answer to our names. 




LONDON : 
EICHAED BENTLEY, 

PUBLISHER IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY 
1863. 

SOI . ^ . ^;5". 



PEEFACE. 



A BOOK on the same subject * by a well-known 
author having lately appeared, the writer of the 
present work assures her readers that, anxious 
as she is to behold its formidable rival, she has 
deferred that pleasure until after the publication 
of her own work. 

'What is youk Name?' was completed by 
Christmas Eve 1862, but the idea of it had long 
before suggested itself to her, — ^before, indeed, 
she was aware of any book in any language 
having been written on the subject of Christian 
Names, From the writer's first littie book she 
ventures to quote the rnoiif of her present one : — 

' She aye tell't the lassies the meanin' o' each 
o' their Christian names. " Aiblins," said she, 



♦ ^History of Christian Names/ by the Author of *The Heir 
of Keddyffe/ 1863. 



VI PREFACE. 

"thae pretty thochts may be blessed to them. 
The very ca'ing o' their names wad be a re- 
minder o' some Christian grace; for/' said the 
leddy, "the lesson ance learned, wad LaBtitia 
be sulky, or Amy be dour?"'* 



HiNTON Lodge, Bottknbmouth : 
October 17, 1863. 



• Scotch Margaret's Story: ^ The Fdry Tree/ p. 141. Nelson: 
1861. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

An Advertisement — ^All Christian or Individual Names are 
significative — ^Yalae of Names — Gk)od or evil fortune 
often attending on them — Crowns won and lost through 
the signification of Names — Story of a Spanish Princess- 
Twenty Names of a Portuguese Princess, their Derivations 
and Significations — Numerical Value of Names — Greek 
and Arabian Calculations depending thereupon — Names of 
Power— Individual Names inalienable Property — ^Advan- 
tages which may be derived from our Christian Names— 
Gk)d the first Name-giver — ^Motives influencing Choice 
of Names in Olden Times — Destinies of Names — ^Yalue 
of NamcB as Beminders— William the Helmet (or defence) 
of many — George the Sower — ^Esther the Star — Wini- 
fred the Winner or Lover of Peace — The Promise in the 
Advertisement redeemed .... page 1 



CHAPTER n. 

National Names more characteristic than their Proverbs — 
Antiquity of many Names in common use amongst our- 
selves — A great Vitality in Names — Religious Bites 
attendant on Name-giving in various Nations — Story 
from the Laxdaela Saga — ^Roman Soldiers* Names en- 
graved on their Shields 32 



VUl CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IIL 

Variety of Sabjects connected with the History of Names 
— Sovereignty in Names — Names of Ancient Dynasties 
— Certain Names attached to Royal and Noble Families 

PAGE 62 

CHAPTER IV. 

An Individual Name originally sufficient. Family Names 
adopted — ^Principles of Roman Nomenclature — The Four 
Roman Names — Nomenclators . . . .80 



CHAPTER V. 

Change of Name — ^Examples of Change of Name — Abra- 
ham — The Four Hebrew Captives — The North-American 
Indian * Brave ' — Caribs — ^Dacians— Greek Emperors and 
their Brides — ^Princesses marrying into Foreign Lands — 
Queen Dagmar of Denmark— Signification of Alexandra 
— Brunechilde of France — Eleanor of Austria — ^Popes — 
Literary Men, their Assumption of Greek and Latin 
Names — Enforced Change of Name in Ireland, Spain, and 
Scotland— The McGregors 90 



CHAPTER VL 

For one's Name's sake — Heroes, Inventors, and Discover- 
ers honoured through their Names — Sovereigns' Names 
stamped upon Coins — ^Names clinging to Old Wells — 
Stories of Lives contained in the Names of Individuals — 
Christopher Columbus — ^PoUio Vedius — Contrasts be- 
tween Lives and Names — Misnomers — St. Felicitas — 
Julius Csesar — Legends derived from Significations 
of Names — Semiramis — Monkish Legends, St. Lucia, 
St. Sophia, St. Katharine, St. Margaret — Mary Magda- 
lene — Miriam and Mary 110 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTER Vn. 

< Besoin de Nommer ' — Name-giying a Natural Instinct- 
Adam's first Work in Paradise — ^Names of Stars — Saxon 
Names of Months — Names of Animals and Plants — 
Legend of St Veronica «... paqb 140 



CHAPTER Vni. 

Curiosities of History of Names — Lucky and Unlucky 
Names — Diocletian — St. Hippolytus, &c. — Superstitions 
connected with Names—Lucky and Unlucky Letters — 
Talismans— Moses' Rod— Solomon's Seal — Abracadabra 
— Alphabets of Trees and Plants — Anagrams and Acros- 
tics— ^-Imperial Riddle ef the Vowels — Sad Story of an 
Anagram — ^Variations in a Name • '. . .154 

CHAPTER IX. 

Antiquity of our Baptismal Names — ^Bible Names the Fa- 
vourites in England — Art of Name-making died out — 
Names connected with French and English Revolutions 
characteristic — English Diminutives of Names : their 
Love for them of ancient Date — Christian Converts cling- 
ing to old Names — Origin of the Popularity of some 
Names ; Peter, Catherine, Paul, and Margaret — Succes- 
sive Causes influencing the Adoption of Names — Our 
Patron Saints, Heroes and Saints, Honoured Men and 
Women — ^Romances — ^Names beginning with Z — Sugges- 
tions for New Names from the Spanish, &c. — Nameless 
Creditors — ^Names amongst Africans, North- American 
Indians, Hindus, Jews, and Arabians . . .180 

CHAPTER X. 

The Four Nations from which our Christian Names are 
principally derived : Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Teutonic. 
Dominant Note in each — Characteristics of Hebrew atif^ 



COlffTENTS. 



CHAPTER X.'^^onHnued. 

Arabian Names — Characteristics of Greek Names — Cha- 
racteristics of Latin Names — Characteristics of Teutonic 
Names ; Origin of some of these last — Celtic and Gaelic 
Names — The undying Value of a Name — The premier 
Grenadier de France, La Tour d'Auvergne . pagb 219 

CHAPTER XI. 

Classified List of Names classed according to their Signi- 
fications—Names significative of and relating to Deity 
— Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Latin, Scandinavian, 
&c.— Notes 233 

CHAPTER XIL 

Classified List — Names signifying and significative of Ab- 
stract Qualities ; Virtue, Courage, &c. — Hebrew, Greek, 
Latin, Teutonic, Arabic, North American Indian, &c. — 
Notes 242 

CHAPTER Xm. 

Classified List — Names signifying and significative of Per- 
sonal Characteristics; Beauty, Complexion, &c. — ^Hebrew, 
Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Arabic, North American Indian, 
&c.— Notes 274 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Classified List — ^Names signifying and significative of Mis- 
cellaneous Subjects ; Animals, Plants, Numbers, Places, 
&c. — Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Arabic, North 
American Indian, &c. — Notes . . . .281 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTER L 



An advertisement — All Christian or individual names 
are significative — Value of names; good or evil fortune 
often attending on them — Crowns won and lost through 
the signification of names — Story of a Spanish princess — 
Twenty names of a Portuguese princess ; their derivations 
and significations — Numerical value of names; Greek and 
Arabian calculations depending thereupon — Names of 
power — Individual names inalienable property — Advan- 
tages which maybe derived from our Christian names — 
God the first name-giver — Motives influencing choice 
of names in olden times — Destinies of names — Value of 
a name as a reminder — William the Helmet of Many, 
George the Sower, Esther the Star, Winifred the Peace- 
winner — The promise of the advertisement redeemed — 
Individual names — Individual mottoes. 

READER, whatever your name may be, I 
think I can scarcely be wrong in supposing 
that, occasionally ^t least, you glance your eye 
down the second column of the ' Times' — sor- 
rowful, wondering, or amused as the strangely 
contrasted advertisements successively bring be- 
fore you dark glimpses into miserable homes, 

B 



2 WHAT IS YOUE NAME? 

dazzling gleams of sudden accessions of fortune, 
or oddly worded descriptions of pets strayed 
away, or missing articles. Our hearts are stirred 
by wailing cries from deserted or rifled nests: 
^ Charlie, boy, come back ; your father has for- 
given you.' ^ Minnie, darling, come home, come 
quickly, if you would see mother alive.' Tears 
are yet glistening in our eyes when we are irre- 
sistibly provoked to laughter by announcements 
of ' a red gentleman's pocket-book' having been 
lost, or ' a blue lady's umbrella,' and then some 
tantalising accounts of ^'unclaimed dividends' 
and ' heirs wanted.' 

But little filling in would be required to 
manufacture from the suggestions of that won- 
derful column a magnificent sensation novel, for 
still and ever the strangest romances are to be 
found amongst the realities of life. I am not 
now about to attempt a novel, and yet it is from 
that same column of the ' Times' that I would 
take the introduction of the subject of my book. 
Would that the tiny volume might fly half so 
far and wide as do the mighty wings of the giant 
chronicler of the day ! See, now ! 

IF any persons bearing the Christian names (surname 
in each case immaterial) of Albert, Edward, Alexander, 
Godfrey, Edmund, or Gut — Anne, Elizabeth, Dorothy, 
Beatrice, Edith, or Emily — ^will apply at Messrs. , 

on the day of , they will hear of something to their 

ftdvantage. 

Do you smile, reader? Nay, if you will laugh 
outright, ' strike, but hear ! ' laugh, but listen! 



VALUE OF NAMES. 3 

Bold as it may seem, yet do I in all humility 
trust that to all my readers bearing such names, 
and to many, very many more besides,* I may 
make my promise good, that they shall hear of 
something to their advantage. 

It may be they have heard my good news 
before, but good news bears twice telling ; and in 
these days of being * en rapport ' who shall say 
that the kindly feeling in my heart towards my 
known and unknown readers may not commu- 
nicate itself to theirs ? Our journeyings will be 
over many lands, and backwards into distant 
ages — ^the skeletons of dead nations will live again 
for us — at the graves of the mighty we may learn 
precious truths — so may we also from the birds of 
the air and the flowers of the field. Sometimes 
merry, sometimes grave, always in earnest, some 
pleasant moments may be ours, and parting good 
friends we may look to meet again. 

In the nineteenth century fortune is supposed 
to wait on surnames only. Their importance is 
universally acknowledged, and there is no lack 
of treatises corresponding to the interest which 
they excite. But is not the value of Christian 
names comparatively ignored, except where 
children are named after godfathers, godmothers, 

♦ In a classified list at the end of the volume will be found up- 
wards of 1,600 names and their significations. An alphabetical 
index will refer to all Christian names at all likely to be in use 
amongst ourselves. Many names omitted in lists hitherto published 
are here mentioned, and their derivations and meanings suggested 
by the writer. To such names an ' /$" is attached, 

B 2 



4 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

relations, or friends, either for love's sake or for 
prudential motives? 

Little Stephens and Margarets are often ex- 
pected to benefit at some future time by the tie 
which links them to their namesakes. These 
hopes may or may not be fulfilled; meanwhile, 
are there none who remember to tell the little 
ones that in each pretty name of itself there 
is value untold ? Lovely reminders are they of 
treasures surely to be won, if rightly sought, 
and beyond all possibility of mischance. 

Little Stephens, forget not the crowns you may 
win ! Sweet Margarets — pearls and daisies— do 
not discredit to the exquisite significance of your 
name ! 

In one of the volumes of the British Essayists 
( ' The Adventurer ' ) a pretty tale is to be found, by 
Dr. John Hawksworth, a friend of Dr. Johnson's. 
Amurath, a sultsm of the East, succeeding in 
early youth to his father's throne, is oppressed by 
a sense of unfitness for his great responsibilities. 
He is visited by a benevolent genie, who bestows 
on him an invaluable counsellor and friend in 
the shape of a talismanic ring. This ring con- 
tains a ruby of surpassing lustre and richness of 
colour ; but whenever, in thought, word, or deed, 
the young Prince is about to err, the golden 
circlet presses his finger, and he beholds the 
magic gem become dim and pale. 

Do we not carry about with us, each one of us, 
our own especial talisman? Not mute, like the 



VHi 



ELOQUENCE 0!F NAMES. 



ring of Amurath, but hourly sounding in our 
ears its peculiar note — it may be of warning — it 
may be of encouragement, telling of high aims 
and glorious rewards. 

Not here the fitting place to dwell upon 
the best and dearest privileges attached to all 
Christian names. One only glance at the ineffable 
bliss awaiting those who by such names (their 
angel names, as we may imagine they will be) 
are adopted into the family of heaven — one only 
glance — and then, bearing the gladsome recol- 
lection in. our hearts, we will pass on to the 
present temporal advantages that it would seem 
may be derived from almost all individual names 
in common use amongst ourselves. 

Why should these names, which are in many 
cases rich with suggestive eloquence, fall on our 
ears but as empty sounds? 

Why should not that poor peevish discontented 
Laetitia {gladness) strive to connect with the 
calling of her Christian name an endeavour after 
the Christian grace of 'cheerfulness?' And 
those undutiftd children, John and Jane — causes 
of worry as they are to all around them — why 
should they not learn, and benefit by the learning, 
that they continually contradict the beautiful 
meaning of their names, signifying in Hebrew 
GodJs gracious gift ? 

Of surnames, the value of many is confessed 
by everyone. They are an inheritance of them- 
selves — good fortune waits upon them. The 



6 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

old Eoman proverb, 'Nomen et omen/ holds 
good in our day. There are Lceliuses amongst 
ourselves of whom it may be said, not only that 
their names are synonymous with ' bonus augur,' 
and that all they foretell is certain to come to 
pass, but also that all they attempt is sure to 
succeed. 

Who does not know that ' wagging of ancient 
pows,' cheerily perpendicular^ whereby members 
of certain families are assured of success in all 
their undertakings; and that other * wagging,' 
solemnly horizontal^ that foredooms others — * poor 
Such-a-one ' — to certain failure ? 

And why is this? Trace back the family 
histories, and you will find that it was no blind 
chance, but sterling worth, that first caused its 
current value to be stamped on the coin. Family 
honours are gained. ' Noblesse oblige.' Men seek 
to live up to their name. 

There is inexpressible value in names ! The 
prince of poets — ^the magician by whose wand 
the secrets of all hearts are laid bare — is quoted 
to justify a contrary belief. But in whose mouth 
does Shakspeare put those words: ' What's in a 
name?' It is the indignant protest of an im- 
passioned girl against the wide-spread feeling 
(prejudice, if you will) which the very vehemence 
of her remonstrance showed that she knew but 
too well did exist. 

And still, as in that Italian city of old, there 
are Montagues and Capulets! Against the 



CROWNS WON AND LOST. 7 

Stubborn rocks of family prejudice, ah ! how many 
young hearts are daily wrecked? What avail 
fresh winds and full tide setting fair for glad 
havens where eager barks would be, when stony 
barriers uprear themselves between, which no 
daring, no skill can surmount? With the wrecks 
of gallant ships so shattered the waves of this 
troublesome world are strewn. 

Not dreamy-eyed Romance alone, but her 
grave sister History, tells us strange facts as to 
the value of names, actually in themselves, even 
when unconnected with family associations. 

With the Romans auspicious names were ever 
in the ascendant. Amongst innumerable ex- 
amples we need only instance here Regalianus, 
elected emperor by the Roman soldiers solely on 
account of the royalty suggested by his name. 
But Hghtly won, alas ! lightly lost — he did not 
long wear the crown of the Caesars. On an 
equally sudden impulse the troops put their 
newly-elected emperor to death. His name gave 
him a crown, but could not preserve to him his 
life. 

A still more singular instance of a name, and 
a Christian name, influencing the destiny of an 
individual, is told by Herrera, the Spanish his- 
torian. Louis VIII. of France, sumamed ' Coeur 
de Lion,' desiring a Spanish princess for his 
bride, ambassadors were sent to the court of 
Madrid. The eldest and the most beautiful of 
the royal sisters was the one destined by her 



8 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

own family to share the diadem of France. But 
where was the wise fairy godmother who in all 
nursery tales presides at the naming of beautiful 
princesses? At the cradle of the unfortunate 
eldest daughter of Spain, it would seem, there was 
no fairy godmother, nor even an earthly sponsor 
gifted with musical ear or sBsthetic tastes — her 
name Urraca, harsh in sound, was in its significa- 
tion yet more objectionable, for in Spanish it 
signified a magpie. 

A magpie queen, and to mate with a lion- 
heart ? Impossible ! The dismayed ambassadors 
felt themselves compelled to reject the young 
beauty. Her name had deprived her of a noble 
husband and of a crown. The lovely Urraca saw 
her younger sister (less fair than herself, except 
in name) preferred before her, and Blanche the 
Fair of Castile was carried in triumph to France 
to become the honoured wife of Louis the Lion- 
heart, and the proud mother of St. Louis. 

In this singular story of so great a mishap 
attending an iU-chosen name we may, perhaps, 
find the key to the custom of an extraordinary 
number of names being always bestowed on 
princesses of Spain and the neighbouring king- 
dom of Portugal. 

The ' Saxe-Gotha Almanack' (1862) tells us 
of a little Portuguese princess who has been 
endowed with no less than twenty names, derived 
from five different languages^chosen with due 
regard to mellifluous syllables, fortunate associa- 



TWENTY NAMES PORTUGUESE PRINCESS. 



tions with angelic and saintly namesakes, and, 
with the exception of the hallowed first name, all 
having pleasing significations : — 



Hebrew — ^Maria (Mary), Bitter- 
ness, 

Hebrew — Jos6, One raised vp, 

Latin — Beatrix, Making blessed. 

Hebrew — Joanna (John), God^s 
pracious gift, 

GVwA— Eulalie (/8) {i^XoKoq), 
8peahing sweetly, 

Teutonic — Leopoldina ( Leo- 
pold, Leof pold); Beloved and 
brave. 

Teutonic — Adelaide (Adel 
hilda), Noble lady, 

J5rc6r«£?— Isabel {Spanish formy 
Elizabeth), sig. Worshipper of 
God. 

Teutonic — Carlotta (Karl), 
Strong^ valiant, 

Hebrew — Micbaela (Michael), 
Who is Hke Godf 



Hebrew — ^Eaphaela (Raphael), 

Medicine (or heailing) of God, 
Hebrew — Gabriela(Gabriel), the 

strength of God, 
Teutonic — Francisca {Frank^ 

Free, indomitable, 
Greek or Latin — ^Paiila (de Xs- 

Bise e do), iravKa {S)f Rest, or 

paulus, LitUe, 
Latin — Liez, Spanish form of 

Agnes. A Lamb, 
Greek — ^Sophia, Wisdom, Arabic 

— Safiyeh, Chosen, 
Hebreiv — Joaquina (S) (Jehoia- 

chin) Stretch of Jehovah, 
J2cftrcto— Theresa (S) (Tirzah), 

Pleasant, beatdiftd, 
Latin — Benedicta, Blessed, 
Teutonic — Bemarda(Bemhard), 

Beards heart, significative of 

Courage, 



We shall find when we go more fully into 
their history that it is scarcely possible to over- 
state the immense importance attached to names 
by all the nations of antiquity. Names were 
as prophecies for good or evil. 

Not only were these lucky and unlucky 
names simply accepted as such — ^in some cases 
independent of their respective significations and 
associations — ^but a strange superstition respect- 
ing them was exalted into a science, known 
by the Greeks as Omantia, from ovo/ta, a 
name. It claimed Enoch as its originator and 



10 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

Pythagoras as its supporter ; by it destinies were 
foretold from the numerical value of the letters 
of a name. Thus it was shown that Patrocles, a 
faihtr's glory^ whose name-number amounted 
only to 861, was, of necessity, conquered by 
Hector, the value of his name being 1,225, while 
he in his turn, in spite of the signification of his 
name {holding fast^ as an anchor), was forced to 
yield to Achilles, the number of whose name 
reached to 1,501. 

Up to the present day astrological calcu- 
lations are made by the Arabs, founded on the 
numerical value of the letters which compose 
the names of individuals. • Amongst other dis- 
coveries supposed to be so made, the very im- 
portant question is decided before marriage as to 
whether the husband and wife will agree, or, in 
event of disputes, with whom the supreme au- 
thority will rest. This singular enquiry, as de- 
scribed in Lane's Notes to the ' Arabian Nights,' 
resolves itself into a simple sum of arithmetic : — 

' Adding together the numerical values of his 
or her name and that of the mother, and, if I 
remember right, subtracting from 12 the whole 
sum, if this is less than 12, or what remains after 
subtracting or dividing by 12. Thus is ob- 
tained the number of the sign. The twelve 
signs commencing with Aries correspond re- 
spectively with the elements of fire, earth, air, 
water — fire, earth, and so on.' * 

• Vol. i. p. 431. 



NUMERICAL VALUE, ETC* 11 

Should the numbers obtained indicate the 
same sign, a similar agreement in the dispo- 
sitions of the individuals is inferred. The 
terrible question of supremacy in conflict de- 
pends on whether a ruling element is indicated 
by the number of the man or the woman. Should 
the sign of the man be jire^ and that of the 
woman water^ this last being the ruling element, 
it is believed that in the household that dreary 
state of affairs will ensue where the master's 
' pipe is put out.' Should the signs be reversed, 
the power will then rest with the husband of 
making things equally uncomfortable by ' throw- 
ing cold water ' on any pet plan of his wife's. 

In all countries, whenever man or woman 
anticipates in marriage not a blessed bond of 
loving companionship and mutual dependence, 
but a miserable series of struggles for despotic 
rule, it might be as well perhaps for such calcu- 
lations to be made before it be too late. When 
the result is unsatisfactory, another selection 
may be made; or if the sentence of fate be 
received as irrevocable, resignation may be 
learned, and useless conflicts be avoided. 

Anagrams, or transpositions of the letters of 
a name, also assumed the form of prophecy. 
We shall find that some curious instances are 
recorded in the history of days when this some- 
what laborious amusement was in vogue. 

Amongst other extraordinary calculations con- 
nected with names, we read of a singular kind 



12 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

of divination resorted to by Theodotus, the 
Gothic King of Italy, a.d. 540. Trembling be- 
hind the walls of Rome at the approaching 
downfall of his power, this unworthy descendant 
of a race of heroes, in his superstitious terror, 
submitted to an ignominious expedient for 
enquiring into futurity which was suggested to 
him by a Jewish name-wizard. By his advice, 
given no doubt in secret mockery of the Gentile 
combatants, thirty hogs were for a time shut up 
together: ten were named by the Gothic King 
after his own people, to ten others were given 
Greek names, and to the remaining ten were 
assigned Roman names. The time of probation 
ended, of the first-named almost all were found 
to be dead ; of the second, all were alive ; of the 
third half were dead and half much injured. 
Strange to say, the ridiculous experiment was 
typical of the actual result of the conflict of the 
three nations. 

Let us turn to a nobler aspect of the power of 
names. 

In days of chivalry — ^ay, farther back, before 
the word chivalry was known — the name of a 
hero was ever as a standard to which all men 
flocked, and where its loved sound floated in the 
air there was victory! Drawn by its potent 
spell, as if inspired, men pressed forward to the 
thickest of the fight, where like a trumpet-call 
rang out on high, above the clash of spears and 
the hurtling of arrows, the names of the leaders 



NAMES OP POWEB. 13 

they loved best—* A Talbot! ' * A Percy ! ' or 

the joint names of king, country, and patron 

saint. 

Upon this charge 
Cry Grod for Harry, England, and St. George. 

Henry V. 

Or hark to a war-cry more ancient far in the 
Song of Deborah, and in the Prophet Hosea, 
who bids comet and trumpet sound and the 
war-cry of the brave Benjamites be raised : ' After 
thee, Benjamin ! ' To and fro the tide of battle 
rolled, its mighty thunder following in the wake 
of the triumphant shoutings of those names of 
power.* 

And those who bend a reverent ear still catch 
the echoes of those priceless names haunting the 
fields where their imperishable glory was won : 
names of power are they not with us yet? Our 
old heroic names — and they are many in our 
lion-hearted racef — are with us still, and to those 
that bear them they are a heritage more pre- 
cious than lands or gold, because imperish- 
able inalienable pledges of honour none dare 
gainsay. 

Could a Sydney do a dishonourable act? 
Could a Desmond be other than brave? 

• Names as significant of power: — 

^ Our battle is more full of names than yours.' 

Shakspeare's Henry IV, 

t ' . . . Our names 

Familiar in their mouths as household words.' 

Henry V. 



14 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

But while some names have in them the ring 
of trusty metal, the true steel of a gallant war- 
rior's sword, there are others that tinkle yet more 
musically in the ears of some — ^ay, even with the 
sound of silver and gold. 

Amongst our princely merchants there are 
simple names * good ' for the ransom of kings and 
kingdoms. Countries on the verge of bank- 
ruptcy have been rescued by a word, when that 
word was a name known far and wide as a trust- 
worthy * promise to pay.' 

But while I write the words ^princely mer- 
chants^^ do not my readers' hearts swell like my 
own with fervent gratitude to him who, some 
months past, in a few words of almost childish 
simplicity, and with all a child's exquisite purity 
of motive, bestowed on the poor of our metropolis 
the munificent gift of 150,000?. ? 

Apicius of old devoted his enormous wealth to 
the pampering of his body — that body which by 
his own act was given, while yet in manhood's 
prime, to be food for worms. The names of such 
men pass into by- words and jests, but the name 
of Peahody^ homely as its sound may be, will long 
be as music in the ear of England's poor. Wafted 
to heaven on their prayers, it will be dear to the 
hearts of us all, so long as those sweet words are 
remembered — * Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me.' 

But we linger too long, perhaps, on the thres- 



ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED. 15 

hold of our express theme. None deny the 
preciousness of honourable surnames; but they, 
like talents, riches, and beauty of face, are not of 
our own choosing, nor can they be chosen for us 
by those to whom we are dear. Our family 
names are appointed for us. We cannot at will 
be Sydneys, TaJbots, Barings, or Rothschilds.* 

But amongst Christian names parents are free 
to choose. Names of noblest significance are 
open to all, suitable to all, princes and peers. 
Of individual names already bestowed on us 
there can scarcely be one in which may not be 
discovered some germ of thought, which, if 
cherished, will surely be suggestive of some one 
good word or work, of some high aim, some enno- 
bling influence. 

Therefore is a small voice now lovingly raised, 
earnestly asking for Christian names some atten- 
tion and regard from their possessors. Remem- 
bering to what a vast portion of the human race 
the subject appeals, is it not within probability 
that even so low a voice may win its way to the 
hearts of some ? The whisperings of ' Picciola,' 

* These lines were written before the ridiculous fashion com- 
menced of people exchanging their real names for others of better 
sound; but to which they had not the slightest claim. We hope 
the example of Norfolk Howard, alias Bug; has been too much 
laughed at for it to gain many followers. When a new name is 
assumed, surely one may be selected out of family connections, or, 
better still, the Christian name of father or mother be adapted to a 
surname. With a little ingenuity a new form may be given to one 
of these names, and the original composition thus afford a pleasant 
feeling of owneiship in the new name aseumedt 



16 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

the prison flower, were listened to by one who 
had been deaf to the teachings of wise men. 

This individual right of ours, small and insig- 
nificant as it may at the first glance appear to be, 
should, if only in one respect, deserve some 
notice — it is inalienable. May we not venture to 
say that it is the only inalienable individual pro- 
perty that men, women, and children throughout 
wide Christendom do possess ? All other proper- 
ties may take to themselves wings and fly away. 
What earthly treasure is there beyond the power 
of mishap ? Our fair ancestral homes, our bags of 
gold, our possessions of every kind — ^intellectual 
superiority, beauty of form, strength, and skill — 
not one of all these is inalienable. * Nay, if a long 
life be granted to us, the infirmities of age must 
deprive us of all personal gifts. The clearest 
intellect must be obscured, the brightest eyes 
grow dim — ^the most skilful hands, the most 
powerful fi'ame, be paralysed before the numbing 
influence of approaching death. 

How closely do men resemble the time-pieces, 
the making of which is one of the chief triumphs 
of their handiwork ! 

Beneath the gathering dust of successive years 
and the moisture of the atmosphere, which is as 
tears, the brilliancy of the fair dial-plate is efiaced, 
while within the once busy wheels begin to lag 
as the gathering rust grows over them, and the 
life-like springs lose their elasticity — ^more and 
more languidly the hands revolve — ^fidnter and 



[ 



INDIVIDUAL NAMES INALIBNABLB. 17 

fainter sounds the ticking of the old clock, till at 
last it stops — and the warning voice of Time 
passing away, too little heeded perhaps by those 
that heard, is heard no more ! 

Darlings of fortune we may be, but we may 
lose all on which we are priding ourselves; but 
one thing we cannot lose — our little-regarded 
Christian names. Bestowed on us in our sin- 
less infancy, they will still be ours, unchanged 
through all the changing scenes of life — ay! 
passing with us into the very portals of the 
grave. That first and individual name of ours, 
to which for good or evil we shall have responded 
hundreds of thousands of times — ^the letters of 
which we shall so often have traced for purposes 
of evil or of good — that Christian name, alas ! 
how often desecrated in our daily, hourly use of 
it ! — that name, a witness for us or against us, will 
be engraved on the door-plate of our last earthly 
tenement, whether our coffin be of lordly oak or 
pauper deal. 

Companions with us through the varied scenes 
of our whole lives, our Christian names become 
an actual part of ourselves. At the sound of 
that name, breathed tenderly by a mother's lips, 
we as babes stretch forth our dimpled arms all 
eager with delight. It is heard by the maiden 
-with crimsoned cheek and beating heart when it 
is for the first time whispered by the voice she 
loves best; and it is thenceforth the only name 
she cares to keep. Father, mother, brother, 





18 WHAT IS YOUB NAME ? 

sister, Mend : it is by them we are called by our 
Christian name, and, uttered by the lips of our 
dearest ones, to it is given a peculiar music of its 
own. 

Ours inseparably ! In absence or in death, at 
the femiliar sound of our names, a familiar form 
starts up before the memories of all to whom we 
are known, clothed in the individuality of our 
words and deeds. Shall that undying form, thus 
inseparably connected with our names, be lovely 
or the reverse? 

Names are significant of many graces. Let 
us answer to our names — so shall the answering 
remembrance of ourselves be clothed with its fair 
characteristic graces. 

Can we think lightly of those names which 
will be ours to all eternity? Do we not hope to 
hear them breathed by white-robed angels-— dear 
ones who have gone before, but who tarry yet at 
the golden gates : tarry for us, that theirs may 
be our first glad welcome to our true home ? 

Alas ! how utterly must all recollection of the 
first and holiest meaning of all Christian names 
have faded fi'om human hearts when, by those 
very names, men and women are summoned to 
the commission of crime, and pledges of baptismal 
vows are signed to contracts for devils' work. 

From this inalienableness (if we may resume 
the use of an old word) — this continual com- 
panionship of our individual names — can we not 
derive some benefit? The power of habit is 



* LET NOTHING BE LOST.' 19 

confessed by all. In the thoughts we think 
habitually is to be found the key-note of our 
lives. The little words we say^ the little things 
we do each moment of the day — are they not as 
the living atoms which build up imperishable 
coral rocks? Do they not build up the actual 
representation of our individual selves as beheld 
by our fellow-men? 

This is especially a utilitarian age. Amongst 
the many marvels of the day there are few 
greater than the ingenuity with which every- 
thing is turned to account. Refuse and rubbish 
are now, as to their original meaning, obsolete 
words. Impossible is a word long since ignored 
by great minds ; and, by the appliances of modern 
science, the word useless has been consigned to 
the same fate. 

On certain days of the week go through the 
poorest streets of our towns and villages : before 
the meanest hovels you will find a woman or 
a child who pass slowly on their way, trailing 
along huge. bags, and their shrill cry is, 'Any 
sweepings ? ' 

If in our material economy we have learned 
the great lesson, * Let nothing be lost,' how much 
more should we strive to enlist all and every 
spiritual influence surrounding us in the service 
of the ' Good Master ' from whose teaching that 
lesson came ! A sound which is heard and 
answered by us a million times perhaps in our 
lives — a sound endeared to us by hallowed in- 

G 2 



20 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

fluences, tender recollections, and innumerable 
pleasant associations — oh, who will say that it is 
incapable of being made suggestive of richest 
melody? A whispered syllable has ere now 
unsealed hidden well-springs in human hearts. 
Children's natures especially, quick and impulsive, 
are awake to innumerable influences apparently 
slight. Delicately constituted scales are the 
hearts of our little ones — a feather's weight will 
sometimes turn the balance the right way or 
the wrong. Let us care, then, for the feather- 
weights. 

Children generally think a great deal of their 
Christian names. They have few personal posses- 
sions : their individual names are amongst these 
few, and they are proportionably interested in 
them. 

Try the experiment, dear reader! Go to a 
national school, say of girls — ^in a more educated 
class the effect would be still greater. Ask a 
child her Christian name. In the south of Eng- 
land there are many Ellens. Tell her that her 
pretty old Saxon name has a pretty meaning, 
fruitful^ and that some of our sweetest fruits are 
brought forth by small plants. Beaming faces 
will quickly show you all the Ellens in the room. 
When months have gone by, if you return, you 
will find that in many a little heart the tiny 
incidental lesson has not been forgotten. 

But are there not many, both old and young, 
who may be won by the charm of a subject which 



GOD THE FIBST NAME-GIVEB. 21 

combines all the graces of poetry with absolute 
practical utility ? How suggestive, how eloquent 
is a significant name! It is as an enchanter's 
wand, summoning before us visions of beauty 
without end — it is as a solemn voice, teaching us 
lessons for time and for etemityw 

All names are significant. If they are not so 
to us, it is because we do not understand the 
language in which they speak. Amongst the 
nations of antiquity to whom, as children to their 
parents, we are indebted for our names, every 
name expressed an idea. Jehovah Himself, as 
the first name-giver, bestowing on the first man, 
a name, gave to him one of deeper significance 
than perhaps we have been accustomed to remark. 
To the lord of measureless domains — ^to the abso- 
lute master of the whole animal world — to the 
possessor of all the infinity of treasures in the 
vegetable and mineral kingdoms — to him who, 
crowned with every blessing heart could desire, 
had his home in Eden's garden of delight — ^to 
him God gave a name which should remind him 
that in himself he was nothing : called into being 
by the hand of Omnipotence — a child of dust ! 
Adamah, earthy the red earth of which they were 
made, was the name given by their Creator to 
man and woman on the day on which they were 
created. 

How different from the lofty names expressivo 
of celestial origin which in after times the fol- 
lowers of false gods manufactured for themselves ! 



22 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Ka-meses, Begotten of the sun ; A-mosis, Begotten 
of the moon. 

But this subject, with an infinity of other 
subjects embraced by our theme, will more fully 
unfold itself in succeeding chapters. We will 
now, in reference to the dominant idea of the 
first chapter, glance hastily back to discover the 
motive which usually determined the choice of 
names. At dififerent times and amongst dif- 
ferent nations different motives prevailed; but, 
more than any other, a feeling after fiiturity will 
be traced. Hope was the name-giver which the 
young world most approved. Ere a child had 
been bom to him, Adam called his wife Eve 
{Heh. Chavah, signifying Life) : for she was to he 
' the mother of all living.' 

Sometimes, indeed, an overpowering present 
swallowed up the remembrance of the future. 
In the same family strong contrasts will be found : 
brothers' and sisters' names telling of successive 
sunshine or shadow passing over the home at the 
moment of their respective births. 

Who does not remember the touching dif- 
ference between the names of poor Rachel's first 
and last child? Joseph, *He shall add' — the 
joyous onlooking of the mother to the glad troop 
of sons that should come; and then the babe 
named in her dying gasp Benoni, * Son of my 
sorrow' — that passionate desire, * Give me chil- 
dren, or I die,' fulfilled in death. 

Amidst countless examples of names sugges- 



DESTINIES OF NAMES. 23 

tive of parents' ambitious views, we find amongst 
Hebrew names one touchingly expressive of pure 
fatherly love. It is a picture some centuries 
old, but its colours are bright as if painted but 
yesterday. Despite the universal preference 
for male offspring, we see a father delightedly 
stretching out his arms to welcome his little 
daughter, hailing her by the name of Abigail, 
* A father's joy ! ' In the original the name is yet 
more expressive : the word ' giyl,' affixed to abi, 
father^ signifying to dance^ to ' leap with exul- 
tation.' 

This name affords a striking instance of how 
strangely, in the lapse of time, the origin and true 
meaning of words sometimes pass out of remem- 
brance. ' An abigail ' has with us grown to be 
almost sjmonymous with a maid-servant, and in 
this wrong but very general acceptation the real 
and lovely meaning of the name is lost. 

This undesirable impression is doubtless to be 
traced to the reiterated use of the epithet * hand- 
maid,' as applied to herself by the Abigail of Scrip- 
ture, who went even beyond, it would seem, the 
hyperbolical language of the East in professing 
herself, at the moment of receiving David's pro- 
posal to make her his wife, willing to be the 
' servant of his servants.' 

Strange destinies of names as of all earthly 
things ! Lucifer, the * Light-bearer,' shares the 
misconception of Abigail, 'the father's joy/ 
Milton, carrying out Isaiah's suggestion of fallen 



24 WHAT IS YOUB NAME ? 

greatness in ' Lucifer, son of the morning/ has 
stamped the name as significant of pride. Fallen 
indeed ! The herald of day — ^the morning-star — 
liucifer, the light-bearer, is indebted for the 
restoration of the true meaning of his name to 
his tiny namesake in a match-box, the value of 
which is scarcely to be computed, being so small 
a fraction of a penny. 

Amongst innumerable ancient names given 
prospective of future destiny we read of Seth, 
or Sheth, * appointed,' or 'put in the place of — 
Abel (whose name, alas! was prophetic too), 
a * breath,' a * vapour:' his young life which 
was soon to pass away ; or * vanity,' that is, of all 
earthly hopes. Noah betokened * rest,' * conso- 
lation;' and Solomon, * peace.' In all nations, 
however remote and unconnected with each other, 
we trace this natural desire of parents to attach 
to their offspring names of good import. 

Why should we lose sight of this loving custom 
of old? As Christian names can be chosen, why 
should we not choose them with reference to the 
future good we desire for our darlings? Why 
should we not be influenced by the meaning^ not 
only, as now (with but few exceptions), by the 
sound of names ? Both for men and women there 
are a goodly list of right honourable names from 
which to choose, and rarely are any of them 
unmusical. 

Good names being chosen for our children, let 
us, when they are old enough to understand, tell 




VALUE OF NAMES AS BEMINDEBS. 25 

them of their meaning^ so that to individual 
names not only sounds but ideas may be at- 
tached. A child's early developed notions of 
individual property wiU secure the pretty lesson 
from being forgotten ; and who shall say how the 
remembrance of it may be blessed in after years? 
Ah ! who shall say that at the very moment of 
some meditated crime the old familiar sound, the 
old familiar look of his or her Christian name, 
may not bring back the recollection of the sweet 
lesson taught in connection with it in the sinless 
days of infancy? The mother's gentle voice, the 
father's kindly tone sounding, as it were, in their 
ears — the Eustace, about to yield to temptation, 
may * stand firm' — and Katharine, ' the spotless 
and pure^^ be startled from the first step towards 
shame. 

If the wise Greek and bold Roman of other 
days, and all the most accomplished nations of 
antiquity, were so moved by the power of names 
that enterprises of the highest importance were 
undertaken or abandoned according to the sug- 
gestive significance of names, or the good or 
evil influence they were supposed to possess, 
shall this hope, which in all earnestness I suggest, 
be looked upon as an idle dream ? If heathen 
names were so mighty, shall Christian names be 
powerless? With their old significance restored 
to them — clothed with ideas made instinct with 
spiritual life — ^in continual companionship with us, 
with all their countless influences of real redeem- 



26 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

ing power wafted to heaven as they are on the 
winged prayers of those that love us, day by day 
and hour by hour since first we were by them 
enlisted as soldiers of Christ — ^may they not 
become mightier far? * 

See now that sturdy little fellow, whose crisp 
curly locks are of a golden brown — ^his sapphire 
eyes dancing in light — ^his resolute little mouth, 
with lips of cherry red, tell of the full vigour of 
health and strength and happiness. He is a 
noble boy ; but the love of power is already de- 
veloping itself in him. As yet his tiny despotism 
amuses, and even perhaps secretly delights, both 
his mother and nurse. They are proud of his 

* God forbid that I should be supposed to feel or to advocate a 
superstitious belief in any real and absolute power existing in 
names. I write to Christians, humbly professing myself to be 
such also ; and so I believe that, excepting ^ the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth,' as significative of and belonging to the person 
of the ever-blessed Son of God, ^ there is no other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved ' — no other 
name by which, in its own power, any one thing can be accom- 
plished. But who will say that with names, as identified both 
with persons and with ideas, there have not always been, and there 
may not always be, influence ? And where influence is, there is 
always a greater or a less degree of power. The power of influence 
may be for an hour — ^it may be for ever. 

When I plead for consideration of the influential power of names, 
I do it as one who longs after, and deeply feels her own need of, a 
continual reminder of the straight path she fain would keep — of the 
glad prize it is her heart's desire to obtain. Such a reminder, it 
seems to me, may with God's blessing be foimd in almost every 
Christian name. As I have elsewhere said, the ^ fruits of the Spi- 
rit ' grow in clusters — the name of one of them may bring the others 
to mind. Oh, why think lightly of any, even the smallest way- 
mark, when the path is hard to keep — ^when our goal is the heavenly 
city? 



A NEW TALISMAN. 27 

* spirit/ With looks that contradict their words, 
they affect to regret their inability to manage 
him. ' He is such a boy ! ' ' Naughty Willie ! ' or 
' Master William will have his own way ! ' When 
the handsome young ruler of the nursery has all 
his wishes fulfilled, * all goes merry as a marriage 
bell ; ' but let little Mary or Maude dispute his 
commands, or even baby Frank retain the toy 
which he desires to have — there is thunder in the 
air, and the stormy atmosphere makes itself felt 
throughout the whole household. 

But the boy has a loving heart. Not yet can 
that beautiful child's breast be overgrown with 
the poisonous fungus Self-love, by which all that 
is lovely and noble in human nature is in time 
surely destroyed. In that little heart-garden the 
flowers of natural affection still bloom, though 
surrounded by noxious weeds, which if not rooted 
up will choke every blossom soon; and then 
the nursery tyrant will progress into the bully at 
school and the torment of home. When come 
to man's estate, if he marries, God help his 
unfortunate wife, his children, and all his de- 
pendents ! 

By those who love children devotedly — ^with a 
fond and earnest and anxious desire for their 
present, future, and eternal weal — ^no suggestion 
that may possibly help the great work will be 
despised. Once more, then, may the remembrance 
of my new talisman be whispered to you ! 

All who love children know that there is no 



28 WHAT IS YOUB NAME ? 

charm more potent over their fresh eager young 
hearts than a story well told. Put, tljen, your 
lesson to that handsome but imperious little 
fellow in the form of a story. Tell him of some 
knight of old — Bayard of France, ' sans peur et 
sans reproche,' fearless and faultless — or of our 
own Sir Philip Sidney. In the lives of those 
glorious men, and in countless examples besides, 
down to the gentle Raglan of our own day, 
show him how the bravest have ever the kindest 
hearts, for never was steadfast unfailing courage, 
mental as well as bodily, found in a tyrant's 
breast. Describe then the armour of a knight : 
the shield, the sword, and the helmet above all, 
where his ladye-love's token was carried, and his 
distinguishing crest and plume were borne. Tell 
him of all things it was necessary that the helmet 
should be trustworthy, for its office was not to 
offend^ but to defend. It guarded the head. 
Shorn of his helmet, the strongest knight was at 
the mercy of his foe. 

Now tell your boy the lovely meaning of his 
name, that he by God's help may answer to it. 

Derived from the language of the old Teutonic 
race, Wil-helm, the helmet of many^ signifies one 
who protects and defends many. WiUi or ViH is 
still preserved in the German *viel,' many*, so 
too is ' helm,' with the identical meaning of old 
(which grew out of the word ' hilma '), to cover. 
In the Icelandic * hialmr ' is helmet \ in the Saxon 
' helan ' signified to cover ^ to protect ; in our own 



WILLIAM, GEORGE, ESTHER, WINIFRED. 29 

language, derived from those above mentioned, 
femiliar to all is the * plumed helm ' of Shaks- 
peare and all our poets. 

Scarcely less beautiful is the other meaning of 
this doubly significant name, the Saxon ' helma ' 
signifying the helm or upper part of the rudder, 
which is grasped by the steersman who guides 
the ship. 

Is not our common name of William, then, a 
name to live up to ? A helmet of defence^ a 
protector; or a helmsman^ a guide to many I 

To those who care for the significance of 
names there is a delight in reading the ' Life of 
William Pitt,' at the appropriateness of the 
name to ' the pilot who weathered the storm.' 

Amongst our simplest names there are many 
others full of bright meanings to be carried out 
in like manner. 

Remind your idle little George that, as a 
husbandman^ if he sows not neither shall he 
reap. Let Esther, the star^ and Winifred,. 
vnnner or lover of peace^ learn and love the 
hidden beauty of their exquisite names. 

Still in the unchanging East mothers hang 
talismans round their children's necks — a gem, 
a stone, a string of seeds, a written paper — 
they are charms to protect them from harm. 

Dear English mothers, will you not try my 
little talismans ? Necklaces and gems may be 
lost or stolen, but the individual names of your 
darlings can neither be lost nor stolen away. 



30 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Ah! would that each and all of us might 
associate with our every word and deed recol- 
lections of the lovely meanings of those Chris- 
tian names which are hourly sounding in our 
ears, and which rightly belong to us only as we 
are in truth the adopted children of God ! AVhy 
should we not marry mottoes to our indivi- 
dual names as noble houses have united them 
to their family names — ^both by such unions 
being rendered more illustrious? 

Say that no eye but that of our Father in 
heaven beholds our hidden banner ' with strange 
device ! ' shall the time not come when in the 
story of our lives it may be read in characters of 
light by men and angels? 

In the battle of life let all choose for them- 
selves such ' mots de guerre.' 

A few only are suggested here, to redeem my 
especial promise to those bearing certain names. 

Tetdonic ^Alhert, altogether bright, *Walk as children of light' 

(Eph. V. 8). * 
Anglo-Saxon — Edward, keeper of happiness. ^Finem respice/* 

Look to the end.t 
Greek — Alexander, a brave defender or helper of men, 'In trying 

strength comes.' 



* It is hoped no apology is necessary for illustrating some of the 
names with verses from * the Book.' Is it not strange that the 
most worldly men see no objection in classical authors alluding to 
their gods, yet many think it bad taste for any scriptural allusion 
to be found in works not solely of a religious character P 

t The Latin originals are given, because they are more terse 
than any English translation can be. 

1 Motto of the Irish Earl of Damley. 



PBOmSE REDEEMED. 31 

Jeutmio^Qodhej, God's peace, ' Corde fixum.' * Steadfast heart. 
Anglo-Saxon — Edmund, hapjnness and peace. 'Bear and Forbear.' ' 
French — Guy {S)^ standard-hearer (from Guidon). * Excelsior.* 

Carry great ensigns, and your lives shall be great. 
Hthrew — Anne, gracious. ^ A gracious woman retaineth honour ' 

(Prov. xi. 16). 
JJc&rcw— Elisabeth, a worshipper of God, literally, 'God is her 

seven,* or her ' oath.* ' Worship Him in spirit and in truth * 

(John iv. 24). 
6rrecA— Dorothy, GocTs gift, ' Every perfect, gift is from above * 

(James i. 17). 
liOtin — ^Beatrice, making blessed, a Joy-giver. ' Essayez.' * Try. 
Greek — ^Emily (5), winsome (from ai/tiwXia). 'Willows are weak, but 

they bind strong woods * {Herbert). 
Anglo-Saxon — ^Edith, blessed or perfect happiness. 'Deo, non for- 

tuna.* * From God, not fortune. 

Dear reader, have I not kept my word? 

* Motto of the family of Godfrey of Hurst. 
' Motto of the Irish Baron Langford. 

^ Motto of the English Baron Dundas. 

* Motto of the English Earl Digby. 



32 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 



CHAPTEE 11. 

National names more characteristic than their proverbs — 
Antiquity of many names in common use amongst om^elves 
— A great vitality in names — Religious rites attendant on 
name-giving in various nations — Story from the *Lax- 
daela Saga' — Roman soldiers' names engraved on their 
shields. 

HAVING now, I trust, won to my side some 
willing companions, I would fain show them 
as rapidly as may be how wide a field of interest 
the history of names embraces. 

A name falls on our ear. It is not a mere 
sound: besides its peculiar message to him or 
her to whom it belongs, every name has its stoiy, 
and some are of exceeding interest. A history 
of names is as a world of voices. Not only hu- 
man beings, but bright stars overhead and tiny 
flowers at our feet, all bearing names, would 
each have its tale to tell, but that the volume 
then might grow too heavy in your hands. 
We will but glance at such things. Do you love 
romances? In how many names thrilling and 
real romances are contained ! Do you care for 
history? How many a revelation of the past is 
unfolded in names ! Strange legends, too, over 
which we have wondered and doubted — the sig- 



NATIONAL NAMES CHARACTERISTIC. 33 

nification of a name reveals all their hidden 
mystery. 

The proverbs of nations have, in all times, 
been considered of exceeding interest, but a far 
more certain key to national characteristics will 
be found in the names which were invented by 
nations, and which became naturalised amongst 
them. 

Significant as they are for the most part of 
gifts and graces, the names of nations tell us, at a 
glance, what gifts and graces they most prized. 

When once we accept them, as in truth they 
are, as expressions of abstract qualities or per- 
sonal characteristics, are not the names of a 
people an absolute record of their feelings and 
tastes — a moral census, as it were — ^the more 
trustworthy because each household furnished 
its information unconsciously? It was no written 
chronicle, 'by order,' of preferences for this 
virtue or for that ; names of children in families 
were freely chosen, and with no thought that in 
after-times a preponderance of certain names, or 
a deficiency of others, would be as an engraved 
portrait of themselves — here a succession of small 
strokes thickly coming together, and there a 
few lines fisdnt and far apart — ^is it not thus that 
the true representation of a face is given by the 
engraver? 

The castle of Sidon stands on a ' Tel^^* a large 

• May cme Tenture to connect with a play on this Arabic word 
'Tel,' ex <TeU/ a heap, a home lesson too? How the little 



34 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

proportion of which consists of bits of broken 
purpura, small in themselves, but their collected 
numbers formed great heaps which, to this day, 
recall the chief pursuit of this ancient city — ^the 
manufacture of purple dye. 

The smell of the morning and evening sacri- 
fice comes to us in the names of the Jewish 
people. Chosen out of all the nations of the 
earth to be the keepers of the sacred oracles — 
the revelations of the Most High God's purposes 
towards mankind — ^we find in Hebrew names, 
and in the kindred Arabian, constant repetitions 
of the Holy Name. 

The clash of swords and the whirring of spears 
are heard in the names of the warlike Teuton 
and dauntless Gael. 

In the delicate word-painting of Greek names 
are revealed the aBsthetic tastes of the most 
accomplished people of all times ; while in the 
short, descriptive Roman names, for the most 
part simply suggested by personal peculiarities, 
we behold the practical nature of those who 
cared more for the achievements of material 
power than for the sublimer triumphs of the in- 
tellect. 

There is a strange vitality in names. Nations 
pass away, their language becomes dead, but as 



unthouglit-of acts, continually adding up day after day, do in our 
lives become a great teU ! — tellm^ for or against us, a witness — 
such as we read these heaps are considered in all lands — of some 
act performed, some engagement entered into at that spot I 



ANTIQUITY OF MANY COMMON NAMES. 35 

in our home-fields now and again we stumble 
against some fossil which suddenly carries us 
back to some far-distant period of time, so with 
the sweet, familiar names which are hourly 
sounding in our ears, if we do but track them to 
their original birthplace, the skeletons of dead 
nations will rise up and live before our eyes. 

Hark ! At that cottage door an English la- 
bourer is calling to his rosy-cheeked daughter, 
* Esther ! Esther I ' The name has come to us 
through our bibles, where the English poor love 
best to find names for their children; but we 
must go farther back than to the tents of Israel 
to catch the first echoes of that pretty name. 

For twenty-twQ centuries, fl^ocks and herds 
had roved over fields on the banks of the Tigris, 
where grassy mounds were seen, to some of 
which the Moslem had given the name of ' Tombs' 
— ^to one of them the name of Nebbi Yunus, ' the 
Tomb of Jonah^ signifying tlie Dove. These green 
mounds encircling the city of Mosul, were indeed 
the upheavings of a mighty grave, in w;hich lay 
buried the ' exceeding great city' Nineveh, called 
after its builder Ninus, signifying Beautiful. In 
singular connection with the name of the Hebrew 
prophet who foretold the city's destruction, was 
the name of its beautiful, far-famed queen, Semi- 
ramis, which in Syriac also signifies a Dove. 

Wemust withLayard build up again those walls 
of sculptured alabaster, those gorgeously painted 
ceilings, and with eagle-headed human figures 

d2 



36 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

and winged bulls of gigantic size on either side, 
we shall, in one of Assyria's magnificent palaces, 
be where the name of Esther was first heard in 
its original formation, Sitareh, the Star. It was 
no doubt bestowed on some lustrous-eyed As- 
syrian princess privileged by her birth to claim 
relationship with the heavenly bodies. 

Adopted by the Persians, the name of Sitareh 
(in the Hebrew Ester) was given by Artaxerxes 
(Ahasuerus) to his beautiful Jewish captive, 
instead of her original name Hadassah, signifjdng 
a Myrtle. 

Of some names, significations and derivations 
can only be suggested, but of by far the greater 
number they may be confidently affirmed, al- 
though they may have been deciphered with 
difficulty, owing to the extraordinary variations 
of spelling through successive generations. Those 
only who have gone into the subject of Christian 
names or surnames, or are lovers of genealogical 
or heraldic researches, can imagine how numerous 
are such variations* 

Without going farther than our own English 
tongue for examples, we find Dr. Chandler 
speaking of seventeen modes of spelling Wayn- 
flete ; while, according to Dugdale, Mainwaring 
has been spelled in one hundred and thirty dif- 
ferent ways. 

But, even as the antiquarian can determine the 
history of the battered coin from what seems to 
uninitiated eyes a series of confiised and random 



NAME AND FAME INDISSOLUBLY UNITED. 37 

strokes, so the patient name-hunter makes his 
pleasant discoveries, guided by way-marks of 
various kinds, trusty, though sometimes so slight 
as to be overlooked by the casual observer. 

The immense importance attached to names by 
the great nations of antiquity can scarcely, as we 
shall see, be overstated. 

In the meditations of the philosopher, in the 
song of the poet, in the laws of senates, we find 
the absolute and intrinsic value of names directly 
or indirectly proved. 

It is in Socrates' mouth that Plato has placed 
the words that ' the giving of names is no small 
matter, nor should it be left to chance or to 
persons of mean abilities.' It is the prince of 
poets, Homer, who has embalmed the memories 
of the beautiful and the brave in names of such 
exquisite significance that they have passed 
into epithets. It was a law of Athens that 
forbade the names of the youths Harmodius and 
Aristogeiton ever being given to slaves. 

Dying as they did in the endeavour to rescue 
their coimtry from a tyrant's grasp, their country- 
men proclaimed them martyrs, and, in thus en^ 
nobling their names, crowned them with undying 
homage ; for of such homage no after ingratitude 
can deprive great men. Name and fame is a 
union which is indissoluble. 

Triumphal arches, statues, and purses of gold 
decreed by grateful lands to those who have 
done good service — all these may perish and 



38 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

pass away; nay, the tear-blotted pages of his- 
tory tell of outrage sometimes succeeding to 
applause; but the name which the statesman, 
the warrior, the poet, or the sage have themselves 
rendered illustrious is out of the reach of the 
corroding touch of. envy or caprice; it is lifted 
into a purer air, and placed by Omnipotence 
beyond the power of Time itself to destroy. 

The first of Rome's victorious sons distin- 
guished by a name of honour lived to recognise 
in it an unchanging joy, the only one of which 
his enemies could not deprive him. The early 
services of Caius Marius were forgotten by his 
ungrateful country, but Rome herself could not 
rob her banished general of the name conferred 
on him by acclamation when, flushed with 
triumph, he was received by her as the Victor 
of Corioli ; and still as Coriolanus the dead hero 
is known to successive generations. His name 
of honour has outlived the base calumnies by 
which he was hounded to death. 

Themistocles, Leonidas, Curtius, Regulus, and 
Arria, brave wife! your bones have long since 
mingled with the common dust ; yet still, in lands 
which were barbarian when you lived your im- 
mortal lives and died your glorious deaths, let 
but your names be breathed even in the sobering 
precincts of a school-room, and the red colour 
springs to the cheeks and the sparkling light to 
the eyes of all true-hearted boys and girls. 

A sacredness in names has been almost univer- 



VITALITY IN NAMES. 39 

sally acknowledged, even when in foreign tongues 
their signification was not understood. 

Psellus, the counsellor of successive Greek, 
emperors in the eleventh century, was warned 
by Chaldaic oracles that misfortune followed on 
all attempts to change the names of the stranger. 
Pagan priests in their religious ceremonies fre- 
quently invoked strange names of which they 
knew not the meaning, using them as acceptable 
sounds in the ears of the gods of the nations from 
whom they had been learned. 

History aflpords us striking instances where the 
conqueror's strong arm laying fenced cities even 
with the ground, and blotting out whole peoples 
from the book of nations, had yet failed per- 
manently to impose on particular spots names 
diflPerent from those given by their original pos- 
sessors. 

That city of many sieges from the time of the 
Crusaders to our own day, termed by Napoleon 
the Key of Palestine, impatiently bore under 
Greek and Roman rulers the name of Ptolemais. 
With many another Syrian town, it has long since 
resumed its old name ; such original names being ^ 
for the most part founded on local definitions. 
Accho, signifying 'heated^ sandy ^^ * exactly de- 
scribes the tract on which this city of romantic 
interest is built. 

The history of nations will show us that, with 

* Stanley's Sinai and Palestine. 



40 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

scarcely an exception, men have always considered 
the giving of a name to their offspring as an im- 
portant act, worthy to be consecrated by religious 
rites. 

Nor can we wonder that such feelings should 
be instinctive, and therefore to be found amongst 
the most untaught children of nature, when we 
read in the Holy Scriptures that the Great 
Creator of all men preceded His giving a name to 
our first parents by giving to them His ' bless- 
mg. * 

To Adam, as to God's vicegerent upon earth, 
was assigned the honour of naming aU the then 
created beings. It was the first act which God 
called on him to perform, and therefore it has 
been rightly said, 'Of all arts that which was 
first practised was the art of giving names.' f 
To name being to define, wisdom to do so 
rightly was, we may be sure, inspired by God 
Himself. 

In the after history of God's chosen people we 
trace the value attached to names, in that the 
Most High honoured His servants by giving or 
altering their names according to their express 
signification ; with some, as with our Lord 
Jesus, the name being appointed prophetically 
before the Holy Infant's birth. 

St. Jerome discovered in the Scriptures ten 
names by which the Almighty was Himself dis- 

* Genesis v. 2. 

t L^on Scott, 'Art de Nommer.* 



THE SACRED NAME. 41 

tinguished. One of these names, written in four 
letters, was incommunicable. It was not to be 
pronounced except in the holy precincts of the 
Temple. Once in seven years the Jews of old 
time repeated it with great solemnity to their 
children, but after the death of the aged Simeon, 
it was never more uttered, not even in the sanc- 
tuary. Familiar to all must be that solemn scene 
when out of the burning bush went forth the 
Almighty's voice. Moses, the chosen ambassador 
charged with a message to the children of Israel 
from * the God of their fathers,' besought to know 
the name of Him that sent. And God said unto 
Moses, * I am that I am.' 

Combinations and transpositions of the sacred 
name and sacred attributes constitute a remark- 
able feature in Hebrew names; more than a 
thousand are said to have been compounded from 
the titles of Jehovah. 

A beautiful example of this ready adaptation 
was given by Moses, when with prophetic wisdom 
he distinguished the bravest of his warriors by 
changing his name Hoshea, signifying Help, or 
salvation, into Joshua, signifying God^s Help or 
salvation, or more properly JehovaKs Help* 

A wisdom surpassing man's bestowed on 
zealous, impulsive, but too often faint-hearted 
Simon, the name of Peter, signifying a Roch 
How gloriously in trials and in death did the 

♦ The various contractions of the sacred name will be given in 
a subsequent chapter. * 



42 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

unshaken fortitude of the faithful disciple fulfil 
the divinely-appointed name ! 

The Church of Christ in all lands* sanctifies 
the giving of names by uniting with it the holy 
rite of baptism. In our own day touching in- 
stances are known of heathen converts asking that 
the name of their missionary teacher should be 
the one bestowed on them in baptism, as a con- 
tinual remembrance that through him they had 
been called to a new life. 

Familiar to all Christian readers, as recorded in 
Scripture, is the Jewish rite of circumcision, by 
which on the eighth day all male descendants of 
the Father of the Faithful were admitted to the 
privileges of God's chosen people. Modern Jews 
require ten witnesses to this solemn act ; the name 
being given to the infant between the first and 
second benediction. With girls, the bestowing a 
name with prayers and blessing does not take 
place till the infant is six weeks old. The cradle, 
adorned with more or less magnificence, accord- 
ing to the wealth of the parents, is upheld by 
young maidens, one of whom performs the cor- 
responding office of a godmother with us. 
Amongst German Jews a cup of wine is lifted in 
the air at the moment of pronouncing the girl's 
name. 

Jews in England generally attach a Hebrew 
name to each child in addition to that by which 

* It is said that Quakers and Baptists are the only exceptions 
to this rule. 



JEWISH CUSTOMS. 43 

they are commonly known; the derivation of 
this last being immaterial. A singular custom 
prevails amongst this people of changing a child's 
name in cases of extreme illness. When all 
remedies have failed, as a last expedient they 
resort to this. 

In giving a new name to the child they would 
seem to discover a hope of renewing its being ; or 
this practice may have arisen from a fear that 
misfortune attached to the former name. As it 
not unfrequently happens, from the well-known 
tenacity of life in early youth, that their darlings 
are restored to them as if from the very jaws of 
death, such recoveries are, of course, attributed 
to the fortunate change of name. In Livonia it 
is a common custom to change an infant's name 
if at six weeks old it is at all sickly. 

Another peculiar Jewish custom connected 
with the individual name is the name-verse. A 
verse in the Psalms being discovered the first 
and last letter of which correspond with the 
initial and final letter of the name, it is carefully 
written out, committed to memory, and repeated 
eveiy night at the conclusion of prayer. Those 
versed in Cabalistic mysteries assert that after 
death an angel descends to demand from the dead 
its name. A good Jew or Jewess will remember 
and repeat the sacred verse, upon which they 
will be left in peace; but all memory of the 
holy words will have passed from the minds of 
those whose lives have been evil, and they will 



44 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

accordingly be tormented by the avenging angel. 
With the ancient Greeks, the act of naming their 
children, called Onomasteria, was kept as a high 
festival. The seventh day from the infant's birth 
was selected, from the mysterious value which in 
all times and in all places has been attached to 
that number. Sacrifices were offered up to their 
gods, and a banquet given to all the relations and 
friends of the family. These festivals were also 
called Amphidromia, from the principal ceremony 
performed : the nurses and women attending on 
the mother ran round the jire^ one of them 
carr}H[ng the child in her arms. By this act the 
newly-born babe was supposed to be placed 
under the protection of the household gods, to 
whom the pagan's hearth was always conse- 
crated. During the ceremonies of the naming 
day, an olive garland or a fleece of wool was sus- 
pended from the door. Both were significant: 
the olive, symbolical of agricultural labour, 
denoted that the child was a boy ; while a girl 
was typified by the fleece of wool, expressive of the 
womanly arts of spinning and making raiment. 

The names of the paternal and maternal 
grandfathers were usually bestowed respectively 
on the first and second son ; those too of illus- 
trious ancestors were given, and sometimes the 
important matter was decided by chance, or, as 
they would have expressed it, by the Fates. 
Different names were attached to a certain 
number of wax tapers, and the name was chosen 



PAGAN CUSTOMS. 45 

from the taper which burned the longest, suppos- 
ing that it would insure the longest life. 

Amongst other I'elics of paganism, this super- 
stition lingered long amongst the early Christians. 
In vain was it denounced by St. Chrysostom, the 
golden-mouthed (significant of eloquence), for still 
in the thirteenth centuiy we find that the Greek 
Emperor Andronicus (Paleologus) publicly em- 
ployed this method of determining the name of 
his daughter. The names of the twelve Apostles 
were those selected, and chance decided for the 
princess the name of Simonides, from Simon, 
signifying in Hebrew obedient. 

In Greece and Rome the original custom had 
been to name an infant at the moment of its 
birth; when laid at its fether's feet, the act of 
his lifting the babe from the ground was looked 
upon as an acknowledgment of the child, and 
an engagement to perform a parent's part in 
bringing it up according to its station in 
life. From the Latin word ' tollere,' to raise or 
lift up^ was derived the name of TuUius. The 
original TuUus was, we may suppose, a particu- 
lariy fine baby, and by this significant name the 
fether expressed his peculiar satisfaction in lifting 
him up. 

The Romans afterwards kept the festival of 
Nominalia, on the ninth day for a boy, and on 
the eighth for a giri. They adopted the Grecian . 
<5eremony of Amphidromia. In the Latin name 
Arabella, signifying Fair Altar^ we may find a 



46 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

reminiscence of this custom. This name is also 
noticeable as amongst the few originally feminine 
names which we have derived from the Latin, by 
far the greatest number being only feminised 
forms of names originally designed for men. 

Mighty conquerors as they were, the inferi- 
ority of the Romans to the accomplished Greeks 
in so many of the refinements of life is recalled 
to our minds by this particular, incidentally 
betrayed by the history of names. 

Such names as Areta, virtue^ Arsinoe, elevation 
of mind^ Eulalia, one who speaks sweetly^ Aspasia, 
winning^ Eucharis, signifying excelling in grace^ 
altogether lovely^ with countless others, remain to 
show us that in Greece the especial graces of 
womanhood were not ignored. 

Alas for the lack of chivalry in the early days 
of Rome, when we read that two letters reversed 
were considered sufficient to represent woman- 
kind ! C and M reversed (as if to point the 
insult!) signified Caia and Marcia. By these 
tokens were women once designated by a people 
whose history was to be illumined by the lives of 
Lucretia, Portia, and Cornelia the mother of the 
Gracchi. 

As time went on, the women of Rome, gain- 
ing continually increasing respect, won for them- 
selves individual and appropriate names, till at 
last we find amongst those of Latin derivation one 
of the most beautiful names a woman can bear, 
Beatrice, the Joy-giver, one who makes blessed. 



SCANT COUBTESY IN ROME AND CHINA. 47 

The first step was to distinguish daughters by 
a feminised form of the name of their house, 
which, as in the case of the tenderly beloved 
daughter of Tullius Cicero, was sometimes soft- 
ened into a diminutive, Tulliola. But if more 
than one daughter was bom in a family, they 
were designated as major and minor; if more 
than two, by numbers. The sisters of Brutus 
were known as Junia major, Junia minor, and 
Junia tertia. The names of Secundilla, Quar- 
tilla, &c., remain to show us that, in some names 
at least, attempts were made to soften the chilly 
sense of such disembodied names as numerals 
appear to be. An English huntsman would 
take shame to himself were he unable to suggest 
a suitable name for each individual hound in his 
pack. 

Rome's scant courtesy to her daughters finds 
no parallel in the history of names, except amongst 
the Chinese. The owners of the distorted feet 
known as ' golden lilies ' were at one time also 
known in their father's house simply as 1, 2, 
and 3. 

Look backwards now to the time when the 
human race consisted of but a few families, ere, 
for the wickedness of man, ' the fountains of the 
great deep were broken up,' so that while fi^om 
' the windows of heaven ' cleansing waters passed 
over the face of the earth, huge masses of its 
fi'amework should be disjointed below, to remain 
for ever witnesses of the overwhelming might of 



48 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

God when sin persisted in provokes His wrath. 
Contrast the supposed perfection of civilisation 
of the conceited Chinese with those earliest days 
of all, when men took delight in distinguishing 
their women by names of pleasing significance. 
We read that Lamech's wives were called Adah, 
Ornament^ significative of great beauty; and 
Zillah, Shadow^ in a hot country a word of de- 
light, and significant of a gentle nature, where 
would be found refi-eshment and rest. 

From ancient Assyria came, as we have seen, 
Esther, the Star^ and fi-om tiience also came Susan, 
the Lily. 

The followers of Mohammed,* even while they 
deny to women a place in the paradise to come, 
do honour here to those on whom their earthly 
happiness depends, by seeking their names fi*om 
amongst flowers and gems, and even from the 
firmament of heaven itself. The i^rabic JuUanar, 
in Persian Guluar, signifies the brilliant pome- 
granate blossom ; Yasemeen is the fragrant jas- 
mine; Zumurrud is an emerald] Shejeret-el-Durr 
is a tree of pearls^ and plural also to denote the 
extreme of excellence which no single object 
could portray; Budoor signifies Full Moons. 

Shall we turn to savage tribes? A brave 
from amongst the North American Indians, 
though his tones are those of a master who must 
be obeyed, yet summons his docile squaw to his 

* The 'writer's sngg^stioii to be afterwaxds set forth. 



KOBTH AMEBICAN INBIAN NAMES, ETC. 49 

side by a name which at least indirectly proves 
his real appreciation of her charms, recalling as 
it does some lovely aspect of nature, or some 
&miliar object of grace. Her musical voice, 
perhaps, has gained for her the name of Minne- 
ha-ha, or laughing water \ Tah-mi-roo, or the 
starded faum, expresses the soft shyness of her 
beautifiil eyes; 0-li-ti-pa identifies her with 
the pretty prairie-bird ; Mong-shong-shaw, the 
bending wiUow^ describes her graceful form ; and 
Hu-la'h-dee, the pure fountain^ tells of the dearest 
and most lasting of all charms, a pure, true 
heart. 

Some of the sweetest of our women's names 
in present use amongst ourselves were originally 
the gift of the fiery Celt and fierce Teuton, or 
his descendants, the Norseman and Anglo-Saxon. 

Gwendaline, in the Celtic Guenddolen, signifies 
* Ae lady of the white bow.^ If the Arabs prefer 
the fvU moon^ it would seem our ancestors loved 
best the crescent or young moon. 

Or, as the crescent form tells alike of age and 
of early youth, let us — ^rather than do any pos- 
sible injustice to a Celtic lover — see in this 
musical name the key-note of that sweet song in 
the Irish Melodies — 

Belieye me, if all those endearing young charms. 

Why should not Ango, the Undeviating^ when he 
breathed the name of Guenddolen, have meant 

E 



50 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

all that his descendant, Thomas Moore, did say 
in after years? — 

Let thy loveliness fade as it will, 

Around the dear ruin each wish of my heart 
Would entwine itself verdantly {lovingly) still. 

The Teuton Adel-hild (Adelaide) tells us of the 
noble maiden or lady^ Bertha of the shining one^ 
and Gertrude of her who is trusted and true] 
Scandinavian Val-borg signifies the chosen tower^ 
i.e. the stronghold of happiness; and Saxon 
Ead-eath (Edith) signifies happiness that is 
blessed) and Mildred means one that is gentle of 
speech. 

Some names there are now fallen into disuse, 
which, if we regard the rude times in which they 
were first invented and used, claim for the hardy 
sons of the North especial honour from the 
gentler sex, showing as they do with what tender- 
ness the strong regarded the weak. 

Looking as they did upon woman in the lovely 
light in which she is first represented in Paradise, 
a ' help meet' for man, we find the Celtic Cwen- 
borg, ' a woman who is a Helper^ and the Saxon 
El gifa, the Help-giver. 

As a woman — the manner of Eomans and 
Chinese distinguishing women by 1, 2, 3, as only 
convicts are distinguished now, excited such 
warm indignation, that to the east and west, 
north and south, I hastened to do instant homage 
to the worthy champions of my sex — ^may I be 



STOBY OF THE DUMB SLAVE. 51 

pardoned for having so interrupted the account 
of the ceremonies which, in various nations, have 
attended the act of name-giving? 

It is singular to read how, for many years 
before the light of Christianity dawned on the 
kingdoms of the North, a kind of infant baptism 
prevailed. The Eddaic poems make mention of 
it, and in the Chronicle of Snorro Sturleson we 
see a Norwegian nobleman in the reign of Harold 
Harfagra pouring water over the head of his 
new-born babe, calling him Hakron after his 
father.* 

In the Laxdaela Saga, which embraces a 
period of time between the ninth and eleventh 
centuries, this ceremony is also alluded to, and a 
strange story is told in connection with the child 
who was so baptised by the name of Olaf or 
Aulaff, signifying the Olive — a name singularly 
inappropriate to the infant, who was by no 
means a bringer of peace. 

Hoskuld, a merchant froija Iceland^ visiting 
Norway for business purposes, was tempted by 
a Russian trader to invest in a far more dan- 
gerous purchase than the logs of timber which 
we may suppose were the articles in which he 
principally dealt. Hoskuld purchased from the 
Russian a lovely slave. One element, however, 
in which a woman's power of mischief principally 
resides, was wanting: so far as the mighty 

* Mallet's Northern Antiquities. 
x2 



52 WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 

engine of the tongue was concerned, the beautiful 
girl was harmless, for she was deaf and dumb. 

Carried by the merchant to his Icelandic 
home, the fair captive became to him the second 
and inferior wife, which the laws of the island 
allowed. The original Mrs. Hoskuld— Jorumna, 
as she was called — found some consolation in the 
infirmities of her rival : beautiful as she was, her 
silent empire could scarcely, she thought, be a 
lasting one ; and so they lived together in tole- 
rable amity. 

But the dumb wife became a mother, and, 
wonderful to relate, her transports of joy were 
not speechless ! Thinking herself alone, the 
young mother was overheard one day lavishing 
on her babe a thousand expressions of joy and 
tenderness. Graily she sang while the little one 
laughed, and when his violet eyes grew dim, she 
softly murmured a lullaby. Her words were 
not understood, for she spoke in a foreign lan- 
guage, but beyond all doubt they were words, 
and thus was the fact revealed that her deafiiess 
and dumbness had been assumed. 

By degrees, she made her story known. Mel- 
korka, daughter of Mirkjarten, an Irish king, had 
been taken captive, at eleven years old, by one of 
the Scandinavian sea-rovers, who were the terror 
of the coast of Ireland. Sold to a Russian trader, 
the resolute child determined that the voice of a 
daughter of kings should never be heard from 
the lips of a slave. For years her vow had been 



A VOICE BESTOBED. 53 

kept inviolate^ but the cooing of her little one 
had proved irresistible, and had won from her a 
reply, and then — ^the long-pent-up stream of 
melody had impetuously gushed forth in never- 
ceasing fountains of tenderness. 

To us the tale is poetry — to how many a 
woman's breast has the touch of her first baby's 
hand been as a divining wand, beneath which a 
spring of eloquence, vocal with delight, hitherto 
unknown and undreamed of, has leaped into life ! 
But poor Jorumna naturally saw things in a 
different light. Only on account of her supposed 
infirmities had the &ir slave been excused the 
service she, as inferior wife, was bound to render 
to her superior; but this right Jorunma now 
enforced, and the story ends in anything but 
a poetical manner. 

We may be sure the Irish princess brought no 
willing mind to the task of waiting on her Ice- 
landic mistress. One day Melkorka dropped 
the stockings she was handing to Jorumna; the 
stockings were flung at the Irish girl's head; her 
Celtic blood was up, and she avenged the insult 
with a blow. Hoskuld, becoming convinced that 
happiness and two wives were incompatible, sent 
Melkorka away to a distant part of the country. 
When her son Olaf was grown up, he visited 
Ireland, and became acquainted with his royal 
grandfather. A series of romantic adventures, duly 
related by the Saga, terminates with the fortu- 
nate youth taking the name of * Pa' or ' Pafiigl,' a 



54 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

peacock^ from an old gentleman who made him 
his heir. 

, Amongst the Mohammedans of Turkey, Arabia, 
Persia, and Hindustan, infants are sometimes 
named when only three hours old, but more 
commonly on the seventh day. Their Prophet 
left particular directions to guide them in their 
choice of names. Abd- Allah, Servant of God^ and 
Abd-el-Rahman, Servant of the Compassionate^ 
are amongst those which are most approved. 
His especial blessing was promised to those who, 
for love for him, were named Ahmed, praised^ 
and Mohammed, greaily to he praised \ this bless- 
ing was even extended to all assemblies where 
men bearing such names were present. 

Astrologers, too, are frequently consulted in 
the selection of names. It is also a common 
custom to write five names on separate papers, 
which are placed together within the leaves 
of the Koran; the first chapter of the book 
having been read, one of these papers is drawn 
out at hazard, and the name so pointed out is 
given to the child. Although the injunction is 
frequently neglected, a sacrifice is solemnly pre- 
scribed to be offered up on the naming day, a 
ram or a goat, of which ' not a bone is to be 
broken.' * 

Amongst the Parsees or Fire-worshippers the 
newly-born babe is purified in holy water, and 

* Notes to Lane's Arabian Nights, 



HINDU LAWS FOB NAME-GIVING. 55 

made to drink of a consecrated liquor; after 
which a name is bestowed. 

The most ancient laws of the Hindus (and 
they are amongst the most ancient in the world) 
contain special directions for the solemnities 
attending the imposition of names. On the tenth 
or eleventh day after the infant's birth, according 
as the day of the week and aspect of the stars 
were propitious, the child was to receive from 
its father a name suitable to the caste to which 
he or she belonged. If a Brahmin's son, the ears 
being pierced at the moment of pronouncing the 
name, the boy's name was to be expressive of 
favour \ if a warrior's son, of power] cultivators 
of the ground and merchants were to bestow 
names denoting riches ; and those of the lowest 
caste such as expressed dependence. The names 
of women were to be easy of pronunciation — 
soft, melodious, pleasant, and of good augury — 
terminating in vowels, and sounding like words 
of benediction.* 

As the ancient Greek, and at times the early 
Christian also, were wont by lighted tapers to 
determine the choice of names, the Hindu of 
to-day resorts to burning lamps. Two lamps 
are placed over two names, and the one over 
which the lamp burns brightest is the chosen 
name. A second name is often added, that of 
the planet ruling at the time of the child's birth. 

• R Schlegel. 



56 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

The names having been chosen, the parents sit 
on the ground, the infant being in its mother's 
arms ; the father writes the two names on a plate 
of raw rice, which is handed to him by the 
officiating Brahmin, and the first name is re- 
peated three times. 

In Ceylon the ceremony is fiill of poetry. The 
mother carries her child to the temple, and with 
it an offering to the god. She also takes three 
flowers; to each of them a name is attached, the 
initial letter, in all alike, being that of the con- 
stellation which was in the ascendant when the 
child was bom. The offering is first presented; 
the Brahmin next presents with prayer the flowers 
to the idol, and then returns one of them to the 
mother. The names being unknown to the priest, 
it is believed that his unconscious selection of 
one is directed by the god or goddess ; so that 
the name is received as if directly from them.* 

In Thibet infants are bathed, and, after prayers 
have been recited over them, two n^mes are given : 
one, the name of a divinity, is selected by the priest, 
and is to be used only in religious ceremonies; 
the other, by which he is to be commonly known, 
is chosen by the family. 

The Japanese are said to take new names at 
four different periods of life : the name given to 
a child is succeeded by one adapted for a youth, 
which is again exchanged for that of a full-grown 

* Bey. F. de Ward's India and the Hindoos. 



CHANGES OF NAME IN CHINA* 57 

man, and followed by another suitable to an old 
man,* 

Princes of Japan bear ihe names of their ter- 
ritorial possessions ia addition to those of their 
family and their individual appellations. Our 
late interesting and intelligent visitors the 
Japanese ambassadors were known as Tak^ No 
Ouchi Shimodzuk^ne Kami, Matsudairu Twamino 
Kami, and Kiogoku Notono Kami. Kami appears 
to be a title, but it is left; to more learned en- 
quirers to afford the signification of these names. 

In China changes of names are frequent; a 
man has sometimes six names given to him at 
different periods of his life. Great ceremony 
attends the bestowing of the first three names. 
The ^ milk name ' is given when the infant is a 
month old; it is introduced by its mother to 
assembled friends, the father pronouncing its 
name aloud; prayers and sacrifices are then 
offered up. On a boy's first entering school the 
*book name' is given; the accompanying cere- 
mony is significative of a religious and moral 
obligation. The master, kneeling before a paper 
on which is inscribed the name of a sage, a fol- 
lower of Confucius, or Koong-foo-tei, prays for his 
favourable influence on the boy, mentioning him 
by his new name. The master then seats himself, 
and his new scholar pays homage to him by the 
Chinese act of prostration. On a man's marriage 

^ * Noors DictionQaiTe HUtorique. 



58 WHAT IS YOUH NAME? 

he receives a new name from his father; an enter- 
tainment is given, and the ancestors of the family- 
are worshipped. Every man adds two characters 
or syllables to his individual name on the mar- 
riage of his eldest son, his family name remaining 
the same. ' I beg to enquire your lofty surname 
and great name?' is a common address in China.* 

Some of the Tartar tribes do not name their 
children till they are six months old. A parti- 
cular day is then appointed, and the child receives 
the name of the person who first accidentally 
passes by its side. 

In parts of Guinea infants are named by their 
mothers at the time of their birth, after a secret 
consultation with their fetishes. 

In other parts of Western Africa a feast is 
given in honour of the newly bom. The babe of 
shining blackness — a little image, as it were, in 
jet — is placed upon a palm-leaf, and palm-wine 
(the beloved 'mimbo') is drunk by the parents, 
their cups being lifted above the child so that 
some drops may fall upon its face. At the first 
cry uttered, a name is discovered supposed to 
resemble it in sound; so that African babies 
enjoy the peculiar privilege of naming themselves. 

From this singular origin is said to be derived 
the name so widely bestowed on the negro race, 
Quaco, which otherwise might have been sup- 
posed to claim kindred with the Duck language* 

* Davis's Sketches of China. 



FIRST USE OF A NAME. 59 

It is, with regret, found to be impossible even to 
suggest a signification. 

A negro tribe on the Ivory coast are known 
by the name of the Quaquas or Quacas. Qua- 
mina (?) is a favourite name amongst the 
Ashantees ; it figures amongst their list of kings, 
and may often be heard in negro villages in the 
West Indies. 

Forty days' feasting, with sacrifices, celebrate 
amongst the Abyssinians the name-day of their 
children. 

Significant names, and some of them of great 
beauty, belong, as is well known, to the Indians 
of North America ; but the ceremony of a youth's 
receiving a name is attended by solemn and 
mysterious rites concealed from European eyes. 
It is left to their braves to gain subsequently for 
themselves names of greater distinction, expressive 
of their individual prowess and skill in war or 
the chase. 

In Mexico and Brazil the names of the natives 
are also significant, and the giving of them is 
attended by feasting and religious rites. 

What boundless fields for reflection and re- 
search do we thus glance at while we speak of 
but the first use of names ! Unconscious babes 
are by them enrolled under their respective 
standards of faith, varjdng from the sublimity of 
doctrine and purity of precept professed by the 
followers of Christ, down to the degrading prac- 
tices of the avowed devil- worshippers. 



60 WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 

But the Prince of Darkness rejoices in the ser^ 
vices of many who are not his avowed followers. 
In all lands there are en^nies — ^more or less 
openly so — of the light. 

May all who in earnest love the ' Good Master ' 
hold fast to His name, and its signification as 
united to their own names in holy bonds- 
Christians, and therefore anointed 'priests and 
kings,' bound to live pure and noble lives ! 

But we are soldiers too. The contest of good 
and evil goes on continually, without and within. 
Do we seek to overcome ? Let us take a lesson 
from earthly conquerors. 

The nation from whom we have derived the 
noble name of Vincent, he who overcomes^ or the 
invincible^ and Victoria, the auspicious name which 
needs no translation, was above all others a con- 
quering 'nation. It was not by inheritance, not 
by good fortune, not by wise policy, that Rome 
became the mistress of the world, but by the 
dauntless bravery of her troops. 

Amongst her laws we find one that is strangely 
suggestive. It was permitted to various classes 
to change their names on certain occasions: 
slaves on becoming freedmen, plebeians pass- 
ing into the patrician order, assumed names 
of higher import ; but Rome's soldiers — those 
on whose indomitable valour the existence of her 
empire depended — ^to them it was forbidden to 
change their names. 

On each man's buckler his name was engraved ; 



rOLLOWIKG A LEADER'S NAME. 61 

had it not a voice as it went before him to battle? 
His name going before him — ^who dared be a 
coward then? An abandoned shield proclaimed 
aloud the infamy of its owner; the runaway's 
name was lost — and for ever ! 

See now, too, the ensigns which go before the 
respective troops. Those glittering eagles of 
silver and gold, consecrated by prayer, rarely 
dishonoured by defeat — on them you may read 
the number of the legion, and its leader's name ! 



62 WHAT IS yOUB NAME? 



CHAPTEE III. 

Infinite variety of subjects connected -with the history of 
names — Sovereignty in names — Names attached to an- 
cient dynasties ; also to royal and noble fisunilies. 

TN the history of names there is indeed 
•*■ Tembarras des richesses;' the difficulty 
throughout is not ' what can one say ? ' but what 
one must leave unsaid. 

From the moment we are awakened to the 
value and power of names, to that when, a great 
list Ij^ng before us, we shall look on the names 
of many nations, classed according to their sig- 
*nifications, we shall find innumerable by-paths 
opening out on either side. 

Which of these shall we enter? Which must 
we pass by? 

We have learned the burden of the song, 
Let us answer to our names \ we have glanced at 
the strange power possessed by names, and at 
the various solemn rites by which various 
nations have consecrated, and still do consecrate, 
the act of name-giving ; let us again take wing 
— or, if you like the image better, let us together 
mount the library steps, and, reaching down 
some dusty old tomes, see what we can gather in 
ancient histories about names. 



SOYEBEIGNTT IN NAMES. 68 

The theme is too wide to be fully set forth in 
a sketch like this ; but we could not pass by the 
interesting subject of the nature of the names 
which monarchs assumed in the earliest periods 
of the world's history. They are all of striking 
significance, especially those which were adopted 
as being in themselves expressive of sovereignty. 
Such names passed on, with crown and sceptre 
and royal robes, from dead kings to their suc- 
cessors. 

It can scarcely be doubted that this practice 
originated in the belief of metempsychosis. In 
its supposed transmigration through various 
bodies, the royal soul, thus retaining its name, 
carried out the idea as expressed in later days ; 
* Le Koi ne meurt pas. Le Roi est mort. Vive 
leRoi!' 

Well might the mass of the people in those 
far-off days have believed in undying kings, when 
by one unchanging name the laws of successive 
generations were enforced. The names so in- 
vested with perpetual sovereignty, in those 
remote times, were also so grand, and of such 
wide significance', that in them the individuality 
of their temporary wearers might well be lost. 
Royal names for the most part signified a god 
or a conqueror. 

The appellations of ancient Assj^an monarchs, 
successors of Belus, builder of Babylon, repeat in 
various combinations the name of Bel or Baal, the 
Sun-god, whose worship under different names 



64 WHAT IS TOXJB NAME? 

was SO widely spread throughout the glowing 
climes of the East. Egyptian monarchs also 
claimed to be emanations fipom the Deity. 

The names of Pharaoh and Kameses are both 
derived from the Sun-god, the tutelary divinity 
of the land. Ka-messu signified the sun-be- 
gotten^ and Pharaoh was from Ph the^ R6 sun; 
Potiphe-ra signified consecrated to the sun. One 
of the Pharaohs assumed the additional name of 
A-mosis, signifying sprung from^ or son of the 
moon* 

In the Syriac tongue Pharaoh included the 
meanings of both a king and a crocodile^ the 
hideous monarch of the muddy waters of the 
Nile. 

The name of Ptolemy, which in later days 
was borne by many kings of Egypt and Mace- 
donia, was derived from the Greek, and signified 
a warrior. There was much meaning in the 
name, for in many instances the crown was won 
by the sword. 

In the battle-field of Persia unbroken lines of 
kings are not to be found, but names of exactly 
similar import to the Pharaohs and Ptolemies 
of Egypt alternate as the appellations of the 
monarchs of Iran. 

Kouresh (the Cyrus of Greek and Latin histo- 
rians), signifying the sun, was in the ancient 
Pehlevi dialect still more expressive — Kor-shid, 
the splendour of the sun; the old name still 
sounding in our ears in Khor-assan, Sun4andj and 



A RISING AND 8ETTINQ SUN. 65 

Kour-distan. As a sun, indeed, in its bright 
rising, its glorious noon, its crimson setting, was 
the life of Cyrus, the Persian hero of so many 
romantic tales. Hoping to shield him from the 
cruel designs of his grandfather, who mistrusted 
a child of whom such great things were predicted, 
his Mends attempted in vain to rear the son of 
the royal Mandane in a herdsman's family. The 
instincts of race shone forth in the superiority 
instinctively claimed by him over his boyish 
companions, and which they as instinctively 
ceded. The young Khor-dad, signifying Gift of 
the Sun^ chosen in sport as their king, as a king 
in earnest enforced his authority, and through 
some rebellion in his mimic court the secret of 
his royal birth became known. 

It was when, the prophecy fulfilled, he united 
in himself the throne of the Medes and Persians, 
that Kor-shid, the Splendour of the Sun^ assumed 
his resplendent name, so singularly appropriate 
to the vicissitudes of his fortunes. In the dawn 
of life clouds had obscured his horizon, but sud- 
denly they were all dispelled. The glory of his 
manhood's prime was as the splendour of the 
noontide sun, and in his death the figurative 
expression for the red sunsets of eastern climes — 
* the sun setting as in a sea of blood ' — also 
became, through the cruel Scythian queen, 
Tomyris, a terrible reality. Cyrus, when taken 
prisoner by her, was beheaded, and his head was 
thrown into a huge leathern bottle filled with 

p 



66 WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 

blood, the savage queen exclaiming, ' You have 
thirsted for blood — now satisfy your thirst/ 

The narae of Kouresh, or Korshid, as expres- 
sive of an emanation of deity, was ere long 
succeeded by that of Xerxes, a name so trans- 
lated by the Greeks, and said by Herodotus 
to signify a Conqueror. The Greek Xerxes, 
Median Cyaxares, Hebrew Ahasuerus, and the 
Kh-sh-yarsha of ancient monuments, has in later 
days been translated by 'the Lion King^^ a 
natural Oriental figure for a conqueror. Xerxes, 
if derived from the Zend word Ksathra, Sanscrii 
Khsathra, signifies a King. Artaxerxes, a name 
boi'ne by many successive Persian monarchs, sig- 
nifies 'the Honoured King;' the prefix, Persian 
Ar, Sanscrit Arya, signifying ^Honoured.^ From 
the same root sprang modem Iran's old name of 
Ariana, 

In the ancient kingdom of the fire-worshippers, 
where, in the city of Yezd, or Izad (the Holy 
Name), it is said that the heaven-descended fire 
still burns unquenched since the days of Zoroaster, 
the old name of their tutelary god constantly re- 
turned in various combinations as their sovereign's 
name. Hormuz, or Orosmades, signified Pure 
Lights and Khosru, the Sun. Mithra, another 
name for the sun-god of Persia, gave to kings of 
Armenia and Pontus the name of Mithridad, 
translated by the Greeks Mithridates, a synonyme 
of Khor-dad, Gift of the Sun. 

In later days the ' Sophis of Persia ' again pro- 



THE FIRE-WOBSHIPPEBS. 67 

claimed how in Ariana, the * honoured ' land, the 
religious element indissolubly combined itself 
with the principle of sovereignty. The royal 
title, when it ceased to claim the name of deity, 
assumed that of its ministers. 

The sun and fire, chosen as objects of venera- 
tion by these descendants of Shem, were typical 
of their religious history. The clouds of super- 
stition and the smouldering darkness of human 
corruption again and again threatened to quench 
the light of the true faith, but its glory was 
never wholly obscured. Amongst idolaters 
(allowing that they were so) the fire-worship- 
pers, as they have been called, have always been 
distinguished by the comparative purity of their 
doctrines and lives. 

Christians may well lay to heart some of the 
noble precepts of the Zend-Avesta, or ''Living 
Word^ given to the Persians by the great Zo- 
roaster, the Greek rendering of whose Persian 
name, Zerdusht, signifies a Pure or Living Star. 
Some learned writers read the name as Ziru 
Ishtar, 'The seed of the goddess Ishtar;' the 
Assyrian name for the planet Venus. The Ma- 
gian philosopher's name was suggestive indeed, 
for 5^ar-like amidst the gloomy fatalism of a 
Pagan world must have shone forth such words 
as these : — ' In your afflictions oflFer to God your 
patience; in your joy render to Him acts of 
thanksgiving.' Do not the trees of our orchards, 
the blackberry bushes of our hedge-rows, repeat 

jp 2 



68 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

the same lesson to us? See how they silently 
bend beneath the chill weight of winter's oppres- 
sive snows ; see, again, how at the first breath of 
spring they hasten to put forth their green leaves 
and fair blossoms. The summer sunshine falls 
not on ungrateful objects there, for behold in 
autumn their good fruits. 

But the Persians of old had another teacher 
besides Zoroaster, and another holy book besides 
the Zend-Avesta. The Sofh, or 'Persian 
Bible,' as it has been called, is said by some 
writers to have derived its name from the Greek 
(ToipicL, wisdom. How may this be, if indeed this 
venerated book be of such antiquity as to claim 
for its author Abraham? Shall we not rather 
suppose that the Greeks themselves adopted this 
word, as they did adopt other words, and the 
whole tangled maze of their mythology, from the 
fertile East? Must we not look to the Sanscrit 
parad^sa if we would know where the Greeks 
found their paradeisos — our paradise, or garden 
of delight ? 

Sophi, or Sofi, is said by Bochart to mean, in 
the original Persian, one ^Pure in Faith^^ 'devoted 
to God.' * The significations of the Greek and the 
Persian words Sophia and Sofi, Wisdom and Purity^ 
are in the Inspired Word united. ' The wisdom 



• The books of the Muslim darweeshes (dervishes) of the order 
of Soofees are called 'Ta sow wuf/ that is, of spirittud life, 
D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale: quoted by Lane, Arabian 
Nights, vol. ii. p. 240. 



THE MOSQUE OF SANTA SOPHIA. 69 

that is from above ' is there said to be ^ first pure.^ 
Do not our own hearts tell us also that only by the 
' pure in heart/ who see God, can true wisdom be 
found? The Hebrew word Zophim, explained as 
' Seers^^ * carries out this idea, confirmed by the 
Hebrew prophet Zephaniah's name, which (trans- 
lated by the French Sophonie, and Italian Sofo- 
nia) is said to signify ^ The Secret of Jehovah.'' 

The Greek Sophia, though cruelly misused by 
the so-called sophists of the schools, did still so 
retain its original holy signification, that it was 
at one time used by the early Christian Church 
to express the Incarnate Word as the ' Wisdom ' 
of God. It was then considered too sacred to be 
used commonly as an individual name.f 

This name, of Eastern origin (as I believe), 
once held in such especial honour, will be found 
amongst the heroic names of Arabian conquerors 
of old — Sofian, and Abu Sofian. In its feminine 
form, it becomes in Arabic Safiyeh. 

In Turkish it is Sofiyeh, as a woman's name, 
and signifies Chosen. 

In the magnificent mosque of Santa Sophia — 
the name of which has been preserved by the 
Turks, though the city is called Stamboul — once 
a Christian church, and which Moslems them- 
selves believe will become so again one day, eight 
of the great columns were brought fi'om the 

• Stanley's Jewish Churcli, p. 403. 

t ' Therefore some godly men do dislike it as irreligious that it 
should be communicated to any other,* — Camden's JRemains, &c. 



70 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Temple of the Sun at Baalbec, and eight from 
the Temple of Diana (the Moon) at Ephesus.* 
Do not these superb spoils of the false gods of 
Assyria and Greece, thus consecrated to Divine 
Wisdom, seem to say — 

Th' unwearied sun from day to day 
Does his Creator's praise display. 

Soon as the evening shades prevail, 
The moon takes up the wond'rous tale. 

History tells us how the word Sofi was dis- 
graced by cruel Persian kings who bore the 
name, and yet more by the horrible doctrine 
subsequently taught under the name of Soofeism. 
Our ancestors brought back to us from the Cru- 
sades a new and terrible word, Assassin : it was 
used to designate the red-handed followers of 
Hassan, the mountain-chief of Alamoot, signifying 
the Vulture^ s Nest Assassin, once supposed to 
have come from Hassan, was really derived from 
Hashish, a kind of hemp, by means of which the 
Fedavee, or Devoted^ were intoxicated, when it 
suited the purposes of their wicked chief. 

We will now see how the name Sofi was 
crowned with sovereignty and became that of a 
royal dj^nasty. A race of sheiks long dwelling 

• The long-lost quarries of Rosso and Verde Antico, which were 
rediscovered ahout two years ago hy the German sculptor Herr 
Siegel, contain an inscription saying that from them were taken 
the columns for the temples of Baalhec and Ephesus, which now 
adorn St. Sophia's at Constantinople. Bremer's Greece, vol. i. 
p. 97. 



THE SOPHIS OF PEBSIA. 71 

at Erdebel, had successively passed their lives in 
mystic contemplation of this sacred book — the 
Sofh — containing doctrines called by them ' Kish 
Abraham.' In the fourteenth century a member 
of this family rose into eminence as Sophi-ed- 
Deen, signifjdng One Pure or Wise in the Faith. 
By his descendant, the warlike though cruel 
Ismael, was the dynasty of the Sophis, Sef6s, or 
Suffavees (in Shakspeare's time called 'the Sophy s 
of Persia ') established, which lasted for upwards 
of two hundred years. The followers of Sophi- 
ed-Deen were distinguished by a cap of crimson 
wool, and the Mohammedans, who so often fled 
in terror before these Kussilbashes, or red-caps, 
even while themselves cherishing the name of 
Sophian, have attempted to cast ridicule on the 
title of Sophi by pointing to the woollen cap as its 
origin, ' Souf ' being the Arabian word for wool. 

As a religious order, the Sophis still exist — 
the reigning Shah of Persia being considered the 
grand master of the order. The first convent 
of the order, in Egypt, was founded by the 
chivalrous opponent of our Cceur-de-Lion, Salah- 
ed-Deen, signifying the Goodness of the Religion^ 
or the Faith. 

Looking to ancient India, we find in Porus the 
Greek form of the name of a brave monarch— of 
one whose noble nature, kindred with his native 
palm-tree, no weight of misfortune could de- 
press ; discrowned, but still a king, commanding 
the respect and admiration of his conqueror 



72 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Alexander. Porus has been said to signify a 
' Prince,' but, traced to its original Sanscrit, it 
has a nobler and far more appropriate meaning, 
Paurusha signifying a Hero. 

Names significant of sovereign power were 
common in the East, such as Archelaus, signify- 
•ing in Greek Rvler of the People] and they had 
their synonjmaes amongst the Teuton princes of 
the West, who themselves claimed to be of Asiatic 
origin. 

In that word of infinite significance, thu, to do, 
the words Teut, signifying God^ Father^ Ruler^ 
and Thiudans, signifying the People^ alike had 
their root. Thence arose the grand name of 
Theod-o-ric, which signifies a Chief who is Father 
of the People. Grandly was the name carried out 
by the mighty monarch of the Ostrogoths, whom 
history and song have delighted to honour. 

Ethiopia claimed the sun as her father and 
her king; but the dark-skinned race were ruled 
by women, their queens successively bearing the 
name of Candace, which is said to signify ' pure 
possession.'* 

The * Brothers of the Sun and Moon,' who 
rule the celestial kingdom, called by barbarians 
China, not content with their heavenly designa- 
tion, afifect also such earthly appellations as 
may strike terror into the hearts of their foes. 
From B.C. 49 to a.d. 1832, LAng, a Dragon^ 

* Cruden. 



CHINESE DRAGONS. 73 

has been a favourite cognomen in * the Flowery 
Land/ having been assumed not only by lawful 
sovereigns, but also by rebel leaders. Hw&ng 
Liing, Yellow Dragon^ Tsing L Ang, Azure Dragon^ 
figure amongst their chronicle of kings; yellow 
and blue being the colours most aflfected by the 
Chinese, considered by them as typical — the 
yellow of earth, the blue of heaven. 

Chaou-kin Liing, the Golden Dragon of 1832, 
is said by Sir John Davis to have always worn, 
as significant of his name, a yellow dress. 

In the far West, where Pizarro and his fol- 
lowei's sought not for undying fame, but for 
perishable gold, they found, in the Incas of 
Peru, misused by them so cruelly, another royal 
race, who claimed to be children of the sun — 
descendants of the heavenly visitants, Manco 
Capac and Manca OcoUa his wife. 

From the fifteenth century the emperors of 
Morocco and their descendants have successively 
borne the name, or more properly the title, of 
Mouley, signifying Lord and Master. 

Zay, or Sai, was the general title .of the 
Ashantee kings. 

The Negro kings of Loanga have adopted the 
prefix of Manna, which answers to the Spanish 
title of Don. Their names most frequently 
represent their most cherished article of property. 
Manna Gangala signifies Don Shield) Manna 
BeUe, Don Knifed 

* Noel's Dictionnaire Hlstoriqae. 



74 WHAT IS YOUR NAME ? 

The Princes of Mingrelia selected the noble 
name of Dadyan, signifying the Just The Em- 
perors of China and Japan are known after death 
by diflFerent names from those which they bore 
when living. By these new names they are 
worshipped by their people as divinities. 

So, too, in Rome, their deified heroes some- 
times received fresh appellations. To Romulus, 
whose name signified Strength^ was given that 
of Quirinus, the name of an ancient Sabine 
divinity. 

The reckless claimers of supernatural descent, 
so numerous in remote ages, grew less frequent 
as the strong arm of military power was found 
to be the more certain element of success. As 
time rolls on, we find the simple family name of 
a successful general deemed of sufficient value 
to express in itself the idea of sovereignty. 

When Rome's invincible soldiers clashed to- 
gether their brazen shields, and with a mighty 
shout hailed some comrade by the name of Ccesar^ 
he was straightway invested with the purple. 
To Caesar Augustus the imperial diadem itself 
belonged, and with it dominion over all the 
known regions of the world. 

This name, surpassing aU human names in 
celebrity, and which, up to the present day, 
is synonymous with empire — for emperors of 
Austria still affect to claim the title of 'the 
Caesar' — may well have engaged much attention 
as to its derivation. 



THE c-esar's name. 75 

But, in itself, the name was nothing, its signi- 
fication was as nought. It was from its wearer, 
from the Caesar himself, that the mighty name 
derived its subsequently mighty significance. 

To Julius Caesar — of whom it has been said 
that, as general, statesman, lawgiver, poet, orator, 
and historian, he achieved such excellence that 
the distinction he gained in each character would 
separately have made any man remarkable — ^was 
rendered the most superb homage ever rendered 
to man.* 

We shudder to read of Pedro the Cruel's ill- 
advised homage to the unhappy Inez de Castro — 
her fleshless brows marked by the glitter of a 
jewelled crown — but the honour paid by Rome 
to her slaughtered son was nobler far than any 
imaginable outward demonstration could have 
been. Unmatched in ancient and modem times 
is the spiritual gi'andeur of the investiture of the 
dead hero's name — himself uncrowned — with the 
insignia of royalty. To be a Caesar was hence- 
forth to be a King. Alas for the monsters that 
in Rome's later days disgraced the name ! 

The Caesar would seem to have adopted the 
Punic signification of his name, by having an 
elephant engraved on the coinage of Rome while 
he was in power, it being contrary to law for the 
name of a man to be stamped on the money of a 
commonwealth. 

* Smith's Classical Biography. 



76 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

But the most generally received derivation of 
this mighty name is from the Latin ccesarieSj 
hair. Such a name, bestowed on an infant who 
was bom with much hair, accorded with the 
ordinary Roman custom of deriving names from 
personal charaxjteristics. It only becomes singular 
when regarded as the distinctive name of a family 
of the Julia gens, iulus being derived from the 
Greek IfouXo^, signifying doicny^ or the soft hair of 
early youth ; this name having been, it is said, first 
assumed by Ascanius of the royal house of Troy, 
on the occasion of a successftil combat while yet 
the early down of manhood was upon his lip. 

The name of Augustus is in our own language 
sufficiently suggestive. Derived from the Latin 
verb Augeo, to honour^ it was first bestowed 
on Octavianus, the nephew and adopted son of 
Julius CsBsar, its Greek synonyme being found 
in Sebastos, signifying to be reverenced and 
honoured. As the name of the first emperor, 
and in itself expressive of rulership, it was, when 
joined to the name of CaBsar, indicative of su- 
preme authority. Augusta was the title given 
to the empress. 

But it is not only in ages past, and amongst 
such high and mighty personages as Egyptian 
Pharaohs and Roman CaBsars, that certain names 
have been attached to certain dignities. 

In both the communions into which the Syrian 
Church is divided, the custom prevails of trans- 
mitting from prelate to prelate the same name. 



NAMES OF ROYAL AND NOBLE FAMILIES. 77 

The head of the Jacobite Church, who claims the 
title of the Patriarch of Antioch, is always called 
Ignatius (from the Latin), signifying to kindle 
or inflame. It was a name worthy to be remem- 
bered as that of the first Bishop of Antioch, once 
called the ' City of God/ where the followers of 
Christ were first called by His name. St. 
Ignatius, martyred in the emperor Trajan's reign, 
torn to pieces by lions in the amphitheatre of 
Rome, is said to have been the blessed child 
taken to the Saviour's arms when He spoke the 
words, * Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' 

The Maronite dwellers in Mount Lebanon, 
who from the twelfth century have been dis- 
tinguished from the rest of the Eastern Church 
by their professed allegiance to the Church of 
Rome, always give to their spiritual head the 
name of Peter. 

The beautiful names of Victor Amadeus and 
Victor Emmanuel are hereditary in the royal 
house of Savoy ; Victor signifying in Latin a 
Conqueror^ Amadeus (Latin), a Lover of God^ 
and Emmanuel (Hebrew) signifying * God 
with us.^ ♦ 

Lords of Lusignan have chosen the name of 
Geofi^rey, said to have been of Teutonic origin, 
signifying ' JoyfuV 

Simon, in Hebrew signifjring Obedient^ has been 
attached to the house of De Montfort; and Anne, 
a woman's Hebrew name, signifying Gracious^ 
to the house of De Montmorenci, Premier 



78 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Baron of Christendom. The name was first intro- 
duced into the family by Anne of Bretagne, who 
gave it to her godson. Henry, derived from the 
Scandinavian Eoric or Eric, signifying a Great 
Lord^ is so identified with the German Princes of 
Reuss, that the Saxe-Gotha Almanack of 1862 
chronicles Prince Henry the Seventy-fourth. 

In a curious old French book (1G81) on the 
origin of names, by Messire Gilles Andre de la 
Roque, we may see how Guy, Baron de Laval, 
fourteenth of the name, obtained from Pope Pas- 
cal II. permission for all his heirs in perpetuity 
to bear the Christian name of Guy. It was to 
preserve the memory of services rendered to the 
Church by the Baron and his brother, while 
serving in the Holy Land under Godfrey de 
BouiUon. This privilege was confirmed by 
letters from Philip I. of France. By the will of 
a succeeding baron, the lordship of Laval was 
made inseparable from the name of Guy. None 
could succeed to the honours of the house who 
was not of that name ; in the event of an heiress, 
whoever she married was bound to assume it. 

This beautiful name has been by some writers 
simply translated from the French Gui, Mistletoe ; 
others have derived it fi:om the dwarf Guion of 
Celtic mythology, connecting him with the 
sacred plant of the Druids. But such stringent 
directions for the preservation of the name, as 
perpetuating the recollection of some military 
service, would seem to show that the lords of 



GUY DE LAVAL. 79 

Laval, time-honoured owners of the name, did 
themselves derive it from guyer, guier, guidon 
(old French), signifying to guide^to direct^ whence 
our word guide^ identical with the French, 
though differently pronounced. Chaucer uses the 
word ' gie ' in the same sense, to conduct, and 
almost the same idea is expressed in the Icelandic 
' gae,' to take heed^ a necessary qualification in a 
guide. 

In connection with this derivation is preserved 
the beautiful signification of a standard-bearer^ 
one who goes before, carrying the guidon or 
broad pendant. The proper name is in fact 
frequently so spelt, ' Guidon ' in old French 
books. 

We may be sure that the first Guy de Laval 
won his beautiful name by some gallant deed as 
a guide^ or a standard-bearer^ or as both. If 
Messire de la Roque, living nearer those times, 
had but sought out its origin, and not told us 
only of its preservation ! 



80 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTER IV. 

One individual name originally sufficient — Family names 
adopted — Principles of Koman nomenclature — The four 
Eoman names — Nomenclators^ &c. 

IT would be impossible in a history of names 
strictly to divide the subjects of individual 
and family names. The one or the other may 
be the principal theme, but one cannot pass 
either entirely by. The most superfcial glance 
will at once show how closely they are inter- 
woven with each other, being, indeed, conver- 
tible, the individual names of one generation 
becoming the family names of another. William 
is said to form the basis of no less than twenty- 
nine surnames in England.* 

In the early history of the world one name 
was sufficient to distinguish individuals, but, as 
these multiplied, it was not only becoming but 
necessary for family names to be added. By 
these second names were distinguished the va- 
rious branches of the one original stock, while 
individuals were still marked out by distinctive 
and significative personal appellations. 

It is singular to remark how at different times 

* Lower on Surnames. 



HONOURS ATTACHED TO INDIVIDUAL NAMES. 81 

and under different circumstances honour and 
dishonour are attached to the same particular. 

In the history of Rome we find her great men 
priding themselves on two, three, four, and 
sometimes six names, while slaves were forbidden 
to use more than one. In our own history we 
read that in the twelfth century a wealthy heiress 
objected to marry Robert, natural son of Henry I., 
on the plea that 

It were to me a great shame 

To have a lord withouten his twa name. 

Yet two centuries before, in Domesday Book, 
that ancient register of the landed proprietors 
in England, we find that the comites or counts, 
the men of highest rank, were simply distin- 
guished as Comes Hugo, Count Hugh — Comes 
Rogerus, Count Roger — thereby assimilating 
themselves to royalty: in all lands the special 
distinction being conceded to sovereigns and 
their immediate families of using their individual 
names only, from their exalted rank no sur- 
name being required to distinguish them. 

Christians in the house of God are carried back 
as it were to the infant days of history. Sur- 
names are not acknowledged there. When, as 
individuals, we stand before the Lord and Maker 
of all, the conventionalities of the world are lost 
sight of, and we are known only by our individual 
names. 

G 



82 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Tokens of our worldly position must surround 
us perforce, but unheard are the names of power 
by which we claim precedence amongst our fellow- 
men. By the cambric robe or the cotton frock 
the rich man's or the pauper's babe may be told, 
even as the dress of costly lace or cheap print 
betokens the respective stations of the brides ; but 
only as individuals known by individual names, 
the children of one Father, the servants of one 
Master, take their place at the font and the altar. 
Alike in this — only by their baptismal names — 
our sweet Princess Alice Maude Mary pledged 
her faith to Prince Frederic William Louis of 
Hesse, and poor Mary Ann, the lodging-house 
girl, promised to be true to her John. 

Family names are said to have originated with 
the Etruscans;* adopted by the Sabines, through 
them they passed to the Romans on the occasion 
of their treaty of alliance. To cement this 
union more closely, it was required that every 
Roman should add to his own name the name of 
a Sabine, while in like manner each Sabine should 
take a Roman name. 

Instinctively thus regarding the person in the 
name, the red Indian of the far West also 
exchanges names with the white man whom he 
adopts as a brother. 

To our word surname two distinct derivations 
have been assigned: — Sire-name, the father's 

• Salverte. 



CHARACTERISTIC NAMES. 83 

name, and Sumom (French), Sopra nome (Ita- 
lian), from the original custom of placing the 
second or family name ahove^ not, as now, after^ 
the baptismal name. 

The early history of the Greeks affords occa- 
sional examples of individuals bearing two 
names. In some instances this second name was 
a patronymic (derived from the father), and 
occasionally it superseded the personal name. 
This was still more frequently the case when the 
added name was commemorative either of some 
victory gained, or of some peculiar grace of body 
or mind. 

Tyrtamus, the favourite disciple of Aristotle, 
was by him first named Euphrastes, signifying 
one who speaks well ; but it is only by the still 
more flattering name which his admiring master 
subsequently bestowed — Theophrastes, signifying 
he who speaks as one inspired^ or the god-like 
speaker — that Tyrtamus is commonly known. 

Plato was originally named after his grand- 
father Aristocles, signifying the better glory^ or 
the glory of that which is good) but the name by 
which he is known in all lands — Plato, signifying 
large — was given to him on account of the breadth 
of his chest and forehead ; and also, it is supposed 
by some, as significative of the largeness and full- 
ness of his eloquence. 

But sometimes those additional names were 
the reverse of complimentary. Amongst the 
witty Greeks nicknames were common. Doson, 

G 2 



84 WHAT IS YOUR NAME ? 

which expressed the future of the verb to give^ 
was a name bestowed on a king of Macedonia 
who was liberal in promises, but sparing in actual 
gifts. 

Amongst the Arabs we also find some of these 
names which were bestowed in ridicule. Abu- 
Horeirah, ' Father of the Cat^ was so named by 
Mohammed in consequence of his excessive fond- 
ness for a cat, and in the nickname so universally 
adopted the man's real name has been wholly 
lost. And at this day, in the streets of Oriental 
towns, the ' gamins ' of the East use this prefix 
in the composition of names of ridicule. Dr. 
Thomson, an American missionary, tells us, in 
' The Land and the Book,' that the Syrian boys 
called after him 'Abu-Tangera' — father of a 
'Saucepan — because they fancied his hat resembled 
one in shape. Abu 'sh Shdmdt— /a^A^r of 
moles — ^is given by Lane as an actual Arabian 
name, and as moles are considered lucky it 
would be a name of good omen. The south-west 
wind is called the father of rain. 

The prefix refers to the universal custom so 
long prevailing amongst the Arabs, and also to 
be found amongst the Hebrews, of reversing the 
European practice of sons deriving their names 
fi'om their fathers, as illustrated in our English, 
Scotch, a^d Irish names, Fitz-William, Mac- 
Donald, O'Connor. A father in the East relin- 
quishes his own name and adopts that of his child, 
with the prefix Abu, father. We read that in 



ARAB CUSTOMS. 85 

Syria this custom is so universal that men with- 
out children, and even children themselves, are 

called by courtesy Abu , after an imaginary 

son. Abu-Bekr, a well-known name in the history 
of Mohammedanism, was the father of Ayesha, the 
prophet's favourite wife; in honour of her the 
name was assumed, which signifies father of the 
girl. 

Women, in like manner, assume the name of 
their first-bom, witli the prefix Em. Some- 
times it is a daughter's name that is taken, 
and as these are generally highly poetical, even 
amongst the lower classes, one's washerwoman 
may answer to some such resplendent name as 
Em el Bedr el Kebeer, mother of the great full 
moon. 

The compliment is extended to Europeans. 
The wife of the English Consul at Jerusalem is 
always addressed by the natives as Om (or Em) 
Iskender, her eldest boy's name being Alex- 
ander, the child himself being spoken of as Abou 
Jacobi.* James being the father's name, it fol- 
lows in the East that his son's son should be 
called after him. An unbroken chain of loving 
remembrance is thus kept up from father to son. 

The addition of one or more syllables was fi*e- 
quently used in both Hebrew and Greek names, 
a^ an indication of increased greatness in the 
individual. For the most part, short names were 

* Beaufort's Syrian Shrines. 



86 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

in Greece confined to slaves, while men of rank 
rejoiced in the rolling melody of four and five 
syllables. 

In Greece and Rome certain names were set 
apart, and could only be given according as they 
were assigned respectively to citizens or slaves. 
It was, however, permitted to freedmen to add 
to their own names the ' nomen ' or ' praBnomen ' 
(that is to say, the family or personal names) of 
their master. In Rome, therefore, as amongst 
the Highland clans, a preponderance of certain 
names betokened the larger following of those 
houses. The Cornelia gens was one of the 
most distinguished in Rome : from it sprang more 
illustrious men than from any other Roman 
house. All its great families were of the patri- 
cian order, but it also included many that were 
plebeian. The Dictator Sulla bestowed the 
Roman franchise on 10,000 slaves, calling them 
Cornelii, after his own name, so that he might 
always reckon on supporters amongst the people. 

The four names usually borne by men of 
rank in Rome were — 

1. The Nomen^ the family name, or race- 
name as it may be called, answering to the Greek 
patronymic. This preceded, not followed as with 
us, the personal name. For a considerable period 
but eighteen of such names were in much repute, 
so that it sufficed to use their initial letters 
only. 

2. The Prcenomen^ or personal name, was 



THE FOUR ROMAN NAMES. 87 

used to distinguish the various individuals of a 
famUy. 

3. The Cognomen^ or surname, which dis- 
tinguished the several branches or families 
descended from the same stock. 

4. The Agnomen^ which somewhat resembled 
the cognomen ; but in that it was frequently a 
title of honour, it partook more of personal cha- 
racter. 

All these names were significative. The two 
first were for the most part simply descriptive 
of personal characteristics, such as Flavus and 
its derivative Flavins, signifying yellow-haired. 
The two last were usually honourable dis- 
tinctions. 

We may find an example of these four names 
in Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, one of 
the most illustrious of the sons of Rome, were 
it not for the shadow cast upon his fame by 
the tragic story of the Carthaginian Princess 
Sophonisba. 

In this instance the praenomen preceded the 
nomen. 

Publius was a name of good augury, signifying 
one honoured by the people. 

Cornelius, the name of this distinguished race, 
was also a name of good augury. It might be 
said to have a threefold significance. If de- 
rived from the Latin comu, a horn^ it sug- 
gested cornucopia, signifying a horn of plenty^ 
abundance; or as a cornet^ a trumpet, it might 



88 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

have seemed prophetic of the far sounding of 
the name. If derived from the Greek (korone), 
it signifies a rooh^ a bird of good omen. 

Scipio signifies a staff. This was a name of 
honour won by a Cornelius, founder of the family 
of the Scipios, who had been as a staff daily to 
support and guide a blind father. 

Africanus was a title of honour conferred by 
acclamation when the conquerors of the Cartha- 
ginians returned in triumph to Rome. In con- 
nection with the subject of names a noble answer 
of this hero is recorded in history. 

The talent for remembering names has been 
called a ' royal gift/ but in republican Rome it 
was so necessary for the candidates for public 
favour to remember the names of their feUow- 
citizens that certain slaves called nomenclators 
were in constant attendance on the great men of 
the city. It was their duty to make themselves 
acquainted with the names of the citizens, and 
in a low voice repeat to their masters that of 
each individual as he drew near. Some men 
prided themselves on not requiring the services 
of a nomenclator. On Appius Claudius vaunting 
himself on this accomplishment, Scipio Africanus 
replied that ' his greater care had been to make 
his own name known to his countr3m[ien, than to 
become acquainted with all theirs.' 

Wonderful tales are told_pf the gift of re- 
membering names. Cyrus and Mithridates are 



NOMENCLATORS. 89 

said to have known by name each soldier in their 
armies. Cynias, ambassador from Pyrrhus, sa- 
luted each member of the Roman senate by name. 
The Emperor Hadrian used to correct the mis^ 
takes of his nomenclator. 



90 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTEE V. 



S 



Change of name — Various scenes and stories connected with I 

such change — ^Abraham — The four Hebrew captives — ^The 
North American Indian brave — Caribs — Dacians — Greek 
emperors and their brides — Princesses marrying into foreign 
lands — Queen Dagmar of Denmark — Signification of Alex- 
andra — Old Danish ballad — Brunechilde of France — 
Eleanor of Austria — Popes — Literary men : their assump- 
tion of Greek and Latin names — Enforced changes of 
name — Ireland — Spain — Scotland. 

npHE subject of Change of Name claims a chapter 
-*- to itself. It might fill a volume. I may 
only give it here a few pages. 

It has been said, ' Notre nom propre c'est nous- 
memes.' * It would seem to have been instinctively 
so felt, if we compare the capricious fancies 
which have occasionally led to a change of sur- 
name f with the grave and earnest occasions on 
which alone, even before the days of Christianity, , 

new personal names have been adopted. j 

The assumption of a new individual name has 
always supposed the assuming a new manner of 
life, or at least the entering into some new and 
important phase of life. 

* Salverte. 

t The ridiculous fancy lately sprung up in England of changing 
<2:ly surnames for those of prettier sound, without right or title to 
^m, will surely soon die out again. 



CHANGE OF NAME. 91 

But the Church of England has always con- 
sidered Christian names inalienable ; and in Eng- 
land, even before the Reformation, we read of 
severe penance being inflicted on a woman who 
had changed her son's baptismal name of Edward 
for that of Henry. We change our surnames or 
family names, but our individual, or • font-names,' 
as they were once called, are ours unchangeably — 
ours by the grace of God. Let us seek to have 
them written by the finger of God — where none 
can blot them out — in the Book of Life. 

Inmmierable pictures rise before us as our minds 
rest on those words. Change of Name. We may 
but glance at a few of them. 

We see the princely patriarch of old — who 
was called forth from his birth-place Ur (of the 
Chaldees), signifying Light — so that the light of 
his faith should penetrate the darkness of hea- 
thenism, and that from his chosen seed should 
arise a Light ' to lighten the whole world,' even 
the glorious ' Sun of Righteousness.' We see 
this chief of a great following — men servants and 
maid servants, with many herds, and with much 
silver and gold — bowed with his face upon the 
ground, for ' God talked with him.' From the 
High and Holy One Himself, the Father of the 
Faithful received the charge 'to walk before 
Him, and be perfect ;' and in making His solemn 
covenant with him God changed his name from 
Ab-ram, the lofty father^ to Ab-raham, the father 
of multitudes. 



92 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

The name which Persian tradition affirms 
was the patriarch's original name, Zerwan, the 
wealthy^ was it not significant also? Was he 
not made rich indeed to whom was given the 
title of ' the Friend of God : ' the modem town 
of Hebron, we are told, being now called in 
memory of its illustrious first occupant. El Khalil, 
the friend ? * 

Our next picture of far-away times is a very 
dififerent one. It is in sorrow, not in joy, that 
this change of name takes place. The new name 
is not as a pledge of favour fi'om a gracious 
God, but it is as a heavy chain pressing about a 
prisoner's neck — ^it is as an act of sacrilege abhor- 
rent to a heart that is devout. By their new 
names the four Hebrew youths, captive to the 
King of Babylon, were dedicated to their con- 
queror's false gods. Daniel, signifying God is 
wy judge^ was exchanged for Belteshazzar, Bel 
has formed a prophet or wise man ; Hananiah, 
signifying the gracious gift of Jehovah (a syno- 
nyme with John), was exchanged for Shadrach, 
signifying royal^ Jcing^s own^ or belonging to the 
king ; Mishael or Michael, the strength of God^ for 
Meshach, belonging to Sheschach^ an Assyrian 
goddess; and Azariah, the help of Jehovah^ for 
Abed Nego, servant of Nego or Nebo, the god or 
planet Mercury. 

We behold monarchs of all the various empires 

• Staiiley's Jewish Cliurclu 



A NORTH- AMERICAN INDIAN * BRAVE.' 93 

of the East, on ascending the steps of a throne, 
crowning themselves, as it were, with new names 
significative of empire. And lo ! beside them there 
are conquerors, of haughty mien and strong- 
handed, writing their new names in fire and 
blood on scathed and devastated lands. 

And see, in other lands, hands that were up- 
raised in enmity are now clasped in brotherhood, 
and new names are given and received. The 
form and the feeling are alike, though the great 
ocean and the sea of time rolls between the Sabine 
and Roman of other days, and the red Indian and 
his white brother of to-day. 

Look again to the Western world, with its sea- 
like lakes and primaeval forests, where year by 
year on the unkindly bosom of the North the 
lodges of her red children grow fewer and farther 
apart, and their graves draw closer and increase 
in number. It is on the shores of the Mississippi, 
a village of the tall Osages, the young braves are 
returning from a fierce encounter with their 
deadly enemies the Pawnees. There is joy 
amongst those who go to meet them. The old 
chiefs and the women rejoice, for the scalp-locks 
of the war party are many; but the ghastly face 
of one lad reflects not the general joy, for the 
shadow of death is there. He has only strength 
to stagger to the door of his father's lodge. He 
will never rise up again, for the gaping wound in 
his breast is beyond the most skilful medicine- 
man's power to heal. But, hark ! his companions 



94 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

hasten to recount on all sides his gallant deeds, 
and the great chief draws near to Shinga-wossa, 
signifying the handsome bird. He takes from his 
own head his crest of deer's hair and eagle-quills, 
and lays it upon the dying boy's head as he gives 
him the new name of Mun-ne-pus-kee, signifying 
he who is not afraid. A flash of joy lightens o'er 
his face : it tells better than words how precious 
to that brave lad is his new name of honour, that 
he once hears — once only — now for the first and 
for the last time. 

In the islands of the West let us look on a 
scene which involves a change of name. It is 
amongst the almost extinct race of the Caribs — 
those courteous savages who welcomed the dis- 
coverer of the New World with ofiferings of palm 
branches. It is a bridal day, and the lovers with 
skins of bronze, but with hearts as loving as those 
of white men and women, exchange names as a 
pledge of perfect union. 

In those ' rude huts on the Danube,' where of 
old the Dacian wives and mothers wept while 
afar oflF in triumphant Rome the death-struggles 
of their loved ones made sport for their bar- 
barous conquerors — ^it was there also the custom 
for men and women on their marriage-day to 
receive from each other new names. 

We have seen an Indian brave purchasing 
with his heart's blood a new name ; and so, too, 
did many of the early converts from paganism to 
Christianity, but their new names opened to 



4 STORY OF ST. EUSTACE. 95 

them the gates of everlasting life. Amongst such 
changes of name there is one example in two 
names which have in their keeping a story more 
impressive than many homilies. 

A captain of the guards to the Emperor 

» Trajan — young and noble and rich, in the en- 

joyment of all this world could give of happi- 
ness, blessed with a loving wife and two beau- 
tiful boys — answered to the name of Placidus, the 
calm^ the easy-tempered^ But he was meant for 
higher things than this world's peace alone. 
Converted to Christianity, the brave soldier made 
choice of the noble name of Eustace. Trials, he 

^ knew, must be his : he was willing to meet them 

steadfast in the faith. Despoiled for a time of 
wife, children, and wealth, they were suddenly 
and strangely restored to him, but only for a 
time. Resolutely refusing to comply with the 
Emperor Hadrian's command that he should 
bum incense before the false gods of Rome, 
Eustace, his wife, and children, were shut up 
together in a brazen bull, and a fire was kindled 
beneath — a death of torment followed by an 
eternity of bliss. 

, From the seventh to the end of the eleventh 

century bishops frequently changed their names 
on ordination;* and from the eleventh century 
it became an established custom for Popes to 

* In tlie East the practice is continued. The Syrian patriarch 
Mar Gregorius, now dwelling at Jerusalem, originally bore a name 
of Moslem invention, Nour-ed-Deen, signifying the Light of Religion, 



96 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

take new names on assuming the tiara. John 
XIL, formerly Octavian, was the first, it is said, 
to set the example, a.d. 955. Various reasons 
have been assigned* for this practice, the most 
probable being a desire to imitate the examples 
of St. Peter and St. Paul. Once only has this 
custom been infringed, in spite of universal prog- 
nostications of evil — Cardinal Marcellus Cervin 
insisted on retaining the name of Marcellus, and 
died on the twentieth day of his pontificate.! 

It is permitted to Roman Catholics to change 
their names on confirmation, and monks and 
nuns almost invariably assume new names on 
entering the cloister. 

We find one touching exception to this rule in 
the instance of the unhappy Louise de la Valliere, 
mistress to Louis XIV. Unlike the bold bad 
women of her day, who gloried in their shame, 
soon after her fall she fled to the cloister, there 
by a life of penance to seek reconciliation with 
her God, and to weep over, though she could 
never recall, the irrevocable past. She willingly 
abandoned the pleasures of the world and all the 
attractions of power and wealth. She had really 

* Noers Dictionnaire EBstorique. 

t Once more the writer would beg of lier readers not to imagine 
tliat she shares in the superstitious fancies which she relates. 
History tells of these incidents, and history records the effect 
which they produced. Let us, who live in these enb'ghtened days, 
rejoice to feel assured that joy and sorrow, life and death, depend 
on the ordering of a gracious Providence, and not upon the ob« 
servance of any superstitious practice whatsoever. 



GREEK EMPERORS AND THEIR BRIDES. 97 

loved her betrayer; but she closed between him 
and herself the iron grating of a convent. One 
only thing she took with her into that living 
tomb — her Christian name she could not part 
with, for was it not also his name whom she 
had loved? ' Louise de la Mis^ricorde' was the 
convent name of La Duchesse de la Valli^re. 

The women of ancient Greece frequently 
changed their personal name on their marriage. 
In later days Greek emperOTS often took to 
themselves new names on their coronations, and 
they alwajrs required of their brides to be bap- 
tised and with new names. 

Pyrisca, daughter of Ladislas, king of Hungary, 
became the Empress Irene on her marriage with 
John Comnena; and Agnes, daughter of Louis 
VIL of France, as the wife of Alexis Comnena, 
was known as the Empress Anne. 

Emperors of Russia, as belonging to the Gredk 
Church, still claim this compliance from their 
brides. 

In their turn Greek princesses sometimes sur- 
rendered their baptismal names on their marriage 
with foreign princes. In the sixth century 
the beautifiil daughter of the Gredc emperor 
Maurice married Khosru Purviz, son of Hormuz, 
king of Persia, who, fleeing from an usurper, 
had taken refuge in the court of Constantinople, 
and had there become a convert to Christianity. 
His bride's name Irene, signifying Peace, was 
prophetic, for he was soon after restored to the 

H 



98 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

throne of his ancestors — a throne of such magni- 
ficence that it was supported on 40,000 columns 
of silver. 

The exquisite beauty and graces of Khosru's 
Grecian queen, still celebrated in Eastern song, 
won 'for her in her adopted land the Persian 
name of Shereen, signifying Sweet — ^in sound and 
signification somewhat resembling her own ; and 
in Persia to this day the ' Loves of Khosru and 
Shireen' are sung. 

The story of an ancestress of our fair Princess 
of Wales illustrates the practice in a Northern 
land. Margrethe (Margaret), the pearl of Bo- 
hemia, who was bom about the year 1186, was 
wooed and won by Waldemar the Victorious, of 
Denmark. She, too, gaiued all hearts in her 
adopted land, and the beautifiil and significant 
name bestowed on her by the Daues has come 
down to us, not only in the history of the 
country, but also in its old ballads (in German 
Volkslied), which are as the cradle songs of 
nations, and have ever therefore a peculiar sweet- 
ness of their own. 

In one of these we are told that the sweet 
lady, whose memory is cherished as that of a 
saint, held the good of her people so near to her 
heart that on the day succeeding her marriage, 

Early in the morning, 
Before the risen sun,* 

* 'Wooing and Wedding of Queen Dagmar,' translated by 
Mary Howitt, in Good Wards for May 1863. 



QUEEN DAGMAR OF DENMARK. 99 

she besought from her lord, as a boon to herself, 
that the peasantry should be relieved from the 
plough tax, and that all prison doors should be 
opened ; and upon her dying bed, she again re- 
newed her kindly petitions. 

The name given by the loving Danes to 
Margrethe of Bohemia was Dagmar, signifying 
Mother of day^ expressive of the beauty and 
brightness of early morn. It was figurative of 
her fresh young beauty, and also of the gladness 
which, from her gracious nature, ever radiated 
from her presence. 

A bright picture to be followed by one as 
dark! 

Bruna, daughter of Atanagilda, king of the 
Visigoths, A. D. 562, on her marriage with 
Sigebert, king of Austrasia, was honoured, not 
by a new name, but by the addition of some 
syllables to her old name. In these syllables 
there was much meaning. In one letter, which 
was a contraction, there was the most meaning 
of all. Bruna, or Brenna, signifjdng Brown^ 
dark, dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-complexioned, 
or a combination of aU three — a peasant girl 
might have borne the name, but no maiden of 
low birth would have dared to call herself by 
the name which was given to the Queen, Brune- 
childa; Hilda, derived from the war-goddess of 
the Teutons, signifying both a lady of rank and 
simply a maiden ; but the c that preceded it was 
a sign of royalty, being a contraction of the 

H 2 



100 WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 

Teutonic cuning or cyning, German konig, a 
king. The Celts or Gaels had a somewhat 
similar word expressive of royalty — Conan, a 
prince. 

Darkness and light expressed by their re- 
spective names do not afford a stronger contrast 
than do the stories of the Queens Dagmar and 
BrunechUda. The history of the dark beauty, 
from her royal cradle in the sunny south amidst 
the olive branches of Spain, to her death of shame 
and agony in a Burgundian camp, reads like a 
romance in the early pages of the history of 
France. 

Her many crimes were odious, but how ter- 
rible was her expiation of these ! The daughter, 
wife, and mother of kings, at seventy years of 
age — at the command of a nephew, blood-guilty 
as herself— exposed to the scoffs of a rude sol- 
diery, as for three days she was paraded through 
the camp, covered with filthy rags, and bound on 
the back of an old camel. Even her frightful 
death was a relief — ^tied to the tail of a wild 
horse, her skull was fractured, and her body torn 
limb from limb. 

Strange contrast to the peacefiil ( ?) death-bed 
of her rival, the far more infamous Fredegonde ! 

The terrible hatred which existed between 
Brunechilda (or Brunehaut, the French form of 
her name) and her sister-in-law, and subse- 
quently step-mother-in-law, Fredegonde, has 
parsed into a proverb amongst the French. But 



BRUNECHILDA OF FRANCE. 101 

it should not be forgotten that Brunechilda saw 
in Fredegonde the murderer of her sister, the 
Princess Galsuinda, and of her husband, Sigebert. 
The latter days of the Spanish Princess were 
indeed stained with crime; but in her earlier 
days her name had been associated with many 
excellent works. The high roads she gave to 
France are still called ' Chauss^es de Brunehaut.' * 
But Fredegonde was a monster from her youth. 
As waiting-maid to Andovere, first wife of Chil- 
peric, she displaced her mistress in her husband's 
affections, becoming first his mistress and after- 
wards his wife ; and then with cowardly cruelty, 
when eighteen years had gone by, she sought out 
her unhappy victim in the quiet asylum of a 
convent: the unoffending Andovere was stran- 
gled by her orders, and her young daughter, 
Basim, subjected to horrible treatment. But the 
pages of Fredegonde's life are too black for any 
eye to desire to look upon them. 

Our English history affords an example of a 
foreign princess taking as a bride a new Chris- 
tian name from her new home. The Norman 
Princess Emma, on coming to England as the 
wife of Ethelred (a. d. 1001), took the Saxon 
name of Elgiva, the noble help-giver — ^a name of 
exquisite significance both as a wife and a queen. 

We may hail as of good augury the Christian 
name of the ' Rose of Denmark,' now joyously 

* Anquetirs Histoire^de France. 



102 WHAT IS TOUK NAME? 

grafted on the stem of England's royal rose. 
Almost a synonyme with Saxon (or Teutonic) 
Elgiva is the Greek Alexandra — the feminine 
form of Alexander — signifying a hrave helper — 
Alexis signifying help, or defence^ and Andreios 
courageous. Our own beloved Queen Victoria 
has, as a second name, its diminutive Alex- 
andrina. 

As a bridal gift from the King of Denmark, 
the Princess of Wales possesses a facsimile of the 
now well-known Dagmar cross. Would that it 
could whisper her, in an English voice, two verses 
from the old ballad already quoted! — 

Now listen, my handsome lady ! 
Rejoice, and give God the praise, 

You will never repent < > voyage 

To the latest of your days. 
And as long as my life endureth 

I will be your servant true, 
A J 11 x-L f * nobles of Denmark ' 
AndaUthej j^^pie of England 

Will love and honour you too. 



At one time empresses of Austria changed 
their names on their marriage and coronation.* 
In the fifteenth century Eleanor of Portugal, 
married to Frederic III. of Austria, took the 
name of Helena. In the seventeenth century 
the saintly daughter of Philip- William, first 
Elector Palatine of the branch of Newburgh, 

• Coxe's House of Austria. 



ELEONORE OF AUSTRIA. 103 

married to Leopold I., changed her name of 

Magdalen Theresa to that of Eleonore. 

The simple inscription which she chose for her 

coffin — 

El^onore, 

Pauvre Pecheresse. 

Morte le 19 Janvier 

1720— 

was in perfect keeping with her holy life. One 
cannot but regret those mistaken ideas of a God 
whose name is Love which made the life of the 
royal Eleonore a painful succession of acts of 
mortification, pilgrimages with bare and bleed- 
ing feet, frugal fare, and adornments not of gold 
and precious stones, but bracelets with sharp 
iron spikes lacerating her tender arms ; but, at 
the same time, who would not hold in high 
honour one who in all sincerity thus sought to 
obtain subjugation of self ? 

Her ardent desire was in all things to fulfil the 
Divine command, ' Be ye perfect.' As the mem- 
ber of a church which esteemed such acts of 
penance, she was unwearied in performing them ; 
as an empress and a wife, she was equally in 
earnest to do that which was right. Her public 
duties were never neglected for the sake of her 
private wishes. For a time the reins of govern- 
ment were in her hands: they were held with 
admirable discretion and wisdom. To please 
her husband she alike attended public entertain- 
ments and prepared with her own hands delicacies 



104 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

for his table at home. An exquisite musician 
and perfect linguist, she cultivated her talents 
for the enjoyment of others. During the last 
illness of her husband she was a tender and 
devoted nurse, taking no rest by night or day. 

Amongst holy women whose lives may be as 
lessons for us, let us not forget Eleonore or 
Magdalen Theresa of Austria. 

We have already seen how in Japan and China 
men take new names at different periods of their 
lives, and how Arab fathers and mothers both 
delight to lose as it were their own identity in 
that of their first-bom — giving up their own 
names to share the one which they have bestowed 
on their child. 

A fancy once existed amongst literary men of 
assuming classical names. This was especially 
the case in Italy and during the fifteenth 
century. They claimed as their precedent an 
academy founded by Charlemagne, where all the 
members, including the emperor, were designated 
by ancient Greek and Roman names. 

Pope Paul II., suspicious and cruel, sought by 
imprisonment and torture to drag from some of 
these unhappy men avowals of heretical motives 
for such changes of names. Unadvisable as the 
practice was, it had, however, simply arisen fi'om 
an overstrained admiration of classical authors. 
Piatinaj the historian of the Popes, whose real 
name was Sacci, suffered a year's imprisonment. 

Sometimes these enthusiastic admirers of 




ASSUMPTION OP GREEK AND LATIN NAMES, 105 

Greece and Rome contented themselves with 
translating their own names into Latin and 
Greek. By this means also traces of the native 
country and the parentage of many writers are 
lost to the general reader; and in some cases they 
have been almost, if not altogether, swept away 
even from the student. 

But some men are from their greatness 
recognised by all through any disguises. Of 
Syrian extraction and of Greek birth and edu- 
cation was the Latin-named Longinus — the philo- 
sopher, chief counsellor, and friend of Zenobia, 
queen of Palmyra. On the taking of the city 
the Emperor Aurelian covered himself with dis- 
grace by ungenerously putting to death this 
faithful servant to the conquered queen. 

The Greek name of Longinus's disciple. Por- 
phyry, had a double significance. Porphura, 
purple^ in that it was the ' Tyrian dye,' recalled 
his native town Tyre; and in that it was the 
royal colour, it was a figurative rendering of his 
original Arabic name Malek, signifying a king. 

Said Ibu Batric, a celebrated historian and 
physician of the ninth century, bom in Egypt, 
translated his Arabic name Said, signifying happy ^ 
into its Greek synon3nne Eutychius. 

The still more celebrated Arabian physician 
of the following century, Avicenna, called by 
Hebrew writers Abou Sina, might well be spoken 
of by a shorter name than that which properly 
belongs to him : — 



106 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

Al- Sheikh Al-Rayis Abu-Ali Al-Hossein Ben 
Abd-Allah Ben Sina. Al-Sheikh signifying a 
title of respect especially belonging to saintly 
or learned men, and Al Rayis signifying the 
chief* 

It could not be said of this learned Arabian 
as it was of some Frenchman in later days — ^that, 
possessor of many names while alive, dying he 
left no name behind. 

Before Avicenna had attained his twenty-first 
year he had written a cyclopaedia, the Arabic 
title of which, Kil&t el Mainu, literally means 
' the hook of the sum totaV In his work is to 
be found the earliest mention of oranges, which 
our crusading forefathers, on first beholding them 
in Palestine, believed to be the golden apples 
of the Hesperides. 

The Swiss reformer, Philip Schwartserdt, 
black earthy is scarcely known to us except by 
the Greek version of his name, Melancthon. 
Unrecognised as his by the Pope, some of his 
writings appeared under the name of Ippofilo 
(Philip reversed) da Terra. 

The Dutchman, Van der Beken, signifying 
streams^ called himself by a Latin name Torren- 
tius, signifying torrents. We have preserved the 
word heck from our Saxon forefathers. West- 
moreland and Cumberland each have a river 
Troutbeck, or trout stream^ the word itself being 

• We read in all Eastern travels of the Beis as the chief or head 
mail; the captain of the ship or boat; &c. 



ENFORCED CHANGE OF NAME. 107 

commonly used in the north of England for 
small streams. 

An enforced change of name has been amongst 
the engines of cruelty employed by tyrants to 
make their subjects miserable. In 1465 Edward 
IV. of England commanded his Irish subjects 
to take for themselves and their children English 
surnames, on pain of annual forfeiture of their 
goods until the law was obeyed. 

In 1568, the bigot Philip II. of Spain, hoping 
to denationalise* the remnant of the Moors still 
lingering in the land they had so enriched and 
beautified, ordered them to abandon both their 
individual and family names, compelled them to 
be baptised, and to adopt Spanish designations.* 
His law was perforce obeyed, but all the more 
closely would an outraged people cling in secret 
to their ancient faith. Amongst Mohammedan 
Moors now dwelling in Africa are therefore to be 
found such names as Perez, from Peter, and 
Santiago, or St. James ! f 

An Act of 1603 forbade on pairi of death the 
Highland clan of MacGregor to call themselves 
by their name. To this terrible decree a thrill- 
ing ballad of Sir Walter Scott alludes, ' The 
MacGregors' Gathering : ' — 

The moon 's on the lake, and the mist 's on the brae, 
And the clan has a name which is nameless by day. 
Then gather, gather, gather, Grigalach I , 

♦ Watson's History of Philip 11. 
t Salverte. 



108 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

The hatred and terror which were at that time 
inspired by the outlawed clan are said to have ori- 
ginated in the ferocity displayed by Ciar Mohr, 
the great mouse'Coloured man (an ancestor of 
Rob Roy's), during a contest with the Col- 
quhouns, in Glen Fruin, the 'i>ale of sorrow. 

But by their loyalty the MacGregors nobly 
regained their name. Enrolled as Murrays and 
Buchanans under . the banners of the Earl of 
Athole and the Laird of Buchanan, they gallantly 
fought for Charles even while his edict against 
them was in force. Their name was proscribed, 
but their armorial bearings remained, and to 
them these brave men responded. 

The MacGregors bear a pine-tree crossed sal- 
tier-wise with a naked sword, the point of which 
supports a royal crown. The sword of the 
MacGregors has been tried in a fire from the 
heat of which none but a well-tempered blade 
could have come forth unscathed. It was a cruel 
edict, confounding the innocent with the guilty. 

At the Restoration Charles II. annulled the 
various edicts against them, and restored to them 
their name, in gratitude for the loyalty they had 
shown. 

The deprivation of name is a punishment fitted 
only for the prison and the hulks. In those 
gloomy precincts to which their crimes have con- 
ducted them, it is a felon's well-merited disgrace 
to have his name taken fi'om him. So long as he 
is undergoing his sentence it is well for him to 



A NUMBER INSTEAD OF A NAME. 109 

feel, as lie answers to his number only, that he 
has for a time lost all right to honour and respect 
from his fellow-men. But to take altogether 
away from man or woman their proper names is 
to take from them, so long as one sparkle of right 
feeling remains, one of the strongest incentives to 
well-doing. 



110 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTER VL 

For one's name's sake — Heroes, inventors, discoverers 
honoured through their names — Sovereigns* names stamped 
upon coins — Names clinging to mossy wells and beetling 
cliffs — Stories of lives in the names of individuals — 
Christopher Columbus — Pollio Vedius — Contrasts be- 
tween names and lives, and misnomers — St. Felicitas and 
Julius Caesar — Legends derived from significations of 
names — Semiramis — Monkish legends growing out of old 
pictures — Pictures suggested by significant names — St. 
Lucia — St. Sophia — St. Katharine : her legend and 
meaning of her name — St. Margaret — Mary Magdalene 
— Mary and Miriam. 

' T70R Thy Name's sake ' is a solemn adjura- 
■*- tion which we find in the Holy Scriptures 
addressed to the Most High God as one of the 
most urgent and powerful of appeals. 

How many a path of glory has been trod by 
human beings with these trumpet-like words 
going before — ^for their names' sake! — for their 
forefathers' names' sake ! 

* A peerage or Westminster Abbey!' is one 
of the many well-remembered sayings of the 
greatest of England's naval heroes : either way it 
was his yearning desire to do honour to his name. 
Nelson should take its place in England's roll of 
peerless peers, or Nelson should be engraven on 
an honoured tomb ! Some conquerors have 



FOR one's name's SAKE. Ill 

taken names from their conquests ; but Nelson, 
with a truer pride, placed a coronet on his 
own. 

It is almost instinctively felt that the highest 
homage inventors and discoverers can receive is 
that the precious things bestowed by them on 
their fellow-men should be known by their 
names. 

Inspired by this hope, the chemist, with calm 
courage, silent and alone in his laboratory, sur- 
rounds himself with an atmosphere of death — his 
life too often the forfeit of his daring expe- 
riment9. 

So, too, the adventurous sailor! He fearlessly 
thrusts his ship's prow through heaped-up bar- 
riers of ice : his grave may be yawning beyond — 
but what matter? He deems himself overpaid 
for hourly hand-to-hand struggles with death if 
but some day his name be suffered to rest upon 
one icy peak, one barren rock, in those far-off 
untrodden desolate realms. 

So, too, in the region of art. We read of two 
wealthy men, accomplished sculptors and archi- 
tects, who, caring nought for money in com- 
parison with fame, erected at their own cost a 
magnificent temple at Rome, hoping that the 
law which there forbade men to inscribe their 
names on their works might be relaxed in their 
favour. But it was not so; and, as their only 
resource, Batrachus and Saurus carved on the 
fluting of the column of their temple frogs and 



112 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

lizards^ such being the signification of their 
Greek names. 

In some of our English cathedrals we see such 
compliment! paid to bishops and benefactors. 
In Winchester Cathedral, on the exquisite pulpit 
of parved oak black as ebony, a skein of silk is 
represented in the carving, as an allusion to 
Bishop Silkstede. 

Knights of old often carried their names be- 
fore them on their shields, like the soldiers of 
Rome, but in pictured form. The heraldic 
bearing of the Dundases, a family as ancient as 
the period when Gaelic was spoken in Mid- 
Lothian, is the English translation of their name, 
a * hill with a tuft of wood.' * A lion is attempt- 
ing to push through; the motto is a challenge, 
* Essayez ' (Try). A Swedish family, Guyllen- 
stem, bear the beautiful device of a golden star 
of seven rays, displayed on a field azure. 
Amongst the heraldic bearings of old families in 
England and on the Continent many such illus- 
trations may be found. 

One of the most ancient and most jealously 
guarded prerogatives of rulership, whether re- 
siding in sovereigns or senates, has ever been the 
power of impressing a name on the coins of a 
country. 

On the money of Rome Julius Caesar dared 
only to stamp a figurative allusion to his name, 

. * Stewart's Sketches of Highland Clans. 



ENDURING NAMES. 113 

an elephant^ which in the Punic language was 
the signification of CaBsar. Coins have some- 
times become so identified with the sovereign's 
name which they bore as to be known only by 
that name — the Darics (fi^om Darius) of Persia, 
the English Jacobus, and French Louis d'or and 
Napoleons, are examples. 

Coins would seem in their turn to have sug- 
gested human names. From Stater, a Persian 
gold coin of great antiquity, is it not probable 
that Statira (the Greek form of), a common name 
amongst Persian queens and princesses, was de- 
rived? It would be significant of preciousness, as 
in the Arabic a woman's name, Denaneer, which 
signifies jpz^c^5 of gold. 

But not only have distinguished men inscribed 
their names on banners of fame and weapons of 
war, and on great works of art and science, but 
kindly acts of women have given to their names 
also a long and strangely enduring power. 

The trickling waters of mossy wells through- 
out the land repeat in silvery tones the names 
of saintly maids, whose uneventful but holy 
lives are best cherished by those pure springs— 
a cup of cold water given in the name of their 
Lord. But hark ! on rock-bound coasts, in the 
midst of the storm, wild winds and waters mutter 
wrathfiiUy woman's soft names; forlo! the beacon- 
light, or the landmark, or church-tower, called 
after them, has saved the ship, and their prey is 
snatched from them. 

I 



114 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

To the north of Bude, near the magnificent 
headland of Hennacliff, or the Raven's Craig, 
there are beautiful clijSFs known by the name of 
Morwen Stowe. In a poor village hard by, in 
strange contrast to its poverty, is a splendid old 
church. CliflFs, and village, and church, are all 
known by the same name, Morwen Stowe, or the 
station of Mor-well. Leland tells how in the 
ninth century the fair and virtuous and wise 
daughter of Breachen, a Celtic king, and Gladys, 
his wife, gained from the Saxon king Ethelwulph 
a piece of ground on that bold headland. There 
Morwen (signifying lady of the sea) built a house 
of God, that mariners outward-bound or home- 
returning, may kneel to Him who * holds the 
waters in the hollow of His hand,' asking for His 
safe guidance, or returning Him thanks for the 
same. 

Christian names, and even their affectionate 
diminutives, have been given in honour of 
men to inanimate things. Killingworth colliers, 
rough * sons of night ' as they are, call the 
safety lamp invented for them by the great and 
good Stephenson, the ' Geordie Lamp,^ 

A glorious incentive to noble lives to feel 
that when our mortal bodies have crumbled into 
dust our NAMES will yet live in the loving recol- 
lection of successive generations — ^the very sound 
of them be as an inspiration — as a trumpet-call 
going before to victory — as the lark's song high 
in the air, lifting men's thoughts heavenwards ! 



SEBASTIAN CABOT. 115 

But ah! these very types are themselves of 
earth : they, too, must have an end. The trumpet- 
note is the breath of man, and so it must die 
away. The lark, * singing at heaven's gate,' builds 
her nest low on the ground, Time's cruel plough- 
share must pass over it. 

He builds too low who builds beneath the skies. 

The fair superstructure of good deeds must have 
a surer foundation than the longed-for gratitude 
of our fellow-men. All know that the devil is a 
bad paymaster; but the world, is it not dishonest 
too? 

In the history of names we catch delightedly 
here and there some that have been greatly 
honoured, shining like stars gloriously from out 
the grey mist of past times ; but too many there 
are that we sorrowfully search for in vain. How 
many benefactors to their race have gone down 
in sadness and disappointment to their nameless 
graves — still century after century going by, and 
yet the injustice done to them is not rolled 
away! 

The whole life of Sebastian* Cabot, the daring 
mariner who first saw North America, was, till 
some thirty years ago, lost in obscurity ; and even 
now the place of his death and his grave is un- 
known. Even at the very moment of his dis- 
covery his name was overlooked. Let us read 

* A sad misnomer : Sebastian sig. to be reverenced. Where is the 
reverence and honour that was his due ? 

I 2 



116 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

an entry in Henry VII.'s privy-purse expenses: 
' 10th August, 1497 : to hym that found the New 
Isle, 10^.!' 

Romulus lives in the name of Rome, and in 
the city of the Caesars the good and evil fame 
of her emperors is preserved. But he whose 
matchless enterprise gave to his fellow-men a 
New World, how has his name been honoured? 
A province here, a district there, a town else- 
where, at far-off intervals, faintly repeat the name 
which should have rested on the whole vast con- 
tinent. 

Christopher Columbus left the recording of his 
name to others, and how has the charge been 
ftilfiUed? The only spot, a tiny island in the 
Caribbees, to which the discoverer did give his own 
name, his Christian name, is, curiously enough, 
called only by its abbreviation, St. Kitt's. 

But this name, so strangely overlooked, is in 
itself a marvel. 

Reader, look mth me now on a West Indian 
conch-shell, with its rough-looking outside and 
polished lining on the inside. Some of it is like 
a door-panel of tortoiseshell. As it lies before 
us there, it is as the door of an empty house, for 
not a sound is heard from within. But take it 
up, put it close to your ear, and listen! The 
shell has a voice — has it not told you its story? 
The cradle song that the great waves of ocean 
sang to it when it was a baby shell has never 
been forgotten, and the booming voice of its native 
sea is for ever sounding in the deep heart of the 



r 



STORY OF A LIFE IN A NAME. 117 

■ 

wanderer ; and those who listen to the shell will 
hear it also. 

Will you think me over-fanciful if I say that 
to me many names are even as the conch-shell? 
Voiceless they may seem to many, but if you will 
listen to them they will tell you the story of 
many a life. 

The names of the great discoverer are especially 
remarkable. What do they signify, those names, 
Christopher Columbus ? The Christ-bearing Dove. 
Ah ! now you see what I mean ! 

Darkly and gloomily heaved the great sea of 
wrath over the drowned world, but over its angry 
face a sweet bird flew fearlessly, for afar off she 
espied a speck of land — ^the cleansed world was 
again looking forth from the waters of its bap- 
tism. It was a dove that fii*st saw the old world 
renewed, for she it was who brought back the 
first green leaf. 

Far off, and unknown to the dominant race, 
lay a large portion of man's inheritance, for stormy 
and trackless waters lay between it and them. 
A brave adventurer stood on the brink of that 
measureless sea, while, on the very beach where 
he stood, chill land-streams of indifference, black 
pools of envy and mistrust, surged up about his 
feet. But the wings of faith were given to him, 
and the bright clear eyes of hope ; and Columbus, 
the dove^ over-passed the great sea, and brought 
back green leaves — the first palms from the West. 
PaJm-branches are alike for a conqueror's and for 
a martyr's grave. 



118 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

And his other name, Christopher? 

Was the Church's old legend of the Canaanitish 
giant, St. Christopher of the fourth century, pro- 
phetic of the Christopher Columbus of the fifteenth 
century? — the strong man battling with the 
troubled stream, carrying the Holy Child across. 
Was not the brave sailor as a giant strong in faith ? 
Strong in his mental and spiritual convictions, 
he breasted rough waters indeed — ^patiently, for 
he had the nature of the dove; powerfully, 
because he was the Christ-bearer. 

To pagan Rome belong the dazzling pages of 
a Caesar's life ; but the Christian world claims the 
precious lessons contained in the story of Chris- 
topher Columbus, significant in all its striking 
features. 

In the commencement see the guiding chart 
laid to heart, and the seafaring life embraced; 
then come the speaking contrasts of his after- 
life. One day, a foot-sore traveller, he begs at a 
convent's gate for bread and water for his hungry 
child ; another day a queen casts her jewels at his 
feet. Now wearied with procrastination, wasted 
with disappointment, yet patiently, perseveringly 
pressing onward still, combating objections and 
ignoring scofis. Undaunted now and resolute, 
one man against a mutinous crew, he overrules 
them all. Success is trembling in the balance. 
And now the magnificent dream is fulfilled ; the 
hopes of a lifetime are achieved. Does he meet 
his triumph proudly as one that has conquered? 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 119 

Behold him on his knees, tearfiil, and kissing the 
ground. He rises, holding his drawn sword the 
while — it is to plant the cross on the land which 
he names San Salvador! Was he not rightly 
named Christopher, the Christ-bearer? 

Yet two more scenes ere the end ! 

Welcomed as a prince and a conqueror, the 
woolcomber's son sits in the presence of royalty. 
And now for the sixth time recrossing those 
seas — ^which his invincible courage had made a 
highway for the nations — see him in his tiny 
cabin, a prisoner and in chains ! 

But not for long : the child's hard lessons were 
learned at last, so his Father bade him come 
home. 

And now on the one side of Columbus dying 
of a broken heart, behold the pomp of a splendid 
fimeral, and on his tomb a superb epitaph — 
such is earth's payment On the other side, see 
the messenger, whose voice the easterns say is 
the sweetest of all the angels of God, the angel 
of death, Azrael (i. e. the help of God) — ^his 
whisper is joyfully obeyed, and the storm-tossed 
mariner is wafted to the haven of eternal rest — 
such is Heaven's gift. 

But must that personal appeal, those mo- 
mentous words, for your name's sake^ be heard 
only in paths where glory and distinction may 
be won? 

Our Christian names are oftenest heard 
within home- walls, and in ' the trivial round 



120 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

the common task ' there may often be found much 
meaning in those words ' for your name's sake ' 
— ay, and influence and power ^ too, if we will but 
accept them as reminders of especial graces. 
And, be it remembered. Christian graces, ' fruits 
of the spirit,' have a distinguishing characteristic. 
' Trees of righteousness ' are not like the trees of 
our orchard, where upon each tree only one kind 
of fruit may be found. The fruits of the spirit 
grow in fair clusters, combining various kinds. 
On every tree one fruit may be found more 
developed than the rest — but be sure that where 
'love' is, there too will be 'joy' and 'peace.' 
' Meekness and long-suffering ' may be of slower 
growth ; but be not discouraged — ^they will surely 
put forth ere the ripened tree is transplanted 
above. 

The especial use of, reminders is to counteract 
habits. Most habits begin in early youth. Their 
name is legion ; but amongst them there are few 
so little regarded, and yet so destructive of hap- 
piness to individuals and to those surrounding 
them, as a habit of wrangling and contradiction. 

My little talisman, which consists in a recol- 
lection of the signification of our name, has been 
offered to Willie in the nursery — ^will Alfred and 
Edward accept it in the playground? 

Some dispute has arisen — disputants soon grow 
warm. In the midst of that rapid interchange of 
angry words, think you that six words of advice 
could make their way? For my experiment I 



NAMES AS REMINDERS. 121 

ask only room for two, and those no third person 
shall say. Each boy shall say, one to the other, 
their names — Alfred ! Edward ! 

Alfred, all-peace^ or the grander signification 
given by some to our great Saxon king's name, 
Aelf-fred, the geniits of peace; Edward, Ead- 
ward, the keeper, the guardian of happiness. 

Are the little quarrellers girls? Rachel, the 
lamb^ significant of gentleness ; Effie or Euphemia, 
the pleasant-spoken : my children, for your namei 
sake, remember how a soft answer turheth away 
wrath. 

In our own day we see some living up to their 
beautifiil names. 

On rare occasions only may one allude to living 
characters, but lives overflowing with good deeds 
must in a measure become public, and names 
that are uttered with countless blessings must 
echo beyond the home-walls where Englishwomen 
best love their names to be inscribed. 

To how many sick, sorrowful, and in need, has 
Angela Burdett Coutts been as the actual reality 
of her lovely Greek name, signifying a messenger 
from God ! Florence Nightingale's surname is 
translated by Philo-mela, lover of song, but Philo- 
mena reads both as a ' lover of courage ' and 
as one of a loving mind^ and therefore as one 
beloved. This name she has won for herself — 
Longfellow's lovely lines to St. Filomena, as 
the ' Lady with the Lamp,' have bestowed it on 
her. 



124 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

St. Felicitas and Julius Caesar shall be our 
teachers in this. 

Those saintly men and women of old, are they 
not as ' a cloud of witnesses? ' Of earth, indeed, 
as vapours and exhalations, nothing in them- 
selves, but in theit^ feeling their own emptiness^ they 
have been lifted up into a purer atmosphere, 
they become more and more beautiful as they 
draw closer and reflect more vividly light — 
emanating from the Source of Light. ' Clouds ' — 
exquisite in their varied shape and hues — ^lifted 
above this toiling world, as we gaze on them are 
we not in thought lifted heavenwards, even as 
we hope in a purified state ourselves to pass into 
that glorious 'cloud of witnesses?' 

St. Felicitas, the happy one, a Roman widow 
(a.d. 173), beheld her seven sons tortured and 
put to death before her eyes. Scourged with 
thongs, beaten with clubs, flung from a rock, and 
beheaded — such were the cruel forms of death 
that a tender mother beheld her darlings undergo. 
But her heroic spirit never quailed. She bade 
her brave boys ' be strong of heart, and look to 
the heaven where Christ and His saints awaited 
their coming.' For herself, 'she blessed God 
that she had borne seven sons worthy to be 
saints in Paradise.' When her own day of mar- 
tyrdom came, comparea to what her soul's agony 
had been, her bodily sufierings were as nothing. 
Tortured and thrown into boiling oil, she was 
' faithfiil unto death.' Felicitas, in another world, 



MISNOMERS. 125 

as a bright angel near the throne of God, listening 
to the harpings of her sons, answers to her name 
of the happy one. 

In Julius Caesar the curious combination of 
two names, both significant of hair^ the one 
shaggy and the other soft, is the more striking, as 
the appellation of one who, as his medals and busts 
have sufficiently made known, was bald. The 
privilege accorded to the Roman hero of always 
wearing a laurel wreath was, it is said, peculiarly 
acceptable, not so much as a reminder of the 
glory he had won as for the green garland itself, 
which should conceal his baldness, which amongst 
the ancients was considered a disgrace. We 
may wonder that a man who had attained such 
dazzling preeminence could have attached any im- 
portance to so small a defect, his personal appear- 
ance being in all other respects most admirable. 
But instead of a silly sneer at the weaknesses of 
great minds, may we not try to turn the notice 
to good account for ourselves? 

Julius Caesar had neither the soft down of the 
one name, nor the abundant hair of the other ; but 
was not the undying wreath that he won well 
worth them both? 

Have any of us misnomers? 

How many a Patrick is there in humble life ! 

Patrick, derived from the Latin, signifies nobility^ 

but nobility of mind is confined to no station. 

'True nobility of heart and life may be attained 

by aU who seek it at the hand of the King of 



126 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

kings. All know that ' the Crown is the fountain 
of honour.' 

A weak and sickly lad may answer to the name 
of Charles, derived from the old Teutonic name 
of Karl, which signifies a strong man and a valiant. 
Be not cast down, dear boy ; the more fi:ugile and 
transparent the lamp, the more brightly the flame 
may shine through. To covet distinction is an in- 
stinct with men — to be brave is to be beloved ; but 
the weak body has no power to daunt the brave 
soul — no physical strength had the hero of Tra- 
falgar. And yet higher than earthly fame, re- 
member that 'he that ruleth his spirit is greater 
than he that taketh a kingdom.' 

Amongst my sisters, too, there may be some 
misnamed. One of the prettiest and most 
ancient of names, for it was that of the daughter- 
in-law of Methuselah, is Adah, signifying oma- 
ment^ and figuratively expressive of great beauty. 
There may be Adas to whom a name significant 
of beauty would be inapplicable ; but let us take 
its exact meaning, and then, sweet sisters, see if 
it be not in your own power, while answering to 
your names, to acquire a far more lasting adorn- 
ment and charm than personal beauty by itself 
can bestow. In the same Holy Book which tells 
us of the first Adah, we are also told of the 
^ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.' Eunices, 
too, unknown to fame, ye may in your peaceful 
homes carry out the meaning of your grand Greek 
name, as day by day ye achieve /azV victories. 



SEMIRAMIS THE DOVE, 127 

In one widely celebrated name we find a link 
between the subjects of misnomers and names 
out of the signification of which legendary tales 
have arisen. The exquisite music of Rossini, 
superbly rendered by Giulietta Grisi, has made 
the name of Semiramide more familiar to our 
ears than perhaps that of any other heroine of 
antiquity. 

Her actual story is like an Eastern romance, 
though it begins and ends with a legend sugges- 
ted by the signification of her name — Semiramis 
signifying in Syriac a dove. The gentle and 
innocent dove was, however, no fit name for the 
Assyrian queen, at once warlike and voluptuous ; 
nor was it given to her as a characteristic appel- 
lation. Yet to her (in whom many learned writers 
behold the original of the Syrian goddess, Astarte, 
adopted by the Greeks as Aphrodite, and by the 
Latins as Venus) doves were especially conse- 
crated. The car of the goddess of love and 
beauty is always represented as drawn by them, 
and in honour of her doves were themselves 
worshipped in many parts of the East. 

The Syrian town of Askelon, devoted to the 
worship of Astarte, was remarkable for its in* 
numerable flocks of pigeons and doves, for it was 
there considered sacrilege for one of these birds 
to be killed. Near Askelon, in the ''ancient little 
village of Hamami, which signifies a Dove^ we 
fipd at once the birth-place of the renowned 
Semiramis and the derivation of her name. Of 



128 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

such obscure birth was the magnificent queen, 
that to conceal the reality a &ble was invented, 
assigning to her a celestial origin and a super- 
natural bringing up. Overshadowed by the 
wings of doves, she was said to have been also 
fed by them with milk brought in their beaks 
fix)m the neighbouring village. 

But the fixture queen of Assyria was, in truth, 
a child of shame, abandoned by her mother. The 
helpless little one was found by a compassionate 
shepherd of Hamami, who carried her to his 
humble home. There she grew up, gifted with 
remarkable beauty and talent, the name given to 
her having been compounded from that of her 
foster father, Simma, and Hamami, her native 
village. Married in early youth to the governor 
of Syria, Semiramis was taken by her husband 
to the Assyrian court, or rather to the camp, 
where Ninus the king carried on in person the 
siege of Bactria. Hitherto the besiegers had 
been unsuccessful; but it is said that the baffled 
generals were taught a lesson in their own art by 
the beautifiil stranger, who not only planned the 
attack, but herself led the inspired troops to 
victory. 

Transported with wonder and admiration at 
so mai*vellous a creation as a lovely woman who 
in courage equalled the bravest, in skill sur- 
passed the wisest of his warriors, Ninus com- 
manded Onnes to give up his wife to him. The 
unfortunate husband, reluctant to obey, was put 



V MONKISH LEGENDS. 129 

I 

to death, and the Assyrian monarch hastened to 
crown Semiramis as his queen. Devoted to her 
through life, Ninus at his death left to her the 
government of his. kingdom, in which, after a 
splendid reign of forty-two years, she was suc- 
ceeded by their son Ninyas. 

There is no need to linger on her world-wide 
fame, her surpassing beauty, and marvellous 
achievements in peace and war; but her name 
and story form a striking illustration of the fact, 
that in the signification of names a key is often 
to be found to the strange wild legends of other 
times. In Semiramis, the Dove^ is revealed 
the secret of her supposed supernatural nursing 
mothers, and her imaginary translation to heaven 
after death in the form of a dove. 

The story of Tfb^-fed Romulus is explained 
by Lupa, his nurse's name; and many like fables 
may be foimd to have sprung from like sources. 
Monkish chronicles are full of similar fanciftil 
tales. The legend of St. Ren^, who was said to 
have risen from the grave seven days after his 
burial, originated in his name, which, derived 
from the Latin Renatus, signifies bom again. 
This name, adopted in the early Church as signi^^ 
ficant of a new spiritual life, suggested to cre- 
dulous miracle-seekers in after times the marvel 
of St. Ren6 rising to a new bodily life. 

To St. Athanasius, whose Greek name signifies 
Immortality^ the Greek Church attributes the 
miraculous power of having caused a wolf to 

K 



>^ 



130 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

act as his obedient messenger — the simple fact 
being, that Athanasius sent to a monastery some 
herbs gathered with his own hands, and he chose 
for his messenger an individual bearing the name 
of Lycos, in Greek signifying a Wolf. Of this 
celebrated Patriarch of Alexandria, the * Father 
of Orthodoxy,' as he has been called, it was said 
in the sixth century, ' Whenever you meet with 
a sentence of Athanasius, and have not paper at 
hand, write it down on your clothes.' * 

In a work on Popular Superstitions, by M. de 
la Mothe A. Vayer, a long list is given of saints, 
the signification of whose names has led to a 
belief in supernatural powers possessed by them 
in connection with subjects corresponding to 
such signification. 

The lame address their prayers for relief from 
their infirmity to St. Claude, Bishop of Besangon 
A.D. 581, his name being derived from the Latin 
Claudius, signifying lame. 

With greater plausibility the blind seek as- 
sistance from the martyred saints of the fourth 
century — St. Clair, derived from the Latin, sig- 
nifying dear^ bright \ and St. Lucia, also from the 
Latin, signifying light. From this signification 
is said to have also arisen the legend of St. 
Lucia's having being deprived of her eyes, of 
which we find no mention in the early history of 
the Christian Church. 

* Stanley's Eastern Church. 



ST. LUCIA. 131 

The story grew out of the pictured representa- 
tions of this fair girl, a native of Syracuse — one 
of the many martyrs in Diocletian's reign. Old 
painters, delighting in symbols and devices, in- 
troduced into their pictures of St. Lucia an eye, 
or eyes, as significant of her name. As time 
went on, a story grew, till the imaginary legend 
was coarsely rendered by the saint's carrying 
her eyes on a plate, while her, other hand dis- 
played the awl with which they were supposed 
to have been bored out. 

A nobler, truer reading of her name was Dante^s 
Santa Lucia, as the type of celestial light or 
wisdom: as such she is beautifully represented 
bearing a shining lamp.* 

Some of these superstitions connected with the 
names of saints have neither a foundation of 
truth nor poetical imagery to plead for them. It 
is supposed in France to be unlucky for grain to 
be sown on St. Leger's day (October 2) — the 
martyred Bishop's name, signifying ligh% wanting 
in weighty is thought to affect the growth of the 
plant and make it light in the ear. 

The shoemaker's choice of a patron is said by 
some to have simply arisen from his name Crispin, 
derived from the Latin crepis (borrowed from 
the Greek), signifying a slipper. But it would 
seem certain that the brothers Crispin and Cris- 
pianus, who were bom at Kome, and travelled 

* Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art. 



If. 



132 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

to Soissons to preach the Gospel, did really 
follow in that town the trade of shoemakiDg 
— ^the two names rendered by them so illustrious 
being perhaps taken from their employment. 

These saintly men carried out St. Paul's ex- 
ample and precepts in all their fullness, working 
with their hands the thing which was good: 
they also gave to them that needed, supplying 
shoes to the poor without payment. The good 
that they did lived after them, for in the name 
of these martyred brothers of the third century 
brotherhoods of charity were formed, the mem- 
bers of which paid the produce of their voluntary 
labours into a common stock for charitable pur- 
poses. 

In an old romance a prince of the name of 
Crispin is made to exercise, in honour of his 
name, the trade of shoemaking, from whence, it 
is said, arose the epithet of the ' gentle craft.' * 
The name of Crispin was at one time a common 
nickname for a shoemaker, and at this moment 
in France shoemakers call the bag in which they 
carry the tools of their trade ' un saint-Cr^pin.' 

In our Refonned Calendar one of the holy 
brothers' names is still preserved. St. Crispin's 
day (October 25) was one of our most venerated 
holy days in former times. Old England's long, 
long roll of victories also records that day as the 
anniversaiy of Agincourt. Shakspeare's glorious 

* Brady's Clavis Calendaria. 



ST. Crispin's day. 133 

speech of Henry V. before the battle commemo- 
rates both brothers' names : — 

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, 
From this day to the ending of the world, 
But we in it shall be remembered. 

And when 439 years should have passed away, 
again was St. Crispin's day wreathed with laurel 
and cypress for England's heroes. 

BALAKLAVA ! 

Frenchmen may criticise and Englishmen dis- 
pute as to who said what ; but no Englishwoman 
will ever hear that name without glowing cheeks 
and brimming eyes — ^without thanksgiving to 
God that English mothers bear such sons. 

Noble Curtius leaped into the gaping earth, for 
an oracle had said that only thus could Rome be 
saved ; but at a breath, ere the half-uttered words 
were spoken, the confused order made plain — so 
madly jealous were tkey of their country's fstme 
— ^England's 'gallant six hundred' rode into a 
gulf of fire, into the valley of death. 

Peculiar interest attaches itself to the origin of 
all legendary tales. With much that is objec- 
tionable, there is also much to charm, much to 
profit, even in the legendary lives of saints. 
There seems little doubt but that, at the first, 
many of these legends were simply allegories, 
clothed with impressive language by meditative 
monks, hoping to affect the heart, and next, by 
the eager painter's hand, clothed in yet more 



134 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

gorgeous colouring to attract the eye. But much 
of the delicacy and beauty of these lessons, 
whether real or imaginative, has been lost by 
the coarse handling they received in the progress 
of time. 

May we not win back some of their charm if 
we search for the fountain-head of these once 
clear streams? Where the old painters and 
poets sought and found inspiration, we too, if we 
seek, may find many sweet lessons for ourselves, 
and for every day. 

We have seen how St. Lucia's legend and her 
pictured representation alike sprang from the 
signification of her lovely name, Lucia, light^ 
celestial light, a never-dying lamp, making dark- 
ness light before her. 

So, too, with St. Sophia — the name which we 
find in ancient Persia linked with faith. Adopted 
throughout the East, we find it in the Hebrew 
form in the prophet Zepkaniah's name (trans- 
lated by the French Sophonie, by the Italians 
Sofonia), signifying the secret or word of Jeho- 
vah^ almost a synonyme with the Greek Sibyl, 
counsel of God. St. Sophia is represented with 
a martyr's crown, encircling with loving arms 
her three fair children, the offspring of heavenly 
Wisdom being Faith, Hope, and Charity. 

So, too, the legend and picture of the strong 
man battling with the troubled stream, the holy 
child seated oh his shoulders. Did not both 
grow out of the beautiful meaning conveyed by 



ST. kathabine's legend. 135 

the name of Christopher, the Christ-hearer — ^a 
name doubtless first given to one who, bearing the 
name of Christian, bore also the image of his 
master Christ? 

We must take very much away fi'om the legend 
of St. Katharine ere we can look upon it with 
pleasure even as an allegory. The tale of the 
Egyptian princess has no claim on our reverence 
on the point of antiquity. Katharine of Alex- 
andria, said to have lived at the very beginning 
of the fourth century, was not heard of even in 
the East till the eighth century, nor did her 
marvellous story reach Europe till the crusaders 
brought it back with them in the eleventh 
century.* 

Full as it was of the elements of romance — a 
young queen of marvellous beauty, matchless 
wisdom, and exquisite purity of life, persecuted 
by a cruel tyrant, and with unshaken courage 
going forth to meet death in a hideous and hi- 
therto unheard-of form — no wonder that the tale 
seized on the imaginations of all. St. Katharine 
was at once adopted as a popular saint. Wild 
though it was, the legend carried out the scrip- 
tural lesson of human imperfection. In a dream 
the spotless Katharine hears Christ say that ' she is 
not fair enough for Him.' Purified by suffering, 
made perfect through faith, she died for the truth, 
and her glorified spirit in heaven first hears 

* Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art. 



133 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

the welcome words, * she is fair enough ' to be 
Christ's, 

In the jBfteenth century, doubts having arisen 
as to the authenticity of her legend, and even the 
fact of her existence being questioned, her festi- 
val was suppressed by many prelates in France 
and Germany; yet never has the aflPection for her 
name passed away. St. Katharine still stands 
in our Reformed Calendar (her day being the 
25th of November), her name still rests on many 
a house of God, charitable institutions are called 
after her, and ancient abbeys and ruined priories 
repeat her time-honoured name throughout the 
land. 

One would fain believe that the reverence of 
so many simple hearts — carried though it was, 
alas ! to so mischievous a height — has not been 
all given to a myth. Some foundation may have 
existed for the tale that the monks of Mount 
Sinai are said to have sent forth to the world, 
though no proofs can be given, and no assertions 
can be made. But if we simply look to St. 
Katharine as a wise and holy maiden, who sealed 
her faith in Christ with her blood, may we not 
in the meaning of her name discern a spiritual 
truth of great beauty ? 

' Aikatrina, pure and undejiled^ derived from 
Katharos, spotless and pure — does it not remind 
us of the sacred promise that ' the pure in heart 
shall 5^^ God?' 

Yet one more sainted name demands our notice, 



MARY MAGDALENE. 137 

from the strange contrast which it affords to the 
story of her who bore it. 

We look not now to one whose chronicle has 
come forth from the scriptorium of dreamy- 
monks, for Holy Scripture records the name of 
Mary Magdalene. We absolutely know that in 
the deep abasement of an awakened conscience a 
penitent woman sought and found pardon and 
peace at the Saviour's feet. 

What was her name?* — she who with hair 
unbound (a sign of sorrow in the East), the gold 
of her tresses dimmed by her falling tears, knelt 
silently, bowing down in her shame and anguish 
of heart. Magdalene (so called from the place of 
her birth), the Magnificent 

Is there no lesson in her name ? 

In the pride of her beauty — for the power of 

• This question, it is well kno-wn, is open to discussion; but 
where Origen and Chrysostom have ranged themselves on one side, 
and St. Clement and St. Gregory on the other, who may dare to 
aflirm anything positively ? One can only in this, as in all other 
cases, speak to the best of one's belief. I fully believe, with the 
Eastern Church, that Mary of Bethany was a virtuous woman, and 
a distinct person from Mary Magdalene j or why, in her home of 
Bethany and in connection with Martha and Lazarus, should Mary 
never be called Mary Magdalene ? We know that out of Mary 
Magdalene were cast seven devils, but whether she was indeed the 
woman who was a ' sinner,' I do not think Scripture has made so 
plain. But I would say, as one has said who carefully studied the 
subject : ' The woman who under the name of Mary Magdalene — 
whether her name be rightfully or wrongfully bestowed — stands 
before us sanctified in the imagination and in the faith of the peo- 
ple in her combined character of sinner and saint, is a reality, and 
not a fiction. Even if we would, we cannot do away with the 
associations inseparably connected with her name and her image.' 
— Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art, vol. i. p. 333. 



140 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTEE VIL 

Name-giving Adam's first work in Paradise — Name-giving 
a natural instinct — Names of Stars — Saxon names of 
Months — Names of Animals, Flowers, Plants — Legend of 
St. Veronica. 

* T E besoin de nommer '* is coeval with the use 
JLi of words. We have seen that in Paradise 
it was the first act that Adam was called upon 
to perform. It is a natural instinct — ^firom the 
hoary-headed Chaldean sages of old, who gave to 
each shining constellation, each twinkling star, 
separate and significative names, to the lisping 
little one in our nursery to-day, who, with her 
finger on her rosy lip, sits knitting her pretty 
brows, trying to think of some nice name for her 
kitten or her doll. 

In the spangled heavens, as in some indestruc- 
tible book, we read in lustrous characters these 
significant names of the highest antiquity. 
Some contain in themselves revelations of the 
past. Red Aldebaran, signifying ' he that goeth 
before^^ is said to point to that far period in the 
history of astronomy when this brilliant star, 
called by modem Arabians Ain-al-Thaur, ''the 

• Salverte. 



NAMES OF STARS. 141 

bvlVs eye^ marched foremost of the celestial host, 
Taurus being then the first of the signs.* The 
names of others were as wise counsellors: the 
sweet Pleiades (in Hebrew, Cimah), whose Greek 
name signifies ^to sail^ gave Grecian sailors 
notice that spring, the time most favourable for 
voyages, had arrived; while stormy Orion, signi- 
fjdng * to agitate^ warned them to stay at home. 
Even through the rugged disguises imposed on 
some of our week-days' names by our Saxon 
forefathers, we may still catch the shining of 
celestial orbs. With God's people, as from the 
beginning of time, we keep the week of seven 
days — ^the six days of creation, the seventh of rest. 
With the wise men of the East, Chaldea, Egypt, 
and ancient Hindustan, with the sages of Greece 
and Rome, we retain the recollection of the old 
' planetary theory,' itself founded, it is said, on 
the ' doctrine of musical intervals ' — ^the ' music 
of the spheres,' a favourite thought in science as 
in poetry. 

And through all the various systems to which 
men have successively subscribed, unchanging 
still to the glad ear of Faith is the matchless 
harmony to which unnumbered worlds of light 
move vocal to their great Creator's praise. Far 
off it is indeed, and human ears are dull. What 
wonder, then, that we can only catch broken 
echoes of the God-taught strain — ^here a swelling 
chord, and there a dying fall, as new planets are 

* Encyclopedia of Natural Phenomena; by J. Forster^ F.L.S. &c. 



142 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

discovered, or familiar stars fade away? But are 
not these suggestive enough of the melody of all- 
perfect work that, mingling with angelic songs, 
encii'cles without end the throne of the Most 
High? 

France and Italy unite in their week-days 
Christian and Pagan names. The first and the 
last day have, in Italian, sacred significations — 
Domenica, the LordCs day ; and Sabbato, the Sah- 
hath or Rest^ as with the Jews. The French 
Dimanche is very expressive — the word dime 
answering to our tithes^ that portion of the land's 
produce which was appointed as the Lord's due. 
The moon and the stars shine through the 
other days — red Mars, pale Mercury, bright 
Jupiter, Venus radiant-eyed, and cold and dis- 
tant Saturn moving slow. 

The people of the North consecrated these days 
to divinities of their own, but they for the most 
part corresponded in their attributes to those of 
gods which the Grecian mythology had borrowed 
from the East. The first day was dedicated to 
the sun, the second to the moon. In the North 
the sun was regarded as feminine — she was said 
to be the wife of Tuisco ; the moon was masculine. 
These genders are still so preserved to them in 
the German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish lan- 
guages, all originating from the Teutonic root. 
Tuisco, ' the most ancient and peculiar god of all 
the Germans,'* points to the fiir-away legends of 

• Verategan. 



NAMES OF MONTHS. 143 

the Teutonic race, and their Indian god Deut, by 
whom the tribes were led from the countries of 
the rising sun to regions where a sterner atmo- 
sphere should reinvigorate the race.* Next come 
Wodin or Odin, god of battles, and father and 
chief of the gods ; Thor, the thunderer, the first- 
bom of Odin ; Frigga or Freyga, the beautiful^ 
the Venus and Juno of th^ North ; and Seater, a 
Saxon idol resembling Saturn. 

It is singular to remark that, while our week- 
days still bear Saxon names, the months of the 
year have reverted to those given to them by our 
Roman conquerors. 

Excepting only January, from Janus, a keeper 
of doors — the two faced god looking to the past 
and to the future — the Saxon names were far 
more significative than the Latin. 

The first month was called Wolf-monath, or 
Wolf-month, because at that rigorous season of 
the year men lived in dread of the attacks of 
these ravenous beasts. 

February, the second month, was called Sprout- 
kale, from the sprouting of kale which was used 
as a winter broth ; this name was afterwards 
changed to Sol-monath, from the returning sun. 

March was Lenet-monath, because of the 

* In Higli Dutch the third day of the week is called Erechstag, 
also in remembrance of the deified hero of old. The name Erech, 
originally from the word Heric or Haric, a chief warrior, became 
mgnifkative of a mighty lord, and has passed into countless forms — 
Eoric, Euric, Eric, Heinrich ; and from it our name of Henry is 
derived. 



144 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

lengthening days; hence we still call the fast 
preceding Easter, Lent, because the greater part 
of that season fell to Lenet-monath. 

April, Oster-monath, took its name from the 
east winds which prevailed at that time. 

May was called Tre-milke, because, on account 
of the fresh juices of the young grass, cows then 
afforded milk three times a day. 

June was Sere-monath, or dry month. 

July, Hay-monath, from the making of hay; 
or, Maed-monath, from the meadows being then 
in bloom. 

August was Bam-monath, from the harvest- 
time filling their bams with com. 

September was Gerst-monath, from barley 
being then reaped. The old Saxon name for 
barley was gerst ; but this grain being looked 
Upon with especial favour, *from the drinke 
therewith made called beere,* it became first 
beerlegh, then berlegh, and finally barley.* 

October was called Wyn-monath, or Wine- 
month. 

November was Wind-monath, or Wind-month. 

December was originally Winter-monath, or 
Winter-month; but after Christianity was esta- 
blished in the land it became Heligh-monath, or 
Holy-month, from its being the birth-time of 
our Lord.f 

The Parsees assign each day of the month, and 

* Clayis Calendaria. t ^id« 



NAMES OE ANIMALS. 145 

each hour of the day and night, to superintending 
genii, and give to them the names of presiding 
deities. 

Significant names, chosen either from those of 
their gods or from lofty mountains, were given 
by the people of Armenia to each separate day of 
the week and to each of the twenty-four hours 
of the day and night. 

The wandering tribes of the Kalmuck Tartars, 
whose worldly possessions consist in vast herds 
of camels, horses, sheep, and a comparatively 
small number of cattle, give to months, days, and 
hours, names taken from those of animals. 

Greece and Rome did honour, too, in a diflfer- 
ent manner, to the names of some animals. The 
winners of (chariot races at the Olympic games 
consecrated in the temple of Jupiter the names 
of the horses to whom their triumph was owing, 
and ancient Latin inscriptions still exist which 
record the names of the winning horses in the 
circus at Rome. Of these names some recall 
that of their first master, others refer to their 
native land, while others are characteristic names, 
such as The Gentle, The Proud, &c. 

In Thibet, not the men who ride, or those who 
own the winning horses, receive prizes, but the 
animals themselves; various privileges are con- 
ferred upon them — amongst others they receive 
new and honourable names. 

But to the priceless steeds of Sahara, cherished 
as they are beyond all other possessions by the 



146 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

sons of the Desert — petted, caressed, and cared for 
as tenderly in their youth as the children of the 
family — to them human names are never given. 
Forbidden by their Prophet to make representa- 
tions of the human form, it was also forbidden to 
the followers of Mohammed to call animals by 
the names of men and women.* And so amongst 
Arab steeds none answer to such names as cor- 
respond with our ' Miss Fannies ' and * Lord 
Johns;' but beautiful names are found for them, 
generally significative of jewels — Marjanah, 
Coral) Lu-lu-ah, the Pearly &c.f 

Thought travels back to sacred promises of 
old, and to the 'Good Shepherd* who 'calleth 
His own sheep by name,' when we read of 
flocks, sometimes exceeding a thousand in num- 
ber, being all known by name to their keepers. 
Not only is this the case in Palestine, even as it 
was in our dear Lord's day, but it is so also in 
Terceira, one of the lovely Western Isles or 
Azores, so called by the Portuguese from Acor, a 
hawh^ those birds abounding in the islands when 
they were first discovered. 

We read also how in Italy vast flocks of sheep 
and herds of cattle are all known by name to 

• Miss Beaufort, a late traveller in the East, mentions, as 
amongst the many causes of ill-will existing between the Moslems 
and the Mai'onites, the intentional insult implied by the Zuh'leh 
people calling their dogs ^ Mohammed,' while we at home consider 
it as a compliment to have our names given to pet animals. 

t Miss Beaufort mentions as names of dromedaries, Simri, 
Black \ and Helweh, Sweets 



NAMES OF ANIMALS. 147 

their vigilant keepers. Not only are the names 
of distinguished families in the land bestowed 
upon these beasts, but also their titles. 

Travellers describe the movements of these 
immense flocks of sheep as full of interest and 
picturesque beauty. As cattle are in Switzer- 
land yearly led to mountain pastures, so in Italy 
the sheep are pastured in the mountains of the 
Abruzzi and the highlands of the kingdom of 
Naples. When the summer heats begin, long 
processions ascend the breezy hills, sheep guarded 
by dogs, who, like their fleecy charges, all an- 
swer to individual names, which in their case are 
generally significant of fidelity and courage. The 
shepherds follow with their families, all laden 
with their domestic properties. When fruitful 
autumn's harvests have been gathered in, and the 
gleaning of the grapes and olives is over, the 
roads again become white with the snowy fleeces 
of the far-extending flocks, descending for the 
winter months to low-lying lands. The vast plains 
surrounding Rome for a circuit of six miles 
quickly assume the appearance of an immense 
sheep-fold, temporary huts being erected for the 
shepherds and their families. 

Independently of names given to individual 
animals, it is curious to notice how certain proper 
names of men and women have become identified 
with particular animals as a class, and this most 
frequently apart from their signification, and 
seemingly unaccounted for. 

L 2 



148 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

In some cases such names, however, are most 
happily appropriate. The Englishman, in his 
wanderings over the globe, wherever he finds a 
red-breasted bird, calls it by the familiar name of 
'Robin,' in remembrance of his trustful little 
fiivourite at home. We aU know how this cheery 
little bird stays with us throughout the winter : 
the nightiogales and the goldfinches do not tempt 
him to fly away with them to summer climes. 
We all know how, when snow is on the ground, 
his bright eyes peep through our window panes, 
while he taps on them with his tiny bill ; and 
wherever heard, his gentle appeal is always 
responded to. But who knows why this name 
of Robin was given to him ? Whatever the rea- 
son, certain it is no name could suit him better: 
bright-eyed Robin answers to his name. As in 
winter he thankfully picks up each scattered 
crumb — as in spring-time he cheerily sings to 
his mate — is not his happy trustfulness a sweet 
repetition of the holy lesson intrusted to the 
' fowls of the air?' Oh, listen to the little bird, 
anxious and careworn human beings ! Will your 
Father in heaven not ' much more care' for you? 

Robin is a bright counsellor. Robin is from 
Robert, originally Rod brecht, from the Teutonic, 
signifying one who speaks or counsels brightly^ 
exceUendy. 

But why should the crafty fox be known as 
Reynard? Rein-hard, an old Teutonic name also, 
which has so lovely a signification, a pure heart. 



NAMES OF PLANTS. 149 

And Marten, which, like Martin, must be ori- 
ginally derived from Roman Mars, the God of 
War — whence our martial or warlike — what has 
such a name in common with a member of the 
weasel family? the name of Martin itself being 
given to different kinds of swallows. A bril- 
liantly coloured little mullet, found in the bay 
of Su^diyeh, is called by the natives ' Sultan 
Ibrahim.' In France, a stiU greater number of 
such instances may be found. Both the English 
and French have assigned the pretty name of 
Margaret, signifying a pearly to a mischievous 
chattering bird — Magpie and Margot. 

Glowworms, or St. John's worms — in German, 
Johannis Wurmchen — have their name explained 
by their beginning to appear about St. John the 
Baptist's day (24th of June), when St. John's 
Wort begins to blow. The same reason — its 
coming into bloom about the 22nd of February, 
St. Margaret's day — gives to the pretty daisy its 
old English name, Herb Margaret. In France it 
is always called ' Marguerite.' 

Herb-Bennet, or Gold-star, the common clove- 
scented Aven of our hedge banks, was originally 
named Herb Benedicta, from its blossoming about 
Corpus Christi day (May 28th). In France it is 
feminised as 'Benoite;' and also in Italy, 'Erba 
Benedetta' — all having the same signification, 
blessed. 

Herb-Gerard, or Gout-weed, flowering on St. 
Gerard's day (April 23rd), is supposed to share, 



150 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

with its namesake, the power of healing the gout. 
The plant may be healing, or, like the saint, 
powerless to heal. The issues of life and death, 
sickness and health, are in the Almighty's hand 
alone ; but yet St. Gerard has an apt cure for 
much suffering — a noble lesson for all. A pre- 
cious truth lies in the significance of his name : 
derived from the language of the warlike Teu- 
tons, Gerhard sig. Brave heart 

Sweet Williams take their name from St. Wil- 
liam de Monte Vergine, whose festival is the 
25th of June, when they are in full bloom. A 
narrow-leaved variety, now seldom seen, used to 
be called Sweet-Johns. 

Wild Spinach is called by the French Bon- 
Henri. 

To Chervil, one of our old medicinal plants, 
was given the name of Sweet Cicely ; to one of the 
Milfoils, that of Sweet Maudlin, from Magdalene ; 
but why was a native of North Africa called 
Sweet Marjoram? Marjorie or Margery, a pretty 
old English diminutive — gone out of fashion now 
— for Margaret, but surely prettier than Maggie 
or Meg. And the aromatic herb of the East, the 
Rayhan of Persia (in Arabic, Reyhan, a proper 
name, sig. the favour of God)^ which, because of 
its name, perhaps, as well as its fragrance, is 
planted in burial-places, and scattered by Egyp- 
tian women on the grave of those they loved. 
How comes Sweet Basil by its kingly name? 
Basileus, in Greek, sig. a king. The wild aro- 



I LEGEND OF ST. VERONICA. 151 

matic plant which is eaten by us when candied 
with sugar, the dried roots of which the Lap- 
landers chew as tobacco, is called Angelica (from 
the Greek), sig. a messenger from heaven. 

Is it because of its heavenly blue — unmatched 
p in colour but by children's eyes — that the lovely 

Speedwell is called by the sainted name of Vero- 
nica, for on her day (the 13th of January) the 
wild flowers are all hidden away under their 
snowy coverlet? 

Protestants do not accept the wild legend of 
St. Veronica, Vera Icon, a compound name, Latin 
and Greek — Vera, true; eikon^ Jigure^ likeness. 

The impression of the Saviour's face was said 
to have remained on a cloth with which a com- 
passionate woman wiped from His brow the drops 
of agony, as, bearing His cross, He passed her 
door on the way to Calvary. 
• We do well to reject miracles based only on 
tradition ; we do well to shrink from all undue 
reverence to saints ; but we do not do well to lose 
one lesson contained in the life of a holy man or 
woman. 

We see, as it were, St. Paul and St. Barnabas 
rending their clothes in horror when unseemly 
worship is offered to them ; we hear them exclaim- 
ing, *Sirs, why do ye such things? we also are 
[were] men of like passions with you.' But we also 
hear our dear Lord's voice applying His parable 
of the good Samaritan to all hearers with the 
words, ' Go and do thou likewise.' 



152 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

It may or it may not be that the blessed woman 
since called Veronica (from the supposed miracle) 
was Berenice, daughter of Salome, niece of Herod. 
Would that it were! for then she would have 
shown much courage as well as much compassion. 
But is it not more than probable that the legend 
had some foundation in feet? 

What wonder would it be if, from amongst the 
daughters of Jerusalem who did weep for Him 
who 'went about doing good,' one pitying hand 
stretched forth, as the patient Sufferer passed by, 
and passed her woman's veil tenderly over the 
' marred' fece, wet with the dews of unutterable 
agony? 

Sacred dews, that shall henceforth descend in 
showers of unspeakable mercy upon mankind ! 

The Saviour's image — not graven on the sense- 
less cloth — would most surely be impressed on 
the woman's feeling heart, sanctifying her after- 
life, and making her for ever His own* 

He who attached «, reward to a cup of cold 
water given in His name — would He have passed 
on His way regardless of this act of womanly 
sympathy, nor left His blessing behind ? 

And not to Veronica alone ! Sisters, are our 
veils ever wet with tears ? Let them recall to us 
Veronica's veil of other days — not pictured^ but 
simply wetted by our dear Redeemer's drops of 
agony. Hallowed by the thought, thrice blessed 
will our tear-wetted veils become, if they serve 
to imprint the Saviour, the Comforter, upon our 



\ VERONICA, THE TRUE IMAGE. 153 

hearts. The scene is reversed. It is we who 
must now bear the cross — ^it is He who will wipe 
our griefs away. 

Do any bear the pretty name of Veronica? Oh, 
what a continual reminder they have of the holi- 
; ness which their lives should reflect ! * 

* The Robin, called in Brittany Jean le Gorge-^ouge, lias Ha red 
throat and breast accounted for there by a pretty legend. His 
feathers are said to have been first crimsoned by his own blood; as 
he wounded himself in striving to pluck the thorns from the 
Saviour's crown. 

Some flowers have been called after saints from growing abun- 
dantly in the neighbourhood of their shrines. The plant Angelica 
may have derived its name from its healing powers, and fanciful 
eyes have discovered in the markings of the leaves of the Veronica 
some resemblance to a human face. The flower was believed to be 
a charm against evil spells ] hence its common name of SpeediveU, 



154 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 



CHAPTER Vin. 

Curiosities in histories of names — Superstitions in an- 
cient Home — Lucky and unlucky names — Diocletian — 
Hippolytus — Superstitions in various nations — Lucky 
and unluc^ letters — Talismans and charms — Moses' 
Rod — Solomon's Seal — Abracadabra — Hebrew and Drui- 
dical alphabet of trees and plants — Anagrams and acrostics 
— The Imperial riddle of the vowels — Sad story of an 
anagram — Variations in a name. 

TN days of old, ere Faith bom of the Spirit 
■^ was seen with radiant finger pointing ever 
upwards to a God of love, the human race, anx- 
ious-eyed and irresolute, followed blind super- 
stition into many a darkling and crooked path. 

Accomplished Greece and warlike Rome were 
alike bewildered by the conflicting claims of 
their many divinities, to whom in their ignorance 
and irreverent folly they attributed such idle 
jealousies and bitter animosities as would have 
disgraced humanity. They walked in fear and 
doubt all the day long. The minds of some of 
the wisest of their philosophers, the bravest of 
their commanders, were alike strangely and un- 
healthily affected by the. commonest incidents of 
their daily life — ^they were unnerved or elated by 
the most immaterial circumstances. 

Amongst these many causeless sources of undue 



LUCKY AND UNLUCKY NAMES. 155 

hopes and fears, none were looked upon as more 
pregnant with meaning, none considered of more 
moment, than lucky or unlucky names. 

Oracles were consulted and sacrifices ofi^ered 
up, so that by their gods fortunate names might 
be revealed. In religious ceremonies, and in all 
public undertakings, the greatest precautions were 
observed, so that those who assisted in them, 
or at least all those to whom prominent positions 
were assigned, should have names of good augury. 
The children by whom the victims were led, the 
priests by whom they were to be sacrificed, or by 
whom the new temple was to be dedicated, were 
carefully selected according to the signification of 
their names. 

When citizens were chosen for the formation of 
new colonies, or soldiers enrolled for military 
expeditions, or even when electors registered 
their votes, such names only as were supposed to 
presage good fortune were allowed to head the 
lists. 

In Rome, Valerius, sig. of strength^ and Salvius, 
sig. of safety^ were amongst the lucky names ; but 
VespeUian, derived firom vespa, a wasp (a dis- 
agreeable companion indeed), Naevus, a blemish^ 
and Egerius, expressive of want^ were avoided as 
sure prognostics of evil. 

Certain tribes were considered in consequence 
of their names to bring misfortune whenever they 
presented themselves first to vote, or to take 
part in any public ceremony. When criminals 



156 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

were assembled for judgment, the trials com- 
menced with those whose names were reckoned 
as least fortunate. 

Good or evil auguries were drawn even from 
the names of animals. 

Lepidus jEmilius Paullus Macedonicus, a Ro- 
man consul, appointed for the second time to 
conduct the war in Macedon against Perseus, on 
returning to his house from the election found 
his little daughter ^Emilia (No. 3) in tears. On 
his asking the cause, the child replied that her 
favourite dog Perseus was dead. The Roman 
general gladly accepted the omen for good. As- 
sured of success, he set off on the expedition 
which terminated in Perseus, last of the Mace- 
donian kings, being brought in triumph a prisoner 
to Rome, there to die of a broken heart. 

Before the battle of Actium, Augustus was 
rejoiced by a favourable augury — sl donkey and 
its driver were the humble instniments of his 
joy. Meeting an ass, he hastened to enquire its 
name. It proved to be Nik&n, sig. in Greek to 
conquer. Thus encouraged to ask the name 
of the man by whom it was led, his triumph 
was complete, for it was Eutyches, the fortunate I 
After his victory over Anthony, Augustus built 
a temple in which were placed figures of the luck- 
bringing (?) ass and its master. 

In later days an Italian physician found in his 
name a powerful letter of introduction to the 
court of the Imaum of Muscat. On being asked 



LUCKY AND UNLUCKY NAMES. 157 

his name, he replied Vincenzo, which, translated 
into the Arabic, Mansour, announced him as the 
victorious^ and secured for him the immediate 
favour of the prince. 

In another name good fortune sprang from 
the addition of a letter. 

Friendless and poor, a young Persian named 
Nuari bore about him a continually depressing 
reminder of his low estate, for Nuari sig. destitute. 
One day the master with whom he studied, struck 
by his promise of excellence, exclaimed that his 
name should no longer be Nuari, but that he 
should be known as Anuari, sig. brilliant. The 
changed name acted as a charm : the spirit of the 
lad was aroused, and the whole power of his mind 
was put forth. The clouds of neglect and con- 
tumely rolled away — as a newly found star the 
young poet shone forth, and to this day his ad- 
miring countrjTnen delight to sing the songs of 
Anuari, the brilliant. 

Some names, alas ! have lost all their prestige 
through the change of a letter. An R changed 
into an H has ruined one reputation irremediably! 
What cruel destiny presided over the transfor- 
mation of Robin Goodfellow — the beneficent fairy 
of olden times, well known to all country lads and 
lasses — into Hobgoblin, now become the nightly 
terror of all waking inmates in dark nurseries? 

But some names have in very truth brought 
misery on their possessors. To one of the early 
martyrs of the Christian Church a death of 



158 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

peculiar horror was assigned in consequence of his 
ill-omened name. 

Hippolytus, a Roman soldier placed as a guard 
over St. Laurence — whose martyr's crown ex- 
ceeded in glory the laurel-wreath sig. by his 
name — moved by the dying saint's exhortations, 
and inspired by his sublime courage, not only 
became, but boldly avowed himself to be, a 
Christian. 

After the cruel martyrdom of St. Laurence, 
who was roasted alive on a gridiron, the brave 
Hippolytus, eager to prove his gratitude for the 
inestimable boon which the saint had bestowed on 
him, joined with some other fearless Christians 
in the daring act of carrying away the mangled 
body and aflfording it Christian burial. 

Soon arrested by the lictors of the Emperor 
Decius, Hippolytus resisted all attempts to shake 
his faith, and, after having seen nineteen of his 
family beheaded, he was himself reserved for a 
more agonising death. His name, signifying in 
Greek torn by horses^ suggested to his cruel per- 
secutors the hideous mockery of fulfilling its 
meaning by tying the gallant soldier to the tails 
of wild horses. 

In the following century a strange story was 
attached to one of these unlucky names, as it 
proved to the bearer of it. 

A youth of obscure parentage received from 
his mother a name. Her name Doclea, from the 
village where she was born, was altered for her 



I 

^ STORY OF DIOCLETIAN. 159 

son into Diodes, sig. in Greek the glory of 
Jupiter. Enlisted in the Roman army, Diodes 
disputed one day with a woman the price of a 
meal which she had supplied to him. Reproached 
by her for his meanness, the young soldier mock- 
^ ii^gly replied, that when he became emperor 

he would become generous. ' You speak in jest, 
but your words will come true,' exclaimed the 
Druidess ; ' after you have killed a wild boar you 
will become emperor.' 

Haunted by this prediction, the ambitious sol- 
dier, as he pushed his way through each successive 
grade of his profession, eagerly sought every 
opportunity of slaughtering a wild boar. But it 
was not for many years that, far distant from his 
native land, on the banks of the Tigris, the 
hidden sense of the prophecy flashed on the mind 
of the then captain of the Palace Guards. The 
news of the death of the Emperor Numerianus 
had reached the camp — Diodes was chosen by 
acclamation of the troops as his successor. One 
obstacle alone remained — one only rival stood 
between him and the throne — the praefect of the 
praetorians, Aper, sig. wild hoar. Seizing on the 
pretext of his being suspected of the murder 
of his son-in-law, Numerianus, Diodes killed 
Aper with his own hand, and as emperor assumed 
the sonorous name of Diocletian. 

As I write the name Diocletian, does there not 
pass before the mind of my readers, even as it 
does before my own, an exquisite vision of such 



160 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

mingled beauty and mournfulness that none could 
look and few can think upon it without tears ? 
A fair pale body — a woman's long hair floating 
around, dimly revealed through green translucent 
waves — a still and shadowy horror over all — the 
only light in the picture the fair pale body just 
sinking to rise again, and the circle of light 
which, hovering overhead, tells of the 'Martyr in 
Diocletian's Reign.'* 

Was that murdered woman's drowning form 
amongst the crowd of avenging visions that 
scared from the throne of the Caesars the man 
whose life-long ambition it had been to attain to 
that proud preeminence? The lowly-bom Dal- 
matian achieved his wildest dreams, but when 
his sceptre reeked with the blood of Christian 
martyrs its weight became intolerable. With 
his own hand, in the presence of the army and the 
people, in the very spot where he had so trium- 
phantly assumed them, he divested himself of the 
insignia of sovereignty to which he had attached 
imusual splendour. 

His imperial robe was of cloth of gold ; his 
silken slippers, dyed in purple, were incrusted 
with gems ; his diadem blazed with jewels of 
inestimable value ; and he caused himself to be 
addressed as Master, Lord, and God ! But the 
prosperity of the wicked is no enviable thing. 
The Dalmatian slave did indeed ascend the 

♦ The beautiful picture of tliat name, by De la Roche, in the 
French galleij of pictures in the International Exhibition of 1862. 



TAMOUS SUPERBTmOM. 161 

Oassars' throne, but of his own will be de- 
scended fi'om it as from a seat of thorns. Worn 
out in body, distracted in mind, the murderer of 
80 many men, women, and children, in a state of 
insanity, finally starved himself to death, to 
escape an imaginary death at the hands 6f Con- 
stantine. 

Prophecies like those which fired the ambition 
of Diocles fi^equently, as we see in his career, 
lead to their own fulfilment ; but it only needs 
to compare the superstitious fancies of different 
natioiiis, which are often in direct opposition to 
^each other, to show how fer they are from resting 
on any sure foundation. 

It was at one time considered unlucky in 
Ireland to give a son his father's name, supposing 
"tfiat it shortened the parent's life. So, too, 
amongst the Hurons, a warlike tribe of North 
American Indians, it is (or we should, perhaps, 
with a people continually wasting away, say 
was) the custom that only after the father's 
death a child is allowed to bear his name. 

The Australian savages, on the contrary, dread 
no danger fi'om the living, but shrink in terror 
from the name of one lately dead: survivors 
who bear the name hasten to take another, and 
even all utterance of it is avoided. 

Far more intelligible is the mistaken but 
tender superstition of the natives of Tonquin, 
the northern part of Cochin China. Does the 
news arrive there of some dear one dying in a 

M 



162 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

far-off land, his relations, jealous lest the stran- 
gers amongst whom he died should have neg- 
lected some needful observance in the last rites 
paid to the dead, are eager to fulfil these duties 
themselves. In the old home to which he will 
never return, they determine that his name at 
least shall be heard and honoured once more. 
The dead man's name is inscribed on a plank of 
wood — their love investing the rude symbol 
with reverence — and a mimic funeral takes 
place. 

We have seen that with names, as with human 
beings, ' somfe have been bom to greatness, some 
have achieved greatness, and some have had 
greatness thrust upon them.' The lustre which 
encircles many names has been cast on them 
by the deeds of those that bore them; while 
other names, fair in themselves, have been sullied 
and disgraced by their possessors. 

Names so dishonoiu'ed were indignantly pro- 
scribed by noble families in ancient Rome. The 
beautiful name of Lucius, sig. Light — ^which has 
in all languages its synonymes — was once a 
favourite praenomen in the patrician family of 
Claudius ; but rendered infamous by the crimes 
of two Luciuses, one convicted of murder and 
one of theft, the name was abandoned by the 
family. 

Favour and disfavour have attached them- 
selves not only to names, but even to the letters 
of which names are composed. 



LUCKY AND UNLUCKY LETTEES. 163 

By sages of old each letter was connected 
with a particular star, so that astrological influ- 
ence, as well as numerical value, contributed to 
exalt some letters above their fellows. 

A, E, H, and I were considered fortunate ; 
B, C, D, and F were looked upon as unlucky. 
T was also among the fortunate letters. The 
Greek Tau, r, or St. Anthony's Cross, was in 
olden times the hieroglyphic of security. It was 
said : ' Kill not them upon whom ye shall see the 
letter Tau.'* For it was the initial of Theos. 

But, disproving these idle fancies, the letter A 
proved most unfortimate to Alexis, married to 
the niece of Manuel Comnena. The Greek 
Emperor, anxious to fasten a quarrel on his 
niece's husband, aflFected to discover an indica- 
tion of Alexis' aspiring to the supreme autho- 
rity, in that his name began with the first letter 
of the alphabet- 

Pythagoras is said to have originated the belief 
that an uneven number of vowels in a name was 
a sure presage of misfortune to the unhappy 
proprietor — ^loss of sight, a broken hmb, or some 
other mischance. 

In later days a French versifier accounted for 
the misfortunes of Margaret of Austriaf in the 

* Gwillim's Display of^Heraldry. 

t It was the morning of her life which with this princess was 
so overclouded. Margaret was the only daughter of Maxmilian I. 
and the beautiful Mary of Burgundy. She lost her mother, who 
was good as she was beautiful, while still in her cradle. Affi- 
anced to the Dauphin of France, son of Louis XI., the young 

M 2 



164 WHAT IS YOim NAME? 

dircumstance that the initial letter of her name 
was also that of the words malheur, misere, 
mal, martyre, malediction, mal^fice, mort. But, 
dear English Marys, Margarets, and Maudes, 
remember, I pray, that some of these terrible 
omens are destroyed by translation into other 
languages. 

The four letters which compose the name of 
the first man, ADAM, being the initial letters 
of words which in Greek indicate the four car- 
dinal points, Anatolia, Dysis, Arctos, and Me- 
sembria, were supposed to signify that God made 
Adam from earth taken from the east, the west, 
the north, and the south.* 

princess was sent to that country to be educated ; but on 
Charles VIII. marrying Anne of Brittany, she was dismissed, 
with all honour, but dismissed — an insult which her father never 
forgave. Another husband was found for Margaret in Don John, 
only son of Ferdinand and Isabella. On her voyage to Spain she 
was nearly lost, off the English coast, in a tremendous storm. 
With great composure the young lady composed her own epitaph, 
which, with her jewels, she bound about her arms : — 
' Ci git Margot, la gente demoiselle, 
Qu'eut deux maris, et si mourut pucelle.' 
She did, however, live to reach Spain, and was married to John, 
who soon died. Again she married Philibert, Duke of Savoy. In 
three years she was again a widow, having then only reached her 
twenty-fourth year. 

Her after life was peaceful and honourable. By her father first, 
and afterwards by her nephew, Charles V., she was intrusted with 
the government of the Low Countries. Invested by Charles with 
full powers, Margaret concluded with Louise of France, mother of 
Francis I., the Peace of Cambray, thence called ' La Paix des 
Dames.' Dying in her fiftieth year, she left behind an unblemished 
name, and was mourned alike by the Netherlands which she had 
governed, and by Charles whose vicegerent she was. 

♦ Noel's Dictionnaire Historique. 



TALISMANS Am> CBABMS. 165 

It was once customary to write the name of 
Adam on the four comers of pigeon-houses, as a 
means of preserving them from the attacks of 
venomous reptiles. 

A pleasant by-path here opens out fix)m the 
broad track of the history of names. We dare 
not take time to enter far, but we cannot pass on 
without a glance. How curious it is to notice 
how, in all times and amongst all nations, strong 
men and wise men have looked upon bits of 
stones or small scraps of writing as actual pre- 
servatives from harm ! 

The learned Egyptian clung to the representa- 
tions of his gracefiil Ibis or brilliant Scarabeus. 
In our day men irreverently take from the necks 
of mummies sacred gems which tens of centu- 
ries ago loving hands had tenderly hung about 
their dead, supposing them to be sure safeguards 
from all evil. 

Greeks and Romans, too, had their amulets of 
precious stones, carved in the shape or engraved 
with the figures of sacred animals, or mystic 
symbols. 

For our Anglo-Saxon forefathers a lump of 
amber sufficed, with a hole drilled through to 
hang round the neck of the living, or to place in 
the grave at the head of the corpse. 

The African has his 'fetish,' some native 
charm, or a printed page from a white man's 
book, or some scribbled line from a white man's 
hand. 



166 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

The North American Indian has his ' medi- 
cine,' feathers of a bird, bones or teeth of animals, 
or a rude representation of beast, bird, or fish. 

And Christian men and women, too, have 
shown strange and undue reverence for the relics 
of saints — ^looking upon dead bones, or hair, or 
rags of garments, as holy things endued with 
power to preserve them from danger. 

But with the seed of Abraham, the Faithful, 
the sons of Isaac and Ishmael, this superstition 
has been carried farther perhaps than with any 
other people. The Turks have adopted it from 
their co-religionists, the Arabs. 

The word talisman has been sometimes derived 
from the Greek telesma, ^incantation;^ but it 
would seem rather to belong to the Arabic 
talsam, sig. 'mystical characters^^ and applied 
also to the seals, rings, and papers on which such 
characters are inscribed. The Latin amuletum 
also claims an Arabian origin, from hamalet, 
something ''5t/5p^nc?^c?,' as amtdets generally are 
from the neck. Both names point to the Ea^t as 
the place whence Europe adopted this supersti- 
tion, and where it is still most fondly and uni- 
versally retained. 

In the Hebrew Cabala is to be found, it is 
said, the origin of many of the tales of marvel 
connected with amulets and talismans. 

Of those which strictly belong to our subject, 
the influence of names^ we will but glance at 
two of the greatest importance. 



MOSES' ROD. 167 

Jewish fables tell of the Zaphir rod, the in- 
strument by which they say Moses performed his 
miracles. On it the most holy name of God, 
the Tetragranunaton, or name of four letters, was 
inscribed. This rod, said to have been created in 
Paradise on the sixth day, was brought away by 
Adam, and passed successively through the hands 
of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph : on 
his death it was seized by Pharaoh. Jethro, one 
of the Egyptian monarch's counsellors, being 
friendly to the Israelites, conveyed it secretly 
away and planted it in his garden. When 
Moses took refuge with Jethro, beloved by Zip- 
porah, she prevailed on her father to consent to 
their marriage, one condition being aflSxed — that 
Moses should pluck out of the ground the Zaphir 
rod, on which was written the incommunicable 
name. Other men were allowed at the same 
time to try their strength, but none could raise 
it except Moses, who did it by virtue of the 
sacred name which he alone could rightly pro- 
nounce. 

How infinitely more sublime and impressive is 
the grand simplicity of Scripture ! Moses, once 
the pride of the Egyptian court, kept his father- 
in-law's flock in the desert when God spake with 
him. ' What is that in thine hand? And he said, 
A rod.' . . . ' Thou shalt take this rod in thine 
hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.' No glitter- 
ing sword, or jewelled sceptre, or shining wand 
was bestowed on him ; but his simple rod of ahnond 



168 WHAT IS TOUR NAME ? 

wood, his shepherd'S' staff, which he was then 
using in his appointed wotk, became mighty 
through the word of God. Uplifted in Jehovah's 
name, water became blood, fire fix)m heaven ran 
along the ground, armies of devouring locusts 
appeared, the Red Sea divided, and, behold, a 
pathway to the Land of Promise. 

Ah ! how often do we look abroad and covet 
instruments of power, when, lo ! they are in our 
very hands, companioning with us through our 
daily work ! God-blessed, the humblest instru- 
ments may do good service to God and man ; but 
they must be ' proved ' in prayer. 

So in later days the sling and the pebble in 
the shepherd-boy's hand slew the giant; and, 
yet more gloriously significant, the transverse 
wcioden beams — ^the despised Cross — ^when hal- 
lowed by a Saviour's blood, have become a symbol 
mighty to save, an instrument of world-wide 
power, high above all, unmatched in its infinite 
significance. 

The Arabs, also, tell of Moses' rod, but they 
most delight to dwell on the wonders performed 
by the seal-ring of Sul^jrman Ibn Daood — Solo- 
mon the son of David. Partly composed of 
brass and partly of iron, its especial power con- 
sisted also in the ' most great name ' of God, ' El 
Im al Aazam' — ^aname known only to the especial 
favourites of Heaven — ^being engraved thereon. 
By virtue of this magical ring^ Sul^yman was 



Solomon's skal — abracadabra. 169 

said to have commanded the mighty race of the 
genii inhabiting earth, and water, and air, both 
the good and the evil. His written conmiands for 
the good were stamped with the brazen part; 
those for the wicked with the iron — Hadeed, or 
iron^ being considered unlucky. The Arabs say 
that thus were the whole race of the genii 
compelled to assist in the building of the 
Temple of Jerusalem. Beasts and birds, and 
even the lawless winds, obeyed this mighty talis- 
man.* 

The simple utterance of the name which it 
bore sufficed to transport the throne of the Queen 
of Sheba into the presence of King Sul^yman in 
his palace at Jerusalem, and by it they affirm to 
this day that the dead can be raised. | 

Amongst talismanic names Abracadabra must I 

not be forgotten. Said to be a Persian name, 
and one of the many sjoionymes of Mithra, j 

the Sun-god, the word is still to be seen in 
English and French dictionaries, described as a ' 

superstitious charm which, written on paper i 

in a triangular form and worn about the neck, ! 

was once a popular remedy for the tertian 
ague. 

Serenus Sammonicus, a Latin physician of the 
third century, recommended this charm against 
intermittent fever in some Latin lines, which still 
exist. 

*• Lane's Notes to Arabian Nights. 



WHAT IS YODB NAME ? 

ABBACADABBA 

ABBACADABB 

ABBACADAB 

ABBACADA 

A B B A C A D 

A B B A C A 

A B B A C 

ABBA 

ABB 

A B 

A 

The connection between names and numbers 
s >^^)oken of in Scripture: the number of ^the 
iK'u^t ' is said to be 666. Ill-directed ingenuity 
hu.>» at various periods of history discovered this 
(died number in the names of several obnoxious 
iuJividuals, 

I'he I'aknud is fizll of allusions to names and 
KttciH and numbers. It is there said that the 
Uucra which compose the name of Satan make 
i\w imuiber 364, marking thereby that the power 
oi the Evil One extends through all the days of 
tht*> \ cur excepting one, ' the Day of Expiation.' 

Luttcrs have also been connected with plants. 
Au alphabet of trees existed amongst the Chal- 
tliuiiisi, Hebrews, Arabians, and Celts. Nations 
ill Uu'ir infancy were taught even as we teach our 
little (UK s now — letters and words were connected 
IV ^ ill ^liuUirud devices of various kinds. Some of 
,1.-— ~^i|jut sj inbols wei'e full of poetic beauty, 
'in wt^ may often find a key imlocking 
pteiieB and making hidden allusions 



i 



ALPHABETS OF TBBES AND PLANTS. 171 

clear. Although they may sometimes give us 
a clue to the meaning of a name, the subject 
scarcely comes strictly enough within the range 
of our enquiry to be more than glanced at here. 

We find that the Hebrew letter Beth (B) was 
symboUed by a thom, Daleth (D) by a vine, He 
(H) by a pomegranate, Vau (V) by the kingly 
pahn, Yod (I) by the ivy, Pe (P) by the 
cedar, Resh (R) by the pine. 

These letters were differently represented by 
the Celts. With them the symbol for B was the 
birch, for D the oak, for T the yew, for P the 
pine, for R the elder and the privet.* 

The Celts are said to have attached also to each 
letter and its symbolical plant the significance of 
some particular power. B was considered as ex-, 
pressive of life^ D of expansive or overspreading 
power. This letter — symbolled in the East by the 
vine, which before her captivity was the cogni- 
sance of Judaea, the Holy Land; and in the North 
represented by the Druids' sacred tree, the oak, 
called in the Celtic Duir — ^has been in almost 
every land the initial letter of Deity. 

In the Chaldaic and Celtic alike, Di, the onmi- 
potent, the disposer; in the Greek, A<oV; in the 
Latin, Deus ; Italian, Dio ; Spanish, Dios ; French, 
Dieu. 

It was forbidden by the Greek laws that any 
persons should be ridiculed on the stage by their 
real names; but the fictitious and significant 

* Davies's Celtic Researches. 



172 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

Barnes which were adopted in their plays aflPbrded 
a fertile source of puns. 

The reproach which French writers have cast 
on English dramatists, including Shakspeare and 
Sheridan, for such play upon words, must be 
shared with the classic authors of both Greece 
and Rome. Even their orators, including Cicero, 
disdained not so to feather their darts of sarcasm ; 
but in imskilftil hands, or with a quick-witted 
adversary, it was dangerous play. The eloquent 
Q. Lutatius Catulus (which literally signifies litde 
dog)^ denouncing with much vehemence the mal- 
practices of an extortioner, was rudely challenged 
by one who sought to defend the criminal — 'And 
why do you bark, little dog?' * Because I see a 
thiei^' Catulus instantly replied. 

In a drama translated from the Sanscrit by 
Sir W. Jones we may see how far in the East also 
the practice of punning allusions on names has 
travelled. Sacontala hails a companion, Pryam- 
vada, as one ' rightly named.^ Pryamvada signifies 
' one who speaks kindly ' and graciously. 

In our own day some happy hits have been 
made by expressive names, intelligible to all, and 
yet not clumsily apparent. Amongst a host of 
imitators few have been so successful as the in- 
ventors of the names Lord Verisopht and Lord 
Dundreary. 

Long names were, as we have seen, amongst 
the Greeks and Romans confined to men of rank. 
Their great ladies, we may suppose, appreciated 



AKAGBAMS. 178 

them also, for at the luxurious banquets of 
Greece and Rome men drank to the health of 
their lady-loves as many cups of wine as there 
-were letters in their names. The fair Greek 
Charitoblepharos, sig. one who has heauUfvl 
eyebrows^ was no doubt a popular toast. 

Anagrams have already been alluded to as 
amongst the many curious subjects opening out 
from the history of names. The *anagramma' 
of the Greeks was at one time in high favour 
amongst ourselves. By the transposition of the 
letters composing the names of individuals and 
countries, appropriate epithets were sometimes 
discovered. The name of the attorney-general 
to Charles I., William Noy, a laborious man, was 
read, */ moyl in law\* better still, old England 
was ' golden land.'' 

The simpler these anagrams are, the better. 
The transposition of a letter would connect two 
German words — ^leid, sorrow) lied, song — and 
illustrate the line all poets have felt to be true : — 

He learned in suffering wliat he taught in song. 

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 
many books were written, composed entirely of 
these ' Pleasant Fancies ' and ' Fair Conceits,' as 
they were called. One published in France, 
1662, contains French and Latin verses, princi- 
pally panegyrics on princes and great men. Two 
of the best of these anagrams, untranslatable of 
course, were: — 



174 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Anne d'Autriche, 
Reine de haut ran^.* 

Paulus Apostolus, 
Tu salvas populos.t 

Though carried at one time to a ridiculous 
extent, the subject cannot be regarded as wholly 
without interest, remembering that Galileo, 
when persecuted by ignorant bigots, disdained 
not to make use of anagrams. In them he em- 
bodied some of his scientific discoveries, as the 
only means by which they could be preserved 
secret and inviolate. 

Prophecies were also occasionally put forth in 
anagrams. Many such issued from a Proven9al 
of the name of Billon, to whom Louis XIII. 
gave an annual pension of 1,200 livres, thereby 
securing, no doubt, the line which his prophecies 
should take. 

Amongst the most remarkable anagrams are 
some connected with religious subjects. 

The anxious enquiry which burst from the 
lips of the time-serving Roman governor, and 
which has again and again rung through the 
universe, uttered by the quivering lips of un- 
happy men who, like Pilate, are striving to serve 
two masters — that solemn enquiry, 'What is 
truth?' — ^has been made in Latin to answer itself 
in the person of Him to whom it was addressed : 
* Quid est Veritas? ' by transposing the letters be- 

* ^ to be accepted for c, we suppose, 
t Noel's Dictionaaire Historique, 



ACROSTICS. 175 

comes ' Est vir qui adest ' — ' It is the man who \ 

is here.' I 

Acrostics, or verses in which the initial letters 
of each line form a name or word, are amongst ! 

the instances of wasted ingenuity which may be j 

found in connection with names. ' 

To Eusebius Pamphili (so called in memory ! 

of his martyred friend Pamphilus), Bishop of 
CsBsarea, who lived in the fourth century, has been 
attributed the supposed discovery of a copy of 
verses, professedly by the Erythrean Sibyl. The 
poem put forth as delivered by her — who pre- 
dicted, it was said, the Trojan war and its issue 
— described the coming of the Judgment- Day. 
The initial letters of the lines composed the 
Greek words, lesoiis Christos, Theou XJios, S6t^r, 
sig. ' Jesits Christy Son of God^ Saviour.^ The 
initial letters of these words being then put toge- 
ther, the Greek word Ichthus, jish^ is discovered, 
a fish having been early adopted by the Christian 
Church as a sacred sjnnbol. 

Acrostics, as many old books remain to prove, 
long continued in favour. In the fifteenth cen- 
tury, Frederic III. of Austria delighted in such 
exercises of ingenuity. A species of acrostic 
composed by him was printed on his books, en- 
graved on his plate, carved upon his buildings : 
it consisted of the five vowels, and as a riddle ex- 
cited much curiosity even amongst learned men of 
the time. After his deg^th the secret was revealed 
by an interpretation written in his own hand : — 



176 WHAT IS TOU? KAME ? 

Austria "17^ Ta^iare /^rW TTnivewo 

lies JLrdreicli Ist v/esterreicli U nterthaii.* 

The Latin and German, freely translated, so as 
to preserve the conceit, may be read: — 

Austria's Empire Is Overall Universal. 

In the sixteenth century Sir John Davis, a 
poetical judge, compounded a dainty dish to set 
before a queen in a volume containing twenty- 
six poems, all acrostics on Elizabeth Eegina. 
They took the form of addresses to ' The Rose,' 
' The Lark,' &c. 

Addison tells us that in his day there were 
compound acrostics — verses being composed 
. much in the same way as a weaver manu&ctures 
his ribands, edged by a name at each extremity, 
with the same name running down like a seam 
through the middle of the poem. There were 
also pentacrostics, where the name was repeated 
fiye times. 

To match with these English follies may be 
mentioned the labours of a Greek of ancient 
times, misnamed Tryphiodorus, sig. Giver of 
delight His self-inflicted penance consisted in 
the composition of an epic poem on the adven- 
tures of Ulysses, each division of the poem leaving 
out in succession one letter of the alphabet — ^the 
first part being called Alpha, because tio ' a ' was 
found therein; the second B^ta, for a similar 
reason ; and so on till all the letters of the alphabet 

* Fugger. Coxe's Austria. 



A FATAL ANAGRAM. 177 

were in turn rudely called up, to show that their 
services could be dispensed with. 

' Moses & Son/ ' Rowlands' Kalydor,' and 
other advertising houses seem now to enjoy a 
monopoly of acrostics. It would seem to have 
been felt at last an unwise thing to prefer jolting 
along on Pegasus with hobbled feet, his wings 
(the especial glory of the celestial steed) the 
meanwhile trailing uselessly on the ground. 

But lest there should still be some whose tastes 
incline them to the laborious amusement of ana- 
gram or acrostic writing, I would, as a warning 
of the fearful risks attendant on such pursuits, 
recall a lamentable story told by Addison as 
having happened in his day ! 

A gentleman, suddenly enamoured of a fair 
lady, whose name he was told was the Lady 
Mary Boon, determined to win her affections by 
the desperate achievement of an anagram on her 
name. For this purpose he shut himself up in 
the. strictest confinement for six months. The 
enterprise was at last accomplished, but not 
without some liberties taken with his subject. 
Mary he found unmanageable : he ventured 
therefore on its diminutive Moll. His task com- 
pleted — we are not told what he did make put — 
the hopeful lover fastened to present the fruit of 
his labours to the lady of his love. But the fair 
one frowns. She is, in the first instance, vexed to 
see her Christian name Mary degraded to Moll, 
and she then coldly informs the gentleman that 

N 



178 WHAT IS YOTTB SAME? 

her surname he has mistakai altogether — it waa 
the lordly name of Bohun, not the plebeian Boon. 

Horror-struck at the irretrievable mistake, the 
wretched lover — his mind previously weakened 
by long and continuous application to the ana- 
gram — being totally overthrown by the sudden 
downfall of his hopes, in a few days became a 
raving lunatic. 

And yet one plea may be advanced for ana- 
grams and acrostics, if they are composed with 
greater accuracy than that of the unfortunate 
lover of Mary Bohun. The laboured lines may 
be as the setting to encase some precious stone, 
as the fossil gum which has preserved uninjured 
some rare insect or unique leaf of fiir-off times. 
Amber is often quadrupled in value fix>m tie 
specimen which it contains. Anagrams and 
acrostics, sufficiently good to have outlived their 
day, might be esteemed as a means of discovering 
the original spelling of some sought-for name. 

How numberless and perplexing are the various 
forms which names assume as they pass jfrom 
mouth to mouth of successive generations, none 
but a name-hunter can tell. 

We meet with these wonderfully varying 
names ever3rwhere ; but let us now turn to one 
of the pretty Cornish holy wells. It is on the 
Trelawney property. Its arched roof is overgrown 
with silvery willows. It is overspread by a huge 
oak-tree garlanded with ivy. It is known as St. 
XT — )« Well. Her legend is still preserved. She 



VARIETIES m A NAME. 179 

is said to have been the daughter of an Earl of 
Cornwall, and mother of St. David, the famous 
Archbishop of Menevia (now called St. David's), 
the patron saint of Wales. The waters of this 
holy well were supposed to cure insanity. Her 
chapel has passed away, and her name, too, is 
passing away fix)m her pretty well, which is often 
now called the * Piskies' ' (or the Fairies') Well; 
and yet there was an ample choice amongst the 
many forms which her name has assumed in 
various chronicles : — 

St. Nun, Nunne, Nonnet, Nunnites, Nunice, 
Nynnina, Neomena, and Niemyne. 

And after all these variations of her name^ 
other chroniclers speak of the mother of St. 
David as a nun, called by the name of Malearia.* 

• Brady's Clavis Calendaria. 



V 2 



180 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTER IX. 

Antiquity of our baptismal names — Bible names the 
favourites in England — Art of name-making died out — 
Names connected with French and English revolutions cha- 
racteristic — English diminutives of names : their love for 
them of ancient date — Christian converts clinging to old 
names — Origin of the popularity of some names — Peter, 
Catharine, Paul, and Margaret — Successive causes in- 
fluencing the adoption of names — Our patron saints — 
Heroes and saints, honoured men and women, romances, 
&c. — Names beginning with Z — Suggestions for new 
names from the Spanish, &c. — Nameless creditors — 
Names amongst Africans, North American Indians, Hin- 
dus — Jews and Arabians. 

WITH but very few exceptions, all our bap- 
tismal names are older than — as a people 
— ^we are ourselves. Modem nations have done 
comparatively nothing to increase the treasury of 
individual names. Christianity — with its sublime 
inspirations, its deep and far-spreading influence 
over thoughts and words and deeds — has made 
but a very slender addition to the store. 

It is by names borrowed from the Assyrian, 
the Persian, the Hebrew, the Greek, the Roman, 
the Celt, and the Goth, that Christian Europe 
enrols her children in the vast army of Christ. 

To this rule the small exception will be found 
in a few names of Spanish, Italian, and French 



BIBLE NAMES. 181 

invention, of which the greater number have been 
derived from the Latin. 

The religious element, which is more strongly 
developed in Spain than in any other Roman 
Catholic country, there assumes with regard to 
names a different form from its simple manifesta- 
tion in England. 

Our open Bibles have given to us our favourite 
names — of women's names especially, those most 
universally in use are all of Hebrew origin. Our 
poorer classes seldom care to go beyond ' Bible 
names,'* as they are most expressively called, 
for in that their charm enduring for many centu- 
ries consists, wholly irrespective of signification. 

The great body of our people look upon names 
as typical of those that have borne them, and 
therefore it is that while Protestant England 
shrinks jfrom undue homage to the Virgin Mary, 
her name, as that of the 'blessed among women,' 
the mother of our Lord, is heard in every house 
throughout the land; and almost as common 
among them is the name of the 'beloved' disciple 
John. 

The sweet name of Mary, as ^Marie^ or 
' Maria^ is also the universal favourite in Roman 
Catholic countries; it is constantly prefixed to 

* ' Bible namefi.' Amongst soldiers, sailors, agriculturists, and 
mechanics, even such names as Josiah, Jeremiah, Jesse, Noah, 
Obadiah, &c., may be commonly found ) and Keziah, Rachel, and 
Buth amongst the women of the same clajss. What joy to think 
that j?o«8t]&/y a knowledge of the signification of such names may be 
blessed to some at least as an occasional reminder \ Jeremiah, ' one 
who gives glory to Jehovah^ or God \ Obad-iah, Hhe servant of Ood,^ 



182 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

other names, and not unjGrequently even to those 
of men. 

We read that in part of Bavaria Maria is 
affixed to every woman's name, and Johann to 
that of every man.* 

The musical Spanish name, Dolores, signify- 
ing sorrow^ almost a synonyme with Mary, was 
adopted as commemorative of the sorrows of the 
Virgin mother : in spite of its sad meaning it is 
an especial fevourite. In Italy and Spain — also 
introduced in honour of the Madonna — ^we find 
commonly used the names of Immaculata, Con- 
cepcion, and Annunziata, signifying the Annun- 
ciation. In connection with this last is the still 
prettier, simpler name, Ave, a fevourite name 
amongst them. 

Derived from the Hebrew 'haveh,' so beautiful 
an idea attaches itself to this word, that it may 
well have become a popular name. 

In i\n!& first word of the angel Gabriel's saluta- 
tion to the Virgin are reversed, both in Hebrew 
and Latin, the letters which compose our first 
mother's name, Hevah, Eva; and thus it becomes 
significant of the rolling back of the curse entailed 
by her upon mankind, by the blessing which 
at that moment Mary, as the mother of the 
Redeemer, was appointed to convey. 

Some of these foreign Roman Catholic names 
jar painfully upon English ears. Unfitted surely 

* Bey, J. Eobertson's Narrative of Mission to Banifih Islands* 



NAMES OF CHRISTIAN ORIGIN. 183 

for familiar use are the names, common amongst 
Spanish women, of Jesusa, and its diminutive 
Jesusita, and the yet more solemn appellation of 
Trinidada. 

But others of these continental names unused 
by us refer to religious festivals in our church. 
The French Domenique, Italian Domenico, 
Spanish Domingo, signifies * the LordJs day J or 
' belonging to the Lord.'' Pascal, almost a saintly 
name, is from the Hebrew Pascha, passage^ the 
Jews' Passover and our Easter. Epiphanie, 
Epiphany, from the Greek, to appear^ to shine^ 
as a woman's name had its French diminutive 
Tiphaine,* rendered in English by Tifikny, as 
in the old lines referring to one of the Breton 
knights who came to England in William the 
Conqueror's time : — 

William de Coningsby 
Came out of Brittany, 
With his wife Tifiany, 
And his maid Manfas, 
And his dog Hardigras. 

In the name of Evangeline, Evangelista (from 
the Gr., sig. bringer of good news\ there is a 
sound of joy-bells ringing; and sweeter still, from 
moonlit Bethlehem softly echoes the angel's song 
in the lovely name of Nathalie, sig. the Nativity. 

* From Theophania^ the ancient name of the festival of Epi- 
phany. Out of this word, when it became a name — a name ever a 
fertile source for a legend — sprang an imaginary personage, Theo- 
phania, the supposed mother of the three kings of the East, 
galyerte. 



184 WHAT IS YOUR NAME ? 

Its corresponding man's name, Noel, was once — 
as it well might be — a cry of joy. 

But it would seem that with rare exceptions 
the art of inventing names is one of those arts 
which have died out amongst civilised nations. 
On two occasions when revolutionised countries 
sought to inaugurate a new order of things by 
new names, the attempt in both cases proved a fail- 
ure. But even in these imsuccessful attempts the 
guiding principles apparent in both were, in their 
direct opposition to each other, strikingly charac- 
teristic of the respective nations and the spirit of 
the revolutions. 

Goaded, alas! by years of misrule — and, still 
worse, the mind of the nation having been cor- 
rupted by the sight of vice txiumphant in high 
places — France, in her desperate and cruel mad- 
ness, denied her God, and flooded her land with 
her children's blood. 

Amongst other pagan names which, in that 
they were pagan, found especial favour, was one 
peculiarly appropriate — Brutus, sig. ' irrationals^ 
^brutishJ* 

. In another instance they were equally uncon- 
sciously but singularly correct in their choice of 
a watchword. In that frenzied cry, ' Les aristo- 

* Vide Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary ; our word brtUef explained 
as ' senseless/ ' savage/ * ferocious/ being derived from Lat. brutus. 
Vide Todd's Johnson. 

' The brute philosopher, who ne'er has proved 
The joy of loving or of being loved.' — Pope, 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 185 

crats a la lanteme ! ' (Death to the aristocrats ! ), the 
monsters who used the word to condemn others 
little dreamt that they were ever their own accu- 
sers. Aristocrates, the name of a king of Sparta, 
literally signifies the rule ov power of the best* 

Did not the leaders of the French revolution 
seek to destroy 'the rule of the best — nay, all that 
was holy and good — when they forbade teachers 
to pronounce the name of God in their tuition 
of the children of the people ;' f when the pre- 
sident and members of the commune outraged 
decency by paying homage to an infamous woman 
under the name of the Goddess of Reason; when, 
not content with inventing horrible deaths for 
the living — saintly men, virtuous women, inno- 
cent boys and girls, and sinless babes — they 
violated the grave itself to insult and mock at 
the silent dead? 

None were spared, living or dead — no reputa- 
tion, no age, no sex, no rank. Amongst the 
coffins of the royal dead one was missing : it was 
that which contained the body of a young daugh- 
ter of Louis XV., who had fled from a gay 

* apitrroQ (aristos), ^hestj and so in all sorts of relations, like ayaOoQ 
(agathos), to which it serves as superlative, in Homer usually hed, 
braved, noblest .... first transferred in Att. to moral goodness/ — 
LiddeU and ScoU, p. 182. 

Kpdroi:, * might, power, rule.' — Ibid. p. 770. 

Aristocracy is literally the ' rule of the best/ opposed to oligarchy, 
* government in the hands of a few.' — Ibid, p. 959. 

Aristarchy, sig. 'best men in power,' was a word once used in 
the English language. Todd's Johnson's Diet. 

t Lamartine's.Histoire des Girondistes, vol. iii. pp. 301, 303, &c. 



186 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

but sinfiil court to lead a life of self-denial in a 
nunne^}^ The body of the blameless maid was 
sought for in its cloistered tomb, that it might be 
exposed to contumely with the rest. For about 
thirteen centuries the memory of St. Genevieve 
had been venerated by her countrymen, the holy 
and heroic peasant-girl, whose influence, extend- 
ing to the fiercest of barbarian conquerors, had 
saved Paris from being crushed by the iron heel 
of Attila,* and by whose saintly life Clovis, King 
of France, and Clotilde, his wife, were subse- 
quently converted to Christianity. These hal- 
lowed remains of the patroness of their city the 
madmen dragged from their resting-place, carried 
to the Place de Gr^ve infamous as a place of 
criminal punishment, where they were burnt, and 
their ashes scattered to the winds. 

The poverty of invention in the French revolu- 
tionists was apparent in the names given to their 
decade of days. In the dry bones of numerals 
there is no power of laying hold on the afifections 
of man. Be it what it may, a name to live must 
spring from something which has life ; colour or 
form, at the least, it must have, or the love of 
man will not cling to it ; so the primedi, duodi, 
tridi of revolutionary days were soon abandoned. 
In the names of their months they attempted a 
more attractive style of nomenclature, but it had 
no claims to originality. Centuries before, our 

^ * Anquetil's Histoire de France, 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH REGICIDES. 187 

Anglo-Saxon forefathers had given significant 
names to the months, and for their ideas of the 
'slippy, droppy, showery, flowery' names, the 
French were indebted to an almanack which had 
long been in use in Holland. 

But, significant as were the revolutionary 
names of months, the horrors with which such 
names were associated sufficed to make them 
odious. The scent of blood was over them all; 
and when the Reign of Terror was fully over- 
thrown, men, shuddering, turned from all possible 
reminiscences of a time when, as it has been well 
said by an historian of the period, ' the horror of 
living removed the horror of death.'* 

Except in the one foul blot of regicide, the 
English revolution has no resemblance to the 
French. Violence, injustice, self-righteousness, 
and culpable ambition were the crimes of the 
Puritans ; but they were not bloodthirsty — ^they 
never denied their God ! 

Compare for a moment the pictures we have 
of thq leaders of the two revolutions. See that 
of Marat, Collot d'Herbois, Couthon, Carrier, 
and, above all, Robespierre, in his silken gala- 
coat, with cruel eye and cruel smile — alas for 
the innocent flowers he wore shivering on his 
hyaena breast! Now look through any gallery 
of old portraits — a child will tell you which 
are the pictures of the English regicides. Iron- 

* Lamartme's Hist, des Girondistes. 



188 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

clad, cropped-haired — how stem and joyless are 
their feces ! Have they the look of men whose 
pastime was murder? 

For them this much may at least be said. 
They must have often turned aside from, but they 
did not quench, the light of conscience. Are 
not their brows knitted like men oppressed by 
too strong a light? And in such painM con- 
sciousness may there not be hope in the end? 

Such names ^ as the Ironsides and Puritans 
generally assumed, do they not show — ^to such as 
sweep them not aU away in a reckless charge of 
hypocrisy — a feeling after God? 

We are shocked by the seeming irreverence of 
such names as * Praise God Barebones,' ' More 
fruit Fowler,' ^ Fight the good fight of faith 
White,' ^ Kill sin Pimple;' while the ludicrous 
unfitness of the accompanying surnames cannot 
but provoke a smile. But if you give the sub- 
ject a moment's thought, we shall find that in 
such a name as * Praise God^ strange and un- 
seemly as it sounds to us, there is no more real 
irreverence than in three-fourths of the Hebrew 
names — such as Judah, ' Praise the Lord ;' Joel 
and Elijah, synonymes, transpositions of the 
words ' Jehovah is God.^ 

Many Hebrew names, when translated, make 
sentences as long as * Fight the good fight of 
faith.' Some of them, indeed, are absolute 
prayers ; but in Hebrew a letter may express a 
whole word. In Eastern languages generally. 



PURITAN NAJ^IES. 189 

the power of cutting off letters and syllables, 
and words being understood though not ex- 
pressed, make sentences like these practicable 
for names, which in our language they never 
could be. 

With regard to the fashioning of these 
strangely sounding Puritan names, in remem- 
bering how unmanageable were their materials, 
we must remember, also, how untaught and 
clumsy were the workmen's hands, for the work 
was attempted by uneducated men. The unfit- 
ness of these names, so apparent to all, made 
them short-lived. Those of their women, being 
simpler, were of longer continuance; but Pru- 
dence, Faith, Temperance, and Truth were, from 
their prosaic and positive form, not sufficiently 
attractive to gain lasting favour. 

Had not the recollection of the significance 
of names been already allowed to pass away, 
men would have found, fashioned in beauty to 
their hand, sweet names expressive of the glo- 
rious qualities they prized. Long since had 
Truth been symbolised as a jewel by the Egyp- 
tians, a sapphire ornament worn by the high- 
priest, called by the Greeks 'aletheia,'* or 'alethe ;' 
and idealised by the bards of the North as Ger- 
trude, the maiden trusted and true ; and simply 
named by the Latins ' Vera,' true. Faith might 
be read in Elizabeth, one who worships or trusts 

* Liddell^and Scott, p. 57. 



190 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

in God] while Mildred, gentle of speech^ might 
well represent one who was of a temperate and 
equable mind. 

As may be seen, therefore, England does not 
possess the art of name-making. It is not that 
poetic feeling is wanting in our land. We are 
rich in poets — our misty atmosphere seems redo- 
lent of inspiration. From castle and hall, from 
the dark lanes of our cities, from the breezy 
uplands of our villages, they come forth — high- 
bom and lowborn, sons of the shuttle, sons of 
the plough — true thinkers, sweet singers all. 
English poets have made themselves known and 
loved in all lands. But as a nation we are 
wanting in that, it would seem, indefinable thing 
that all nations have agreed to call taste — the 
wanting of an especial and right word to define 
it showing how rare a gift it is. 

Women are laughed at for applying the word 
nice alike to people and puddings ; but how is it 
that wise men do not think it equally unsuitable 
for one word, taste^ to be in like manner applied 
to the definition of the flavour of these same 
puddings, and to the perception of what is be- 
fitting? 

The word ' aesthetic ' may be called affected ; 
but what other word can we use to express a 
sense or perception of the beautiful and befitting 
in all things? In this sense, it would seem, we 
are deficient. It is not only that we cannot com- 
pose lovely and suggestive names, but we sadly 



ENGLISH DIMINUTIVES. 191 

spoil many that we have adopted from other, 
languages. 

How is sweet Mary degraded to Poll, with- 
out an excuse — ^not one letter of the original 
retained in the diminutive? The * New Zea- 
lander ' of future days, should he have a taste for 
name-hunting, will find it hard to prove to his 
satisfaction that Mary and Poll were the same 
name. Peggy and Meg, too, for Margaret, Patty 
for Martha, might puzzle him too; and many 
like instances may be found. 

Susannah has Susan, Sukey, Susie, Sue. 
Elizabeth has a still wider choice — the name 
boasts more diminutives than it has letters ; and 
some of them are really pretty. Eliza, Ellie, 
Lizzie, Lisa, Libby, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Bettina, 
Betha, with the Scotch Elspeth and Elsie. Elisa 
reversed makes a pretty name, Asile, and has a 
pretty meaning in French — a refuge. 

Our national fancy for diminutives is of long 
standing. We read that, a.d. 608, the sons of 
Sigebert, King of the East Saxons, demanded * 
from Laurentius, successor to St. Augustine, 
that he should give them, though unbaptised, 
the 'white bread' of the Holy Communion, 
which they had seen their ' father Sceh ' (a pro- 
fessed Christian) receive. 

Almost as bad as our Jue for Julia, and 
Matty for Matilda, is the German Tvudichen for 

♦ Thierry's Norman Conquest. 



192 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Gertrude ; another of their diminutives is prettier 
— Sophi^Z^. 

The pretty feminine termination, 'ine/ so 
common in French names, Evelm^, Adelm^, 
may have had its origin in, or is at least a 
pretty reminder of, the Teutonic ' wyn,' be- 
loved. 

The Italian and Spanish ella, ilia, and ita, 
are all musical. Compare the Spaniard's Mari- 
quita and Juanita with our Polly and Jenny. 
As we have seen in Dolores, and also in Mer- 
cedes (sig. grace^ favour)^ the Spaniards have 
shown a more gracefiil and musical talent in the 
Invention of names than any other modem 
nation. Their pretty Nina, signifying a young 
girl^ has become in other lands a proper name, 
as its synonymes, Greek Cora, and Teutonic 
Hilda, might also be. In Spain, Inez grew out 
of Agnes, and Isabel out of Elizabeth ; with 
French peasants, Isabella became Zabillet, the 
name of the mother of noble-hearted Joan of 
Arc. The Spaniards were also happy in their 
adaptation of Gothic names — many improved in 
their hands. Is not Gomez an improvement on 
Gomesind, sig. a good youth? It is curious to 
mark how, travelling from the far North, Gun- 
staflF, war-staffs significant of courage, grew 
softer in sound as it drew near the South, 
assuming first a Latin form, Gustavus, and then 
in Spain becoming Gonsalez and Gonsalvo— a 



1 



ART OF NAME-GIVING LOST. 193 

name dear to all lovers of heroes as that of 
' the Great Captain ' of the fifteenth century.* 

The difficulty we have found so insuperable 
has never existed in the East. At this moment 
new names are happily conceived to express 
new states of feeling. Missionary records tell 
us of two Sikh soldiers, lately converted to 
Christianity, who were baptised by the respective 
names of Ummur Mesech, sig. ^ Life from Christy 
or the Messiah^^ and Mesech Cheran, sig. * Foot- 
stool of Christ^^ figuratively subject to Him. In 
Abyssinia a name invented for a Christian con- 
vert was Zera Haimanot, * Seed of Faith.^ 

It would seem, therefore, that, so far as the 
classes of names in greatest favour amongst dif- 
ferent nations may help us to judge of their 
characteristics, the test can only be strictly ap- 
plied to nations of old, by whom they were 
invented, and with whom their signification was 

* The language and the land of Spain were alike enriched by 
her Moorish masters. Never have conquerors left behind them so 
shining a track as the Arabs have left in Spain. Her palms and 
pomegranates and many a fair tree and lovely flower were gifts 
from the Saracens, children of the rvtmg sun ; her most beautiful 
buildings in their form, and many of her most musical and ex- 
pressive words by their sound, betray their Eastern origin. 

Ruy or Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, a mighty conqueror of the 
Moors (a.d. 1040), is only known by the name bestowed by them 
on him — ^the Cid, from El Seid, or Seydna, the Lord, a title borne 
by Hassan, the mountain chief of the Ismaflite Fedavec (the 
devoted), or Assassins. No fewer than 102 ballads of the thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries are said at this moment to exist in 
Spain, of which the Cid — the King Arthur of Spain — ^is the hero. 





194 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

never lost sight of. With the peoples of modem 
times, we may at least mark how the tide of 
public favour has set now in one direction and 
now in another, with more or less permanent 
effect, according as the impelling force was more 
or less powerfiil. There have been fashions in 
names as in all things else — sometimes a mere 
caprice, of which the effect was but for a day ; 
sometimes the result of deeper feeling, of which 
the impression has been abiding. Such, we have 
seen in England, has been the case with Bible 
names. 

One of the stumbling-blocks in the way of the 
standard-bearers of the Cross in our islands was 
our forefathers' attachment to the old names. 
To them the names of their dead were almost as 
sacred as their sepulchres. Men's hearts were 
bound about the old familiar names of that ' long 
ago.' In war they were the battle-cry of brave 
men; in peace they became the burden of the 
bard's and the maiden's songs. Even as with 
us now, loved names were living and abiding 
memories. 

In those far days, when the faint dawning of 
Christianity had but gilded the hiU-tops, not 
flooded with light the plains and valleys of the 
whole land, to the hermit preachers and the 
monks certain names sounded ominously of the 
darkness of paganism not yet passed away. The 
shepherd's flocks were but too apt to stray away, 
and mischief seemed to lurk in certain names. 



CLINGING TO OLD NAMES. 195 

To anxious ears, in Ulf, and Saewulf, and Ethel- 
wulf, the howl of the wolf sounded dismally of 
superstitions still lying in wait : in the grand old 
name of Hugues (or Hugh), which was sacred 
alike in Celtic and Teutonic mythology, the flap 
of the raven's wing was heard — Huginn being 
one of the sacred birds of Odin, whose name sig. 
s'pirit and 'power. 

This clinging to old names was a feeling also 
in other lands, and converts to Christianity every- 
where amongst the Gaels and the Goths battled 
long for the right of bringing their fathers' 
names to the font. In vain St. Chrysostom 
preached and Gregory the Great (Gregory sig. 
in Greek vigilant) denounced the practice ; a de- 
cree issuing from the Papal chair, which limited 
the choice of Christian converts to certain names, 
was sullenly and but partially obeyed. 

The temporal arm was not more indulgent 
than the spiritual. In the fourteenth century, a 
king of Poland, on being converted to Chris- 
tianity, added to his national name, Jagellon, 
that of Vladislaiis (Greek form of Wladyslaw), 
sig. the glory of power^ the V being a contrac- 
tion of Vasileus, royal; his brother Witwold took 
the name of Conrad (Kuhnrath), sig. wise coun- 
sellor. The king was graciously pleased to allow 
his nobles and warriors to receive separate bap- 
tism, and to have an individual choice of names ; 
but the people were baptised en masse. To the 
first division of men and women were given re- 

o 2 



196 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

spectively the names of Peter and Catharine, to 
the second those of Paul and Margaret : Catha- 
rine from the sainted princess of Egypt, Margaret 
from the martj^ed maid of Antioch, and Peter and 
Paul were perhaps from the two celebrated her- 
mits rather than from the apostles of that name. 
Amongst those dirty darlings of mediaBval times 
were Peter, the preacher of the Crusades, and 
the still more celebrated Paul of Thebes, founder 
of the Anchorites. He is said to have Kved for 
ninety-eight years alone in a desert to the east of 
the Nile — ^his dwelling a cavern near a date-palm, 
his only food the fruit of the tree, his only gar- 
ment a rude mat woven from its leaves. 

But before such stringent rules were made as 
to what names Christians should bear, Gregory 
should have looked back at the list of his own 
predecessors as bishops of Rome. Amongst 
many others of similar import he would have 
found Eleutherius, a Greek name sig. liberty^ and 
formerly used as a designation both of Jupiter 
and Bacchus ; Zephyriuus, the west wind deified, 
sig. a bringer of life] and, stranger still, Hormis- 
das, the sun-god of Persia. 

The names of heathen gods and goddesses are 
heard amongst Christians to this day; but so late 
as A.D. 1198 a king of Servia bore the not com- 
mon name of Vulcan; and in a church at Venice 
a monument of about three centuries later 
records as the baptismal name of a wife of one of 
the Doges, Dea, goddess — Dea Morosini. In parts 



NAMES OF EARLY CHRISTIANS- 197 

of Greece, bordering on Turkey, Christians fre- 
quently join Moslem names with their own — 
Fatm^-Katharine, Ayesha-Maria, Ali-John, and 
Mustafa-Constantine.* 

The early Christian martyrs who bore such 
names as Jovian (descended from Jove), and 
Dionysius (or Denys), consecrated to Bacchus^ 
did none the less bravely die for the faith. We 
do not find that St, Paul saw mischief in Chris- 
tians bearing names which had been endeared 
to them by family associations ; he speaks of his 
* brother ApoUos;' and his * sister' Phcebe, as a 
servant of the Church, he affectionately commends 
to the disciples at Corinth. As a ' Bible name,^ 
Phoebe is often heard in the cottages of our 
English poor, separated long since from all con- 
nection of ideas with the great goddess Diana of 
the Ephesians ; its lovely meaning of the light of 
life^ radiant and pure, may weU be remembered 
by Christians, and laid to heart.^ 

It has been observed as singular, by Roman 
Catholics themselves, that in Italy, the seat of the 
Papal power, little attachment has ever been 
shown to. those names which the pure lives and 
glorious deaths of the mart3nrs of the early 
Cliristian Church have endeared to other lands. 
Rome's catacombs are illumined with saintly 
names ; and pUgrims come from afar off to read 
them with kindling eyes and throbbing hearts ; 
but she cares rather (her greater families at least) 

• Salverte. 



198 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

to recall such names as are linked with the tri- 
umphs of pagan Rome and the wild mythology 
of ancient Greece, France has largely shared 
this classical mania : England and the nations of 
the North have been less affected by it. 

But the touching legends that Italy cared not 
so much to call to mind in her children's names 
found an undying echo in our distant isles. The 
story of the martyred Egyptian princess, Katha- 
rine the pur e^ gave to us one of ourmost&vourite 
names; another came to us from the maid of An- 
tioch, * MUd Margarete that was God's maid.' 

In the wild tale of St. Margaret, swallowed 
alive by a dragon, whose body bursting she issues 
from it unhurt, the same allegory appears which 
is common to most of the legends of the early 
Church, figurative of the power of faith in Christ 
to overcome the power of the Evil One. In the 
figure of the saint in Henry VII.'s chapel, West- 
minster, we see its representative upholding the 
Cross — she tramples on the dragon. In reference 
to the beautifiil signification of her Greek name, 
St. Margaret generally wears a fillet of pearls^ 
and, from the flower which has been devoted to 
her and called by her name, daisies are often 
placed in her lap. 

Amongst the names of Englishwomen Katha- 
rine and Margaret rank next in favour to Mary, 
Anne, Mary- Anne, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Jane, 
all these last being of Hebrew origin. 

In the warlike St, George of Cappadocia, pa- 



DUB PATBON SAINTS. 190 

tron of chivalry, we also see a conqueror of the 
dragon as figurative of sin. ' St. George for 
merry England!' was the battle-cry chosen for 
EngHshmen by Richard the Lion-heart, whUe 
warring with the infidel to set the Holy City free, 
and place the Holy Sepulchre in the guardianship 
of Christian swords. Centuries have rolled by, 
and not yet has the Church's darling dream 
been fiilfilled ; but the day will come. 

* CoBur de Lion ' was almost a synon3ane of our 
brave Richard's Teutonic name, which signifies 
great hearty of which a lion would be figurative. 
' Ric ' sig. a chiefs one that was great^ powerful^ 
valiant^ and like * hard,' signifying nature^ hearty 
entered into the composition of many names. 
Germans still express by the word 'art,' race^ 
nature^ disposition. St. George sig. in Greek a 
cultivator. Though long our patron saint, George 
has never been one of. our most popular names : 
for a long succession of years Englishmen in all 
parts of the world have answered to the name of 
John Bull. 

From Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick, came 
' Paddy,' the Irishman's sobriquet. As such it is 
now applied to a whole nation, but ' patricius,' 
nohle^ was in its original sense confined to three 
hundred ruling families of ancient Rome. May 
not patricians, as rulers, still find a suggestive 
lesson in the close connection in the original of 
the words nohle and fatherly 1 

Taffy the Welshman takes the diminutive of 



200 WHAT IS TOUB KAME? 

the name of his patron, St. David, which in Heb. 
sig. the beloved. The Archbishop of Menevia 
(now St. David's, called after him) was a son of 
the British Prince of Cereticu (now Cardigan- 
shire) and micle to King Arthur. He died a-D. 
642, having, it is said, lived 146 years. The vic- 
tory of Cadwallader over the Saxons, in memory 
of which the Welsh wear leeks on St. David's 
day (the Ist of March), was owing, under (jod, 
they believe, to the 'beloved' Archbishop, who 
wisely suggested that the Britons should wear 
some distinguishing mark ; and leeks were hastily 
gathered from a garden adjoining the battle-field.* 
The harp, which for love of her ancient bards 
Wales chose as her cognisance, suits well with 
the name of her patron saint — the name of the 
Koyal Harpist of Israel. 

A Scotchman's nickname of Saunders is fi'om 
Alexander : his patron saint is St. Andrew. Un- 
thought of by many, the names are closely con- 
nected, both from the Greek, and in part derived 
from the same word — an epithet which Scotia's 
hardy sons have never belied. Andrew, from 
' Andros,' sig. a man of courage ; Alexander, 
connecting with this ' Alexein,' to protect, sig. a 
brave protector or defender. 

Scotland's choice of her patron is said to have 
arisen in the fourth century, when some of his sup- 
posed relics were taken to that country. St. An- 
drew is also the patron saint of Russia, and of the 

• Brady's Clavis Calendaria. 



ST. ANDREW. 201 

Burgundian order of knighthood of the Golden 
Fleece. And well might princes be proud to wear 
a badge with St. Andrew's name, and English- 
men cherish St. Andrew's Cross (united to that of 
St. George, as the Union Jack)^ for nobly did the 
lowly-bom fisherman of the Sea of Galilee live up 
to his name, matchlessly brave, a true soldier of 
Christ. How terrible was his martyrdom ! But, 
hallowed to him by the sufierings of his Lord, 
he hailed his cross as * precious' — his faith, his 
courage never failed, as, tied with ropes to the 
transverse beams, he lingered for two whole days 
in his death of agony. 

It is singular to remark how not one of these 
national sobriquets is derived fi'om national 
names; yet England had her Arthur — 

The first of all the kings who drew 
The knighthood errant of this realm, and all 
The realms together, under him their Head. 

IdyUs of the King. 

Arth, the Bear, the dazzling constellation of 
our winter skies — Arcturus, the glory of the 
north — was, it is believed, the noble origin of this 
nobly illustrated name — the Bear having always 
been significant of courage. And after centuries 
had gone by, the grand old name again bkxzed 
forth, and Arthur, the name of England's invin- 
cible duke, became, as we shall see, a ' household 
word.' 

Scotland has never forgotten her Fergus, Gaelic 
for the strong arm; nor Ireland her Dermot, from 



I 



202 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

Diannid, derived (I would suggest) from the 
sacred tree of the Druids, Duir, sig. the Oak (pre- 
served in Cornish dialect as Dar), and Meod,. 
Father^ a grandly significant name for a chief, the 
Oak-father {S). Wales, too, keeps her two old 
names, which so strongly contrast with each 
other — Llewelljoi, the Lion^ and Owen, the Lamb. 

Many of our old names have never died away, 
and it is curious to notice amongst the poorer 
classes how almost distinctive of different coun- 
ties are certain names. In Hampshire will be 
found very commonly the Saxon names of Ellen 
and Emma. In Cornwall, the last stronghold of 
the Celtic race in England, we meet with striking 
analogies with the kindred race in Ireland. The 
broad sea flows between — there is no intimate 
connection kept up by commerce or other means 
— yet again and again are we there reminded of 
the innate sympathies of race. It may be in little 
things ; but little things have voices as well as 
great things. 

In Cornish cottages you will often hear two 
Christian names rarely heard amongst the poor 
in any other part of England, but (though not of 
Celtic origin) they are amongst the commonest 
names in Ireland, both in the upper and lower 
classes. They are two of the loveliest of Latin 
names, with the additional charm of requiring no 
translation — Grace and Honor, from which last 
has come the sweet name of Norah. 

^ear, unspoiled, warm-hearted, kindly Com- 



x^- 



CURIOUS NAMES IN CORNWALL. 203 

wall has rather a peculiar taste in Cliristian names. 
The superb Greek name of Zenobia,* sig. Life 
from Zeno^ Lord of Life, or Jupiter, and Philippa 
(Gr. ), Lover of Horses^ will there befound amongst 
farmers' wives ; and amongst ladies the simpler 
but singular name of Sage. But Cornwall has 
stranger names than these. In a village not far 
from Falmouth, two farmers, brothers, are called 
Cherubim and Seraphim Johns! But strange 
names are heard out of Cornwall also. In Ports- 
mouth, but a short time back, lived a girl called 
Azimuth! Her name, derived from an ancient 
Arabic word, sig. a path^ a track^ was no doubt 
bestowed by a sailor-father on his child in grate* 
ful recollection of the true old friend who had 
accompanied him in his voyages to and fro — the 
azimuth compass. 

To ' Bible names,' and those first suggested by 
legends of saints and heroes of old, must be 
added such as have been adopted from time to 
time in honour of living characters. The pre- 
ponderance of certain names almost make Chrono- 
logical tables in England. 

Amongst our gallant soldiers, who, amidst the 
snows of the Crimea and on the burning plains of 
India, have shown that our race are still what 
they have ever been — unconquerable — there was 



* In the neiglibourliood of the ruins of Palmyra, amongst the 
women of the Anazeh, a Bedouin tribe, Zenobia is a common 
iname to this day. ' They pronounce it Zenobeeah, which is said to 
be the original pronunciation/ — Beaufort's Travela, 



204 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

many an Arthur; for, when those brave men were 
infents in their mothers' arms, from battle-plains 
and besieged cities in Spain and Portugal, blast 
after blast of the war-trumpet rang ' Victory ! ' 
' Victory ! ' and the women of England, as they 
clasped their darlings to their breasts, in triumph 
called them by the name of England's conqueidng 
Duke. 

A still greater darling of the nation was our 
naval hero, Nelson; but his Christian name, 
Horatio (said to be of Etruscan origin, and sig. 
worthy to be beheld)^ had a strangely foreign sound, 
so, for their children bom in his day, John Bull 
and Mary his wife made a Christian name out of 
Nelson itself.* 

As a general rule, there is a shyness amongst 
English poor people of giving to their children 
any name at all out of the common. 

I was once anxiously asked by a poor woman 
if I thought the name of Rhoda ' too fine for a 
girl who would have to work for her living.' 
Reminding her that it was a Bible name, I told 
her its pretty meaning — a rose ; but I did not 
frighten her by saying that it was Greek ! On 
another occasion I warmly supported a young 
mother's wish that her first little girl should be 
named Janet. It was simple enough, one would 
think; but some of the femily objected to it as 

* Thereby restoring part of the name to ltd original station. 
■*^-''' son, or Nelson, the son of Neil : abbieyiation of Nathaniel, 
m says; others say of NigeL 



ALBERT A * HOUSEHOLD WORD.' 205 

' out of the way' — * Why could n't she just call it 
Jane?' 

That the name of Adelaide (Teutonic Adel- 
hilda, sig. nohle lady^ noble maiden) should 
have made its way into English homes of all. 
classes, was therefore the higher compliment to 
the good Queen whom the nation desired to 
honour. And is not Albert a ' household word' 
with us? Well will it be for all, both rich and 
poor, if they — ^like the noble Prince England has 
so truly mourned — answer to their names^ for 
only the pure in heart are truly bright. Albert 
is bright^ excellently bright^ derive it which way 
we please, from Al-brecht, altogether bright ; or 
from Adal- or Ethel-bert, noble and bright^ 
illustrious. 

Komances which have left such determined 
tracks on the Christian names of other nations 
have not, at least in later days, left much im- 
pression on ours. The days of chivalry — the 
days of the chronicles of martyred saints — once 
past, it would seem that England, having once 
chosen her household names, cared little to add 
to them except at rare intervals when powerftiUy 
moved. Even Shakspeare's m^^gic wand failed 
to conjure up Ophelias, Desdemonas, Imogenes, 
and Perditas.* For a short time it was in 
England, as elsewhere, the fashion for poets to 

* To avoid repeated breaks in the sentence, when many names 
come together, their significations will be deferred to the classified 
list at the end. 



206 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

sing of their mistresses as Delia, Chloe, Phyllis, 
&c. ; but the^e names seldom or ever passed into 
real life. The Lady Bettys and Lady Kittys of 
Richardson's day wept over his * Pamela' and 
* Clarissa Harlowe,' but all the same did they 
give to their little daughters their own names of 
Elizabeth and Katharine, which their mothers and 
grandmothers had borne before them. 

It may, therefore, be a just cause of pride to an 
American writer of our day to know how many 
little Evas England has in all classes. Not only 
Evas, but dark-eyed pretty little Topsies, too, 
answer to their names in English infant schools. 
Happy little English * Topsy Steele,' unconscious 
are you of the wide contrast, as of light and 
darkness, which divides your life from that of the 
class of which the slave-cliild whose strange name 
you bear was a type. 

The French take more easily to new names 
than we do. Dante's Beatrice, Petrarch's Laura, 
Tasso's Erminia, and Clelie, Isaure, Aurelie, &c., 
of other romances, once adopted by the upper 
classes, soon found their way to the lower ranks 
of the people. At an English hotel you will 
scarcely be wrong to call a chambermaid Mary 
Anne, Elizabeth, or Jane ; in France you are far 
more likely to be right if you hazard Virginie, 
Z^phyrine, Adele, or C^cile. 

At one time a novel idea seized French romance 
and play- writers. The last letter of the alphabet, 

'^r a long life of comparative obscurity, was 



NAMES BEGINNING WITH Z. 207 

suddenly raised to preeminence. Every heroine 
was provided with a name beginning with a Z. It 
became, par excellence, the letter of the alphabet, 
Zulma, Zelie, Zenaide, Zaire, Zelidie, and a very- 
long list besides. A writer of the day ridiculed 
the fashion by annoimcing the forthcoming His- 
tory of Prince Zzzzzz ! * 

But may not a few of these names beginning 
with Z be acceptable in England? We sadly 
want a little more variety, and amongst Arabic 
names there are some as pleasing in significance 
as they are musical in sound. 

Zulma or Zuleuna (also sprit Suleyma) is from 
Selim or Salim, sig. healthful \ Zarifa, sig. graceful] 
Zara, splendour^ the brightness of the East] and 
Zaidee, abundance or prosperity. 

From the Greeks we may have Zelie, zealous ; 
Zoe, a synonyme with Eve, sig. life ; and Zenaide, 
one who lives modestly^ almost a synonyme with 
violet^ which is itself in English and in Greek, 
lanthe, a lovely name. How seldom do we hear 
the sweet names of lily, rose, and violet ! Giacinta 
is the pretty Italian feminine form of hyacinth^ 
which as a man's name is common in Ireland and 
France. Besides our large stock of unused though 
beautiful names, may we not, as they do in the 
East, find many new names of pleasant sound and 
significance amongst trees and flowers? Iva (a 
name given to one of the milfoils) has a soft simple 

* Noel's Dictdonnaire Historique. 



208 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

sound, and, though 'bad Latin/* may recall the 
idea of ivy, ever the symbol of a loving constant 
nature. In the far-away forests of Brazil and 
Guayana a palm-tree grows which is found in no 
other part of the world. Its botanical name is 
Mauritia flexuosa; but the beloved and kindly 
tree from which their almost every want may be 
supplied is called by the natives of Brazil Miriti^ 
and by those of Guayana ltd (pronounced ^ta). 
English hearts cling closely to old familiar things, 
nor would we for an instant wish that one long- 
loved Christian name should ever drop away 
from the shining circlet of gem-like names which 
crowns so many English homes with happiness. 
Let us cherish our Marys and Elizabeths still; 
but we have room for many new names without 
losing any old ones. In families with large connec- 
tions the constant repetition of the same Christian 
names (in some cases accompanjdng the same 
surnames) makes confusion, and somewhat of the 
individuality of the name is lost. It also leads 
to many of those very eccentric compositions, 
English diminutives, which of themselves would 
form a curious chapter. 

These dear old names are frequently thus re- 
peated over and over again, out of true love ; but 
sometimes it is only because they come handiest. 
In poor people's families it is by no means un- 
common for sisters to be called Elizabeth and 
Eliza, Mary and Maria, and Mary Ai;ne. 

• Ainsworth's Latin Diet. 



NEW NAMES SUGGESTED. 209 

Juana and Juanita,* the pretty Spanish forms of 
Jane and Jenny, might sound foreign and strange 
at first, but ere long they would be naturalised. i 

Elizabeth is thought of and spoken of as a ' good 
old-feshioned English name ;' but the land of its ' 

birth was far Palestine, and from the Hebrews 
did those merchant-sailors— our visitors of old, 
the Phoenicians — ^adopt it. Their Princess, the 
founder of Carthage, Queen Dido, in the home of 
her childhood, was called Elissa, and h6r mother's 
name was Anna. We have other names as fami- 
liar, and yet more ancient, and of more far-away 
extraction than Elizabeth. Have we not Persian 
lilies making glad our homes ? Before the royal 
city of Shftshan, * city of lilies,' took its name 
from the radiant flowers covering the plain upon 
which it was built, an Assyrian Princess had been 
called after them Sosana or Susana, daughter 
of Ninus before his marriage with Semiramis. 
From one of those bright ' lilies,' which in beauty 
excelled Solomon in all his glory (Iris Susiana, or 
Chalcedonia), the sweet name of Susan comes to 
us as a ' Bible name,' having been adopted by 
the Jews. As Souson, the Eastern lily's name 
was familiar to the Greeks, and to the Arabs as 
Soosan. Sophia has for its diminutive Sophy (in 
France and Germany the name is Sophie) ; but 
supposing the word (as I believe) to have been 
derived from the Sofi of the ancient Persians, 

* The J in Spanish pronounced as a soft aspiration. 
P 



210 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

then is Sophy the original of the name, and of 
greater antiquity than the Greeks as a nation.* 

With so many names of far-off origin naturalised 
amongst us so long, we need not shrink from ad- 
mitting into our families a few more new and 
pretty names, particularly when they, in telling 
us where they come from and what they mean, 
bring, as it were, their credentials with them. 
The small number of Christian names made use 
of in England has long been a subject of remark; 
it leads to many inconveniences. The 104 
' William M'Kays,' in the Sutherland regiment 
of 1793, is a well-known factjf and in Army 
Lists of a few years back, 1, 2, and 3 were attaclied 
to ' John Gordons ' as the names of officers. And 
with greater variety of choice, one would fain 
hope better taste (if not even higher views) may 
be brought to the pleasant task of choosing our 
children's names. 

Without taking into account such names 
as the Registrar-General's documents afford — 
' John Bottle of Beer,' 'Will BiU,' ' Faith Hope 
Charity Green,' which would seem rather to have 
been registered as idle jests than to be true de- 
signations — ^ridiculous names do meet us on all 
sides. To 'Anna Maria Julia Statira Johnson 
Thomson Kettleby Rundell,' and ' Joyful Moses 



* Such suggestions as I venture to make are entirely and eagerly 
submitted to the kind correction of learned readers, if any such 
deign to look through my little volume. 

t Stewart's Sketches of Highland Clans. 



WHAT ARE NAMES? 211 

Lazarus Solomon/ real names as they are, every 
reader can supply many more fi^om his or her 
recollection. 

Beyond our subject, indeed, for they are not 
names^ but within the scope of laughable designa- 
tions, may we for an instant peep into the accounts 
of a small tradesman in a town in the West of 
England? The poor man, becoming bankrupt, 
reckoned amongst those to whom he had given 
credit, 'Fat Coal- woman,' ' Mrs. in the Cart,' 'Mrs. 
Feather Bonnet,' other ' Bonnets ' of various 
kinds, and 'the Woman that told me of the Man ! ' 

We have glanced at some of the causes which 
have influenced modem nations in their choice 
of names. The names themselves will tell us in 
what various directions lay the strongest sympa- 
thies of the nations of old. 

Do any weary at the impending list of names? 
Think yet again! What are names? Words 
of especial meaning, instinct with life, lifted as 
they have been out of their fellows to be clothed 
with human individualities. 

Names of the dead are as pictures or statues, 
but more imperishable are they than either canvas 
or marble. Each name, as the representative of 
an individual, has its true story to tell ; and some 
of these stories are of noble and lovely lives. 

Sometimes in a single name is a revelation of 
great joy or great sorrow, through which, at the 
moment of the child's birth, the people to whom 
it belonged might have been passing through. 

■p 2 



212 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Miriam, the bitterness of bondage, and the un- 
happy Hebrew mother's dying cry, Ichabod, the 
glory has departed^ have their synonjrmes in other 
lands. We read of a traveller who, in far Kam- 
schatcha, met amongst one of the tribes a girl, 
whose name, Ka-souktch, was explained to mean 
' she who weeps^^ for the mother, who at the mo- 
ment beheld her country ravaged by strangers, 
had so baptised her infant with her tears. 

In our own West India Islands, from which 
long since, thank God, the curse of slavery has 
been rolled away, a touching reminiscence of the 
dependent old days may be found in a name 
which is an especial favourite amongst the blacks 
— Mercy ! 

Grand-sounding names, such as Cleopatra and 
Anastasia, are also popular amongst negroes. An 
amusing peculiarity at one time existed in their 
assumption of not only the family names, but 
also the titles, of their former white masters. An 
old black man, of by no means a good character, 
was rather a scandal to a family in one of the 
islands — Sir Somebody Something's name ap- 
pearing in the local papers as having been taken 
up — drunk. 

It may perhaps be doubted by those who have 
no personal knowledge of Africans, but it is 
nevertheless true, that amongst them reaUy hand- 
some men and women may be found. The personal 
characteristics of various tribes are very distinct. 
A dear good old woman, and as pretty as she was 



AFRICANS AND INDIANS. 213 

good — for her features were too regular to be in- 
jured by age — was known to me as ' Princess.' 
Of the Ashantee tribe, it was said that she was 
descended from the royal race of her own country, 
and in remembrance she had been so named in 
the land of her exile. 

Curious instincts of ra<5e meet one often in a 
search after names. Amongst the natives of 
Shangalla, names frequently express some trifling 
incident occurring at the moment of the infant's 
birth. One of these names is recorded by a tra- 
veller as sig. ^ Bom while thebouza (a preparation 
of com) was preparing.' A negro woman in the 
West Indies invented for her child the name of 
See-fire^ she having been born while a fire was 
raging in the neighbourhood. 

What a striking contrast do the Indian races of 
North and South America afford in aU respects to 
the Africans domiciled on the continent and the 
neighbouring islands I 

Put a few palm-leaves into the hands of an 
Indian on the banks of the Demerara : in a few 
moments you will see growing in beauty, beneath 
the dark slender fingers, a basket of graceful 
shape, or some domestic utensil neat and durable. 
To a red Indian girl of the North give a bit of 
cloth, some porcupine quills, and a few beads of 
bright colours: you will soon receive back a 
brilliantly-embroidered bag or a gay pair of 
moccasins. But offer the negro the most sug- 
gestive materials you can think of, and he or she 



214 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

will shake their woolly heads, show their white 
teeth, and with a peal of merry childlike kughter 
protest to their ' dear missy/ * dose tings no good 
at all for poor blackie; dat white man's, white 
woman's work.' 

From this entire absence of all innate sense of 
the beautiful, we cannot wonder at the difference 
which African names afford to those of other 
coloured races. 

The brave Delaware, and the fierce Dacotah, 
whose war-cry is like the bark of an angry dog, 
are never at a loss for significant names, suggested 
to them on the instant by images of grandeur or 
beauty, either surrounding them or impressed on 
their memory — ' Bursts of thunder at a distance^' 
or Hhe pleasant sound of wind amongst the 
trees^ will fiimish poetical names for a son or a 
daughter. 

In the Spanish parts of South America, the 
Indians have mostly adopted Spanish names, but 
such of their national names as do remain are 
significant of such images as * Glittering Light,' 
'Sunlight,' *Fme Gold.' 

But most of all do we find in our Indian 
Empire names and name-giving surrounded with 
all the elements of poetry. 

Missionaries and travellers seldom, alas ! care 
to repeat the actual names, but they tell us of 
many of their charming meanings. 

Their ancient laws are remembered still, and 
Hindus choose, for their daughters especially, 



HINDU AND ARABIC NAMES. 215 

* musical names of pleasing signification,' * which 
sound like a blessing.' An inexhaustible treasury 
of names for men as well as women is furnished 
by the fairest of flowers, the brightest of jewels, 
beasts and birds if distinguished by beauty and 
grace, the dark-eyed gazelle, the majestic swan, 
radiant stars and shining rivers, lofty mountains 
and stately trees. To these are added the names 
of their gods and goddesses, and their peculiar 
attributes, ' Six-face,' ' Fiery face,' ' Three eyes' — 
exceptions certainly to their generally attractive 
list ; but such names find great favour with them, 
inasmuch as the mere repetition of sacred names 
is in itself considered meritorious. Their ' pray- 
ing cylinders ' may be remembered as a strange 
example of such 'vain repetitions.' 

There is much to interest in Arabic names. 
The reader may smile if, apropos to the sons of 
the desert, an old French proverb of aristocratic 
tendency is quoted, ' Bon sang ment jamais.' 
We should not forget that the sons of Ishmael 
are the sons of princely Abraham, Father of the 
Faithfiil. The seed of Ishmael, ' Heard of God^' 
became, according to promise, a great nation ; and, 
despite the deadening influences of a religion of 
fatalism, they long retained many of the elements 
of greatness. Let Europe say who caught the 
torch of Learning as it fell from the hands of 
exhausted Greece ? From whom did Europe's 
physicians learn their first lessons in the healing 
art, if not from wise Arabians well skilled in all 



216 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

the circle of sciences ? And who but our child- 
hood's delight, Sindbad the sailor, and his brave 
countrjTnen, first dared the distant seas, to furnish 
the shivering North with the countless luxuries 
of tropical climates ? 

We find in Arab names, as in those of the 
Hebrew race, expressions of eager whole-hearted 
service to God. They delight in avowing depen- 
dence on Him, and love to recall His attributes. 
Abd-er-Rahman, Servant of the Compassionate \ 
Abd-el-Melik, Servant of the King or the Most 
High; Abd-es-Selam, Servant 0/ (the God of) 
Peace ; for Allah, though not mentioned, is always 
understood in these compound names. Many of 
the Hebrew names are retained by them. An- 
other of our nursery friends, Haroun-el-Rasheed, 
is Aaron the Orthodox ; Mousa or Muza is Moses ; 
Ayub, Job ; Yusef, Joseph ; Hanna, John ; and 
amongst their women's names it is singular to 
find Hosn Maryam, sig. The Beauty of Mary^ or 
Miriam. They are said, in some inexplicable 
manner, to confound in a model of female excel- 
lence Miriam the sister of Moses, and Mary the 
mother of our Lord. 

We shall find that generally, throughout the 
East, the ideas of light, flowers, and jewels 
prevail in their names. 

The Japanese, passionate lovers of flowers, cull 
from their gardens the names as well as the 
flowers themselves, to bestow on their women. 

Arabs also add to their lists of fragrant flowers 



LIGHT, LOVE, AND COURAGE. 217 

a catalogue of sparkling gems — * trees of pearls,' 
and 'seas of treasure;' but most of all do they 
delight in names of light — ' Sun of the Forenoon,' 
and ' Smiling Full Moon.' 

Light has ever been like life in the East. The 
blazing sun-god of ancient Assyria and Persia 
shed its far rays even to our island in the misty 
North. In their long and mysterious pilgrimage 
from the East by land and ' hazy ' sea, the Celts 
led by Hy Cadam, or Hu the Strong or Mighty, 
must have brought with them the name and wor- 
ship of Belus. Our king of Britain, Cymbeline, 
was in truth Cuno-bel-in, Lord of the Sun. Even 
amongst the cannibal natives of the Figian or 
Vitian Islands, we find the name of Valu-gaiaki 
(or ' rising moon.^) * 

Love^ too, has its synonymes in all lands. Even 
the Chinese have some names more befitting 
women than hateful numerals — their ' Little Dar- 
ling ' may match with the Greeks' ^Little Love^ and 
our Anglo-Saxon ^Dearly loved^ and ^Beloved.'* 

Courage is met everywhere ; lions and eagles 
are its highest tjrpes : Cyaxares the lion-king of 
Persia, Leonidas the truly lion-hearted king of 
Sparta, and our own Welsh Llewellyn. In the 
North, too, as significant of bravery, men have 
loved to call themselves Bears and Wolves^ those 
fierce animals once so dreaded in our land. Our 
Anglo-Saxon forefathers had 'Noble Wolves^^ 
'Bright Wolves^^ and ' Wolves of the Sea.^ The 

* Seemann's Mission to Viti. 



218 WHAT IS TOUR NAME? 

beasts have long since been extirpated, but the 
name is still strangely dominant in our gentle 
liege Lady's femily name of Guelph. 

But amongst human beings' individual names 
are to be found names of all creatures, from the 
Syriac rendering of Pharaoh's name, ' Crocodile^ * 
to Greek Psyllus, a Bug^ which we do not read 
was abandoned by its owner for a more aristo- 
cratic-sounding name. 

An ample list is before us, therefore, from 
which to cuU and classify some specimens of the 
names of various nations. 

Sun, moon, and stars to begin with — many a 
noble quality of mind, and exquisite personal 
charms-down to the poor African's Bourma 
Kassar, sig. ^Broken Vessel.^ 

• Oruden. 



NATIONS FROM OUB CHRISTIAN NAMES DERIVED. 219 



CHAPTEE X. 

The four nations from wtom our Christian names are 
principally derived, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Teutonic — 
Dominant note in each — Chai*acteiistics of Hebrew and 
Arabic names, of Greek, of Latin, of Teutonic — Origin of 
some — Celtic and Gaelic names — Cherished names, their 
undying value— *Le premier Grenadier de France * a Breton. 

INDIVIDUAL names may be broadly classed 
under four heads : 

1st. Names of Religion. 

2ndly. Abstract Qualities, and figures typical 
of them. 

3rdly. Personal Characteristics, and figures 
typical of them. 

4thly. Miscellaneous. 

The nations fi'om whom the Christian names 
in general use amongst us are principally, almost 
entirely, derived are four : 

Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Teutonic. 

Hebrew names we shall principally find in 
Class 1, Names of Religion. There, too, would 
be found almost all the names of highest anti- 
quity — .*Assyrian, Persian, Egyptian, and Phoe- 
nician. 

Names from the Greek (some of them of great 
beauty) will for the most part be included in 
Class 2, Abstract Qualities. 



220 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

The practical Romans, whose conquests and 
discoveries lay not so much in the realms of 
thought, were indebted to the Greeks for many 
of their finest names. Those of their own inven- 
tion, and in their own tongue, are most nume- 
rous in Class 3, Personal Characteristics; and 
Class 4, Miscellaneous. 

Names from the Teutonic, which, as the 
mother tongue (to simplify classing), may in- 
clude those of the Germans, Anglo-Saxons, and 
Scandinavians, will be found to predominate in 
Class 3, Abstract Qualities and figures typical of 
them. 

In a word, the dominant note in Hebrew and 
theii' kindred Arabic names is Religion ; in those 
of the Greeks, Mind; in names from the Teu- 
tonic, Power; in those from the Latin, Personal 
Appearance. 

But few, comparatively, of our names are 
derived from the Celtic. Separately classed (of 
course) from the Teutonic, they will be found 
to bear a resemblance to them in the character 
of their significations. 

As a first step towards understanding the 
Babel of voices, as a list of names may appear to 
some, when it is acknowledged that each name 
has a voice, the recollection of a few of the 
words principally used in the composition of 
names may be useful. These words will of 
themselves be characteristics of the several 
nations. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF HEBREW NAMES. 221 

Hebrew names have naturally been always a 
subject of interest to learned Christian men, 
from St. Jerome of the fifth century to the scho- 
lars of our own day. We learn from such 
authorities that more than a thousand Hebrew 
names are compounded of the titles of Jehovah ; 
so that a knowledge of the prefixes and affixes 
which signify the sacred names will help us at 
once to understand a large number of Hebrew 
names. 

' It has been observed that the great epochs of 
the history of the chosen people are marked by 
the several names by which in each the Divine 
nature is indicated.' * In the Patriarchal age, 
the oldest Hebrew form by. which the most 
general idea of Divinity is expressed is "El- 
Elohim," "the Strong One," ^'the Strong Ones." 
As El-Shaddai, " God Almighty," was He also 
known to them ; but the New Name revealed to 
Moses was Jehovah, the great " I AM," express- 
ive of self-existence, " the same yesterday, to- 
day, and for ever." In " Adonai " and " Kurios," 
" the Lord^^ was beheld the approaching dawn of 
" the Sun of Righteousness," even Christ, " our 
Lord."'* 

Jehovah is contracted to Jeho, Jo, Jah, and 
lah. ' El ' sig. God ; ' Shaddai,' the Almighty. 
Thus Ahaz-iah, Jeho-ahaz, and Jah-azi-el, all 
sig. ' Sustained of God J The latter name, con- 
taining a repetition of the Holy Name, seems yet 

• Stanley's Jewish Cliurch, pp. 110, 111. 



222 WHAT IS YOUE NAME? 

more significant, and may, one would think, be 
read as Jehovah is God^ He sustaineih me. 

Such emphatic repetitions are not unusual in 
Hebrew names. As a nation, stiff-necked, alas ! 
and idolatrous, God's true servants in the land 
seemed all the more earnestly to desire to set 
forth their entire devotedness to Him. Their 
love for God was absolute worship — not a cold 
acknowledgment of a Superintending Power, a 
chilly act of reason alone, unaccompanied by 
love, which can never warm the heart or ani- 
mate the life. 

Ah^ father] Abd, or Obed, servant] Ah, bro- 
ther] Bar and Ben, son] Ur and Ner, light and 
fire] and Hanan, grace^ are a few of the ideas 
most commonly expressed by Hebrew names.* 

Ab and Abi, father^ was sometimes used 
metaphorically, as it is in the present day. 
Abi-noam may have signified father of Noam 
{handsome)^ or, as ' Father of beauty,' may have 
been significant of an exceedingly handsome man. 

So, also, the Arabs say Abu-Saadat, ' Father 
of Prosperities ; ' figuratively, ' a fortunate person.' 
A traveller is spoken of by the Arabs as Ibn-es- 
Sebil, ' son of the road.' The name is also used 
figuratively of one who is journeying to Para- 
dise by the way of good works. f 

In some of the Hebrew feminine names, there 
are also metaphors of great beauty: Keren- 

• Sunday School Teacher's Treasury. 

t See Knight's monthly vols., ^ Middle Ages.' 



HEBREW NAMES. 223 

happuch, ^my box of eye-ointment ;^ expressive of 
one the sight of whom ' was good for sair een ' 
—a healing presence! 

Zillah, a name of sweeter sound, and more 
fit for general use, signifies ' Shadow^* a word 
which, in an Eastern land, is doubly signifi- 
cant.* 

In a hot climate, shadow is expressive of re- 
freshing coolness ; and in a land where oppres- 
sion is rife, shadow is figurative of protection. 
For a man's name, Ab-ner, * the father^ s lani'p^ 
exquisitely suggests a darling son, as the light of 
his parents' home. 

In following out the meaning of Hebrew 
names, the Bible itself derives additional interest. 
In the name which unhappy Cain gives to his 
firstborn, Enoch, ' dedicated^ is there not a wel- 
come whisper of repentance — an offering which 
was made in faith? In the next generation, 
Mehu-ja-el, ' Smitten of God^ tells of the awful 
curse still darkly brooding over the unhappy 
race ; but then, with a dawning of hope in the 
end, comes Methusa-el, ' Man of God.' 

The waters of the Deluge have rolled between 
the crumbling bones of those men and ourselves ; 
but in their names we hear living voices still ! 

For many successive years the conquering sons 



* Whenever the abbreviation dg, is used, signification^ or some 
tense of the verb to signify j is to be understood ; but when, as now, 
the separate meanings of signification and significance come together, 
to prevent mistake both words are written in full. 



224 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

of Rome wrote with their sharp swords every- 
where — ^north, south, east, and west — those proud 
words, 'Rome, Mistress of the World/ But 
universal dominion once attained, its limits 
gradually began to narrow day by day, like the 
iron chamber of the Italian torturer. Province 
after province was wrested away, and distant 
colonies were abandoned one by one, till in her 
very capital Rome's haughty neck finally bowed 
beneath the foot of the conquering Goth. 

But the empire of Greece was of the mind, 
and it has been the more lasting of the two. Still 
through her eyes we read the histories of the 
nations of old ; still through her voice are their 
names repeated to us; and the exquisite beauty 
and endless variety of actual Grecian names 
secured them a welcome everywhere. 

On the throne of Palmyra sat, in the purple 
robe which Rome had accorded to her, Zenobia, 
sig. Life from Zeno^ ' Lord of life ; ' and casting 
his nets into the Sea of Galilee, a Jewish fisher- 
man, toiling for his daily bread, was Andrew the 
man of courage. 

Significant indeed of noble qualities is the rich 
treasury of names which ancient Greece left as a 
legacy to the whole world ; but, read by Gospel 
light, we are struck by one great want. 

Names of religion are numerous. Greece did 
not forget her many gods ; nay, Athens had her 
altar even 'to the Unknown God.' Like the 
inarticulate cry of a child who, in the dark, 



CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK NAMES. 225 

cannot see the Father who it feels must be near, 
is the yearning after ideal good which echoes 
through the names of Greece. 

They are attuned to the lofty pitch of Glory, 
Wisdom, and Virtue. The prefix Uu sig. what 
was eminently good and excellent may be found 
in no less than 125 names of men and women. 
The pages of Grecian history sparkle with glorious 
names, many of which are illustrated by the lives 
of those that bore them. 

How admirably did the life of Socrates corre- 
spond to his name — a healthy power (of mind) 
temperate and self-controlled ! 

And Pericles, surrounded with glory — he, who 
(hardest of all places to fill), ruler of a republic, 
was intrusted with almost absolute power, could, 
when dying at seventy years of age, declare his 
chiefest glory to be, that he had never caused 
one fellow-citizen to mourn. 

In these names of Greece, by itself, and with 
innumerable compounds, the word Areta, virtue^ 
meets us everywhere ; so, too, does Charis, love ;* 
Elpis, hope^ is more rare; but where is Pistis, 
faith ? 

In two, three, nay, perhaps four names, we read 
of Pistis, Faith. Pistus occurs as a slave's name. 

Ah! the natural man may nobly strive after 
Virtue; Love and Hope are instincts in some 
natures; but Faith, with its unutterable gladness, 

• ' GoodvnUy ' kindfeding;^ also gracey beauty, CharieiS; grace- 
fid, heautiful,-^IMdea and Scott, 

Q 



226 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

its immeasurable, all-pervading power, cometh 
only from above. It is the gift of the Holy 
Spirit through Christ ; and through it alone can 
finite man behold the Infinite. 

Latin names are far less interesting than those 
of the Greeks ; they are like the cartes de visite 
of to-day as compared with portraits by Van 
Dyck. Has your Mend a big nose, a large 
mouth, or small eyes ? They are plainly to be 
seen ; some striking4)eauty, too, may be recognised 
— a tall figure, or abundant hair; but where are 
all the more exquisite charms of an expressive 
face illumined by the soul within — ^the kindly 
beaming eyes, the enchanting smile? 

This is no fanciful sketch ; the names are here. 
Naso, large nose ; Chilo, thick lips ; Ocella, small- 
eyed', Longinus, tall^ and CsBsar, having much 
hair. 

Compare, too, the Latin Junia, young^ with the 
Greek Petala, which expresses in one word a 
tender leaf just unclosed. With the Romans a fair 
beauty was Albinia, white) for a brimette we find 
no n&me at all. With the Greeks a dark beauty 
was loessa, the hue of a violet^ and a fair one 
Cymopolios, white as the sea-foam. 

But we hasten to do justice to Latin names in 
recording some that all would be proud to bear. 
Beatrice, the joy-giver; Vincent, the invincible; 
Constantine, Constance, Victoria, Honor, and 
Grace. 

In names derived from the Teutonic race we 



CHARACTERISTICS OF TEUTONIC NAMES. 227 

joyfully meet again, as in the Greek, a preponde- 
rance of the nobler class of names, signifying, or 
significant of, abstract qualities. Courage, power, 
and nobleness are the dominant ideas in German, 
Scandinavian, and Anglo-Saxon names. One 
other striking characteristic we find ^ The manly 
tenderness and respect which ' Goths and Barba- 
rians ' felt for the weaker sex have been recorded 
by an enemy — Tacitus, the silent^ whose voice 
has gone out into all lands. 

The Teutons believed the sex to be inspired. 
Truly they were — ^inspired as women will al- 
ways be when, in the answering eyes of those 
most dear, they read that their whole-hearted 
devotedness is believed in and responded to. 
Woman's nature is as some noble instrument of 
music — the soul of harmony is within, but there, 
too, discord dwells ; as the hand that plays on it 
is true or false, so too will be the answering 
sound. Trusted and true is woman's motto, 
whoever, wherever she may be. 

The Teuton women's nam^s are as revela- 
tions of the past; they are records to all time of 
women's trustworthiness. Listen to them. 

Ethelreda, a noble counsellor. Do we not see 
it all, that scene of centuries gone by? Aged 
chiefs in solemn council — the old men look iiTC- 
solute; wise and experienced as they are, where 
is their wonted decision gone? Some undis- 
covered hitch makes the wheels of power drag 
heavily — ^time passes, and mischief lurks behind I 

q2 



228 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

Behold, suddenly, in the midst, a stately woman 
stands ! a mother in Israel, like Deborah of old, 
the Hebrew prophetess dwelt beneath the palm ; 
but the northern Vala has a yew-branch in her 
hand. Inspiration has come to her — come from 
where all good gifts come, even to those who do 
not know their Father in Heaven ; the right word 
is said, and the coming evil is averted. 

Look again 1 It is now a battle-field : not there 
surely is woman's place ; ah, no ! yet see, brave 
men are faltering; some inexplicable panic has 
seized those heroes of a hundred fights — ^they fly ! 
But not for long. In the confines of that bloody 
field they are met — by whom? Fresh soldiers 
with whole weapons and untired fi'ames, who will 
sweep back together with them in a desperate 
charge? No! Pale women are there with di- 
shevelled hair, and uncovered breasts, and shining 
eyes that speak what lips cannot. Dare those 
that love them be defeated now? As men who 
are cased in iron, those half-naked warriors surge 
back ; as stormy waves in their wrath, they fling 
themselves against the breasts of their foes 
Their foes! where are they? Melted away. 
And the golden-haired girl, whose whisper sum- 
moned the mothers and wives from their homes, 
she is named Macht hilda, the Damsel of 
Mighty fi"om Hildr, the War-goddess of the North ! 

Once again listen and look ! Listen for the 
name of Elgiva; look, for the battle is won; but 
that crimson field must be flooded with tears ere 



CELTIC AND GAELIC NAMES. 229 

the green grass grows over it again. Mothers, 
and wives, and sisters are there — pillowed on 
their loved ones' arms, conquering heroes die 
joyfully. But one curly-haired boy lays alone — 
he has come from afar,, and none know him there ; 
but a chief's daughter knows that where sorrow 
or suflFering is, there is her place ! 

Was the cup of cold water given in the name 
of the * High Father' unblessed? Was the prayer 
to the only god she knew unheard by the God of 
Love? The brave boy blesses her as he dies, and 
the soft-eyed maiden has won the sweet name of 
Ethel-gifa, the Noble help-giver. 

Would that our store of Celtic names was as 
large as that preserved fix)m our Saxon and 
Norsemen forefethers ! But we know that the 
Gaelic race honoured women : their priestesses 
are historic characters, and names like the Teu- 
ton Counsellor^ Help-giver^ and Lady of Mighty 
have their Celtic synonymes, telling that in our 
own England at no time was woman despised. 
The Ancient Britons had Cwen-burh, a woman 
who assists^ or who is a tower (of defence) ; and 
Boadicea, is it not derived from Bu add, Vic- 
tory? (s.) a sjnionjnne with Victoria, the happier 
Queen who rules over English hearts to-day. 

We read that the most ancient names in Britain 
related to colour; but in those that remain, we 
find only White and Black — the two extremes, 
fairness often accompanied with red hair, and 
dark complexions and black hair, which are still 



230 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

the distinguishing characteristics of ' Old Gaul.' 
The Highland race still boast their Du galds — 
Dhu-gallu-edd,the black-haired powerful man.(s.) 

For the epithet of the ' fair sex/ it would seem 
that women are indebted to the Celts. Cwen, 
Gwen, Gwyn, originally White^ having been accept- 
ed as signifjdng Fair^ was then applied to the sex 
in general, either as woman or lady of rank. One 
of these British beauties of ancient days rejoiced 
in the name of Gwen wyn wjm, Thrice Fair. 

The form of the final syllables of this name 
2tssimilating it to the Teutonic Wyn, Beloved^ 
we may read, if we will, in the one little word 
Gwyn, a fair woman beloved. 

Both the names and the mythological tra- 
ditions of Celts and Teutons, as they have been 
handed down to us, do sometimes seem to assimi- 
late strangely — distinct races as they were, but 
both claiming an Eastern origin, and becoming 
united in our isle. The Celtic Hu Cadam, the 
Mighty, and Morvran, Kaven of the Sea, connect 
themselves, though mistily, with one of the sacred 
birds of Odin, Huginn the Raven. Revealing 
faint and far traditions of the Deluge, I believe 
that in Mugirin, the Bird of Memory^ we behold 
the Dove, who did remember her old home, 
bringing back across the trackless waste the 
olive-leaf. 

Morvran, as preserved in Mervyn, the en- 
chanter of later days, is a name of to-day, and 
Cordelia, the loving daughter of King Lear, may 



COMPOUND NAMES. 231 

be recognised in Creirwy or Creird dylad, sig. 
' the token of the flowing^' her father's name Lyr, 
sig. ' the sea-shore.^ 

Of names compounded of Celtic and Teutonic 
words, that of the wife of Dagobert, King of 
France, affords an example, Nant Hilda; Nant, a 
Celtic word sig. torrent^ and Hilda, Teut., sig. lady 
or young girl^ the compound name taken to mean 
' Child of the Torrent: * 

Such compound names meet us on all sides. 
From Sanscrit, the sacred language of ancient 
Hindustan, came (it is said) * the name Amala, 
sig. faultless. This name, borne by the founder of 
the kingdom of the Visigoths, joined itself in 
succeeding generations with the Teutonic termi- 
nations, Ric, ruler^ and Berga, tower^ so often 
used as a feminine designation, Amalaric, Amala- 
berga. 

Amongst compound names, Maximilian of 
Austria, first of the name, is said by a learned 
writer f to have owed his hitherto unheard-of 
appellation to his eccentric father, Frederick 
III., who, after consultation with the stars, com- 
posed this name of royal sound from those of 
Fabius Maximus and Paulus ^milius. 

In Anna-bel, Hebrew and Latin are combined; 
so are they also in Luci-anne, once a favourite 
name in England, and in Lu-anna, a different 
form of the same names. 

The names both of Gael and Celt are in 

• Salverte, Noma d'Hommes. 

t Fugger, Coxe's Hid, House of Austria, vol. i. 278. 



232 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

themselves nobly significant — the one derived 
from GaUuedd^ strong^ powerful; the other from 
Caled, hard^ intrepid. The Celt intrepid^ to 
dare; the Teuton resolute, to do — noble roots, 
from which upsprang the nation whose empire 
girdles the globe. The ^ Gallant Six Hundred,' 
the ' thin red line,' and Havelock's hero-band, did 
they not show, with countless examples besides, 
that the vigour of those precious roots is unde- 
cayed ? 

A Breton proverb retains the meaning of Celt 
as ' hard, intrepid;' ' got calletdensan Armorig,'* 
sig. it is a hard (or intrepid) man of Armorica. 
The proverb applied to Theophilus Corret Latour 
d'Auvergne, ' premier grenadier de France.' 

The thrilling story is well known how the brave 
men whom the gallant Breton had so often led to 
victory would never part with their dead hero's 
name. Still day by day at the head of the regi- 
mental roll it is called aloud; the generation that 
loved him have passed away, but their sons and 
their sons' sons still ever and always hear the idol- 
ised name — CoiTet Latour d'Auvergne ; still first 
of the brave band is summoned, and ever and 
always a soldier steps forth from the ranks to 
reply, ' Dead on the battle-field ! ' 

Ah ! who can speak lightly of names when our 
heart-beats tell us how vast and undying is their 
influence? 

• Salverte. 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF NAMES. 233 



CHAPTEE XI. 

Classified List — Class I. Names of religion. II. Divisions 
and notices — including names from the Assyrian, Persian, 
Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Celtic, Arabic, 
&c. 

CLASSIFIED LIST OF NAMES. 

CLA88BD ACCORDING TO l^HBIE SIGNIFICATIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE, 
AND ACCOBDINO TO THE LANGUAGES FEOM WHICH THEY WEEE 
DBMTBD. 



* For every word men may not chide or pleine, 
For in this world certain ne wight ther is, 
That he be doth or sayth sometimes amis.' * 



CLASS I. 



NAMES OF RELIGION. 



Division 1. Names of Deities assumed by Men and Women. 
„ 2. „ relating to Deity. 

* May these old lines (quoted in the preface to Bohn's edition of 
Mallet's Northern Antiquities) go before the writer as she now ventures 
into the more immediate domains of the learned — not to deprecate cri- 
ticism, but to plead for kindly correction wherever it may be needed ? 

In attempting so new and venturesome a task as the classification of 
upwards of 1,500 names, according to their signification and significance, 
and according to the languages from which they are supposed to be 
derived, the writer feels that, of course, she must be liable to errors and 
oversights, although, in giving her whole heart to her work, she has 
tried her best to avoid both. Far and wide she has sought for the 
trustiest guides ; but with all her most diligent search she has failed to 
discover any notice of some names, about which history, poetry, or living 
worth has (at least in her eyes) cast a charm. Their meaning she has 
striven to discover for herself. Where a signification rests entirely on 
her supposition, an («) is attached, sig. suggested. 



234 



WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 



ivisic 


ml. 


it 


2. 


» 


3. 


ji 


4. 


» 


5. 


j> 


6. 


» 


7. 


» 


8. 


71 


9. 


11 


10. 


»» 


11. 



12. 



CLASS n. 

ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 

Names signifying or significant of Life. 
„ signifying or significant of Virtue. 
„ of Love, including Jewels as significant 

of Preciousness. 
„ of Light, Brightness, and Purity. 
„ of Truth, Sincerity, and Fidelity. 
„ of Help-givers. 
„ of Courage and Strength. 
„ of Wisdom and Intellect. 
„ of Noble Birth and Station, Glory and 

Power. 
„ of Peace and Gentleness. 
„ of Charm, Winsomeness, and Melody, and 

Perfume as figurative of them. 
„ of Joy, Joy-givers, and Good Fortune. 



CLASS m. 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

Division 1. Names 8ignif3dng Beauty and Youth, and Flowers 
as typical of them. 
„ 2. „ descriptive of Complexion, Hair, Height, &c. 
„ 3. „ descriptive of Personal Defects. 

CLASS IV. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Including Names signifying Animals, Plants, Places, Letters, 
Numbers, &c.* 



* Occasionally a name will be found to which different significations 
are attached. When both interpretations rest on apparently good au- 
thorities, both are given. For instance, Owen, or Owain, has been 
said to signify a larnh — ^while others see. in it the Celtic form of that 
universally popular Christian name, John. So, too, Nant has been trans- 
lated as torrent—while at this moment in Wales it signifies a dingle. 



NAMES OF RELIGION. 235 

CLASS I. 
NAMES OP RELIGION. 



Diyiflion 1. 
IVames of Deities assumed by Men and Women. 

MEN. 

Assyrian, Slialmaneser^ or Sallum Anu — ^Noah deified. 
„ Belufl — ^The sun. 

„ Jerah (Jericho, city of moon worship) — The moon. 

Samcrit, Vaji-Zatha (a son of Hamon*s) — Moon-god. 
Persian, Hormuz, Hormisdas, Orosmodes, &c. j Khosrow j 

Mithra — Smi. 
JEgt/pHan, Osiris, Pharaoh (Ph the Re or Ra) — Sun. 
Hiftdu, Krishnur, Kama, Nana,^ &c. 
Phcenician, Thammuz, Thomas ?** (».) — Smi-god. 
Cdtic, Cmio-bel-in, Cymbeline — Lord of the smi, 

Greek, Artemas, from Artemis (jperfedi) — ^The moon. 

„ Epaphros, from Aphrodite (foam of the sea) — Goddess 

of love and beauty. 
„ Dimitri, from Demeter (liberal mother) — Ceres, or the 
earth-goddess, &c. &c. 
Roman, Diodes, Diocletian, from the Greek — Glory of Jupiter. 
Latin, Vedius — Evil-god, Pluto, &c. &c. 

Amongst early Christian martyrs, St. Jovian, St. Mercurius, &c. 
&c. ; amongst Italians, Bacco, Nettuno, Zefirino, Ercole, Satur- 
nino,' &c. &c. 

Otho, from Odin, Wodin— Father of the Gods. 

WOMBN. 

Greek, Phoebe; Selene, Selina; Artemis, Artemisia (perfect) 

— The moon.* 
Latin, Diana (bright as day) — ^The moon, &c. &c.. 

* Very few names have been given in this list. It was thought little 
interest would be afforded by multiplied synonymes of the sun and 
moon, and a repetition of the names of false gods. 



236 



WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 



DiviBion 2. 
IVaipeB relating to Deity.— Jehovali the true Gk>d. 



Hebrew, 



MEN. 

Elijah, Joel — Jehovah is God. 
Abi-el, Eliab, Joab— God is my 

Father. 
Abdi el, Obad iah — Servant of 

God. 
Matthias, Matthew — God's gift. 
El Nathan, Nathan el, Jonathan, 

&c., John^ Arabic, You hanna, 

Hanna; Armenian, Ohannes; 

Sclavonic, Ivan j Gaelic, Ian ; 

Welsh, Owen, Evan; Breton 

Sf Cornish, Ives ; Italian, 

Giovanni ; Spanish, Juan — 

God's grace, or God's gift. 
Judah — Praise the Lord (or 

Jehovah). 
Hananiah — Grace of the Lord. 
El dad, Jedidiah — Beloved of 

the Lord. 
Michael, Michaela (w,) — Who 

is like God P 
Gabriel, Gtibriella(t(7.), Joachim* 

— God is my strength. 
Baphael, IUffaela(t(;.) — Healing 

of God. 
Daniel — God is my judge. 
Ishmael — ^Heard of God. 
Israel, Ezekiel —Who sees God. 
Joseph ; Arabic, Yusef ; Italian^ 

Giuseppe, dim. Beppo — ^He 

will add,' sig. of Trust in God. 
Emmanuel, dim. Manuel, Ma- 

nuela(t(7.), Manuelita (w.) — 

God with us. 
Enoch— Dedicated. 



Ari el — Lion of God. 
Shelemiah — Peace of God. 
Zephaniah — The secret of God. 
Esrael, Lazarus,^ Azariah,Joshua, 

Eliezer — God is my help. 
Uriel, Uriah, Neriah — Light, or 

Fire of God. 
Jeremiah — Exaltation of God. 
Eli— My God. 

Elimelech — My God is king, 
lb har — The chosen. 
Pascal — ^Passage, significant of 

deliverance through God. 



WOMEN. 

Jochebed — ^Whose glory is Je- 
hovah. 

Judith — ^Who praises God. 

Joanna, Jane, Janet, Jeanie ; 
Spanish, Juana, Juanita; J/a- 
lian, Giovanna ; French, Jean- 
nette ; -Br^^on, Yvonne — God's 
grace, or God's gift. 

Mehetabel — How good is Gk)d. 

Seraphino — Full of love to God. 

Bethiah — Daughter of Jehovah. 

Elisheba — In God is her rest. 

Elisabeth, Eliza, &c. ; Spanish, 
Isabel; Russian, Lescinska — 
God is her oath, or a wor- 
shipper of God. 

Bathsheba — ^Daughter of an oath 
or seventh daughter. 

Josephs, Josephine; lt(dian,Qvi' 
seppina; Spanishf Pepita. 



NAMES OF RELIGION. 



237 



Greek. 



MEN. 



Christian^ Christina (tr.), Cliris- 
tabel — Follower of Christ. 

Christopher — Christ-bearer. 

Jerome, from Hieronymus ; Jte- 
liany Geronimo— Sacred name, 
sig. of consecration to God. 

Eligius, Eloy, Lo— Chosen. 

Epiphanius, Epiphania (w.) — 
Manifestation, glory. 

Baptist, Bapti8ta(w.) — Washed. 

Theodore, Theodora (w.), Doro- 
thy (w.), Dorar— God's gift. 



Theodosius, Theodosia (w.) — 

Given to God. 

Theophilus, Theophila (w.) — 

Lover of God. 



WOMEN. 

Hebrew 8^ Greek. Veronica — ^The 

true image of Christ. 
Evangelista, Evangeline — 

Bringer of good news. 
Angela, Angelina, Angelica — 

Messenger from God. 



Latin. 



MEN. 



Donatus ; Frenchy Bieu-donn^ — 
God-given. 

^madeua, Amadis — Lover of 
God. 

Spanish^ Domingo ; ItaUan^ Do- 
menico, Dominichina (w.) — 
Belonging to the Lord. 

Noel, Nathalie (w.)— -Nativity of 
our Lord. 

Redento, Eedenta (w,) — Re- 
deemed. 

Renatus, R^n^ — Bom again. 

Benedict, Benedicta (w.), Beata 
{w.) — ^Blessed. 



WOMEN. 



Electa — Chosen. 

Immaculata — ^Immaculate. 

Annunziata — ^Annunciation. 

Spanish^ Dolores; Italian, Do- 
lora — Sorrow of the mother 
of our Lord. 

Spanish, Mercedes — Grace, fa- 
vour (also title of honour). 

Verena — One who venerates 
God. 

French, Devote — Devoted to 
God. 



Teutonic, 



MEN. 

Gk)d frey— God*8 peace. 
God win — ^Beloved of God. 



WOMEN. 



Gudule — God's help. 



238 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



FALSE GODS. 



MEN. 



ChaMaic, Abd u Shems — Ser- 
vant of the sun. 

Assyrian^ Belshazzar — Bel has 
formed a king. 

Belteshazzar, Balthasar — Bel 
has formed a prophet. 

Abed Nego — Servant of Nebo. 

Ugypttan, Barneses — Begotten 
of the Sim. 

Amosis — ^Begotten of the moon. 

Potiphera, Hophra — Consecra- 
ted to the sun. 



PerstaHf Korshid — Splendour of 

the sun. 
Mithrabarzanes — Resplendent 

as the sun. 
Khurdad, Mithridad— Gift of 

the sun. 
Asp-a-tha — Gift of the horse. 
Fhcenician, Hamilcar — Favour 

of Baal. 
„ Asdrubal — ^Help of Baal. 
Caucasian, Bajazet — Abode of 

the gods. 



Greek, 



MEN. 



Diogenes — Son of Jupiter. 
Diodotus — Gift of Jupiter, 
Diomedo — ^Dear to Jupiter. 
Diogiton — Neighbour of Jupiter. 
Dionysius, Denys, Denise (w.) — 

Descended from Bacchus. 
Zenobius, Zenobia (w.) — Life 

from Zeno^ lord of life. 



Heraclius, Hercules — Gloiy of 
Hera (Juno). 

Isidore — Gift of Isis. 

Heliodorus — Gift of the sun. 

Spiridion, Spiro^ — Breath of 
the gods. 

Demetrius, Dimitri(tt;.) — Con- 
secrated to Demeter (Ceres), 
&c. &c. 



Teutonic, 



MEK. 

Thor-wald^— Thor's chief. 
Thor-mod — Courage of Thor. 
Thor-geir— Vulture of Thor. 
Thor-kell— Thor's club. 
Esmond, Osmond — ^Protected by 

the gods. 
Oswald — Chief appointed by the 

gods. 
Osbert — ^Divinely bright 



Oswin — ^Beloved by the gods. 

Anselmo* — ^Helmet of the gods, 
significant of a powerful pro- 
tector. 



WOMEN. 



Thor-disa, Thora, Thyra— Con- 
secrated to, or given by Thor. 

Thor-gerda — Girdle of Thor, 
signifying protected by him. 



NAMES OF BELIGION. 



239 



Arabic, 



MEN. 



Abd Allah— Servant of God. 
Abd el Ahad — Servant of the 

One (God understood). 
Abd el Melik — Servant of the 

King (of kings). 
Abd el Kader— Servant of the 

powerful. 
Abd el Wadood — Servant of the 

loving. 
Abd er Kahman — Servant of the 

compassionate. 
Abd el Kudoor — Servant of the 

most holy. 
Abd el Meshid — Servant of the 

lofty-one. 
Neamet Allah— Oift of God. 
Keyhan — ^Favour of God. 
El Mustafa — The elect, chosen. 
Mohammed — Greatly praised. 
Haroun el Kasheed — ^Aaron the 

Orthodox. 
Amin»— Faithful. 



Amine Deen — Faithful to the 
religion. 

Sofi ed Deen — Pure of faith. 

Sofian («.) — Devoted to God. 

Shems ed Deen — Sun of the re- 
ligion. 

Bedr er Deen — ^Full moon of re- 
ligion. 

Ala ed Deen — Glory of religion. 

Nour ed Deen — Light, or lamp, 
of religion. 

Salah ed Deen (Saladin) — Good- 
ness of religion. 

Fadl ed Deen — Excellence of 
religion. 

Seif ed Deen — Sword of religion. 



WOMEN. 

Khadija («.)— Holy. 
Amina, Amineh — Faithfid. 
Safiyeh; TwrA^^A, Sofiyeh— Cho- 
sen (of God, if from Sofi).* 



NOTICES TO CLASS L DIVISION 1. 

^ Nana, — This name, rendered lately of such infamous notoriety, 
is of great antiquity, as the name of a goddess worshipped by the 
Babylonians. 



* Class I. Division 2. — This division also may have been enlarged to 
almost any extent Hebrews and Arabians loved to profess themselves 
Servants of Grod ; the Greeks especially loved to caU themselves (as 
noticed by St. Paul) the offspring of God; they also deh'ghted in 
naming their children a gift from one of their many divinities. GoiTs 
gift has its synonymes in aU languages. But to each division a few cha- 
racteristic names— in due proportion to the numbers out of which they 
are selected — will, it is thought^ be sufficient. 



240 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

' Thomas. — ^The signification of a twin is generally attached to 
the name of Thomas ; but is it really so P K sjrnonymous with the 
Greek Didymus, why should the two names be repeated together? 
^ Thomas which is called Didymus ;' Simon is spoken of ' as called 
Cephas/ and as ^sumamed Peter/ the two Greek names being 
synonymes, but different to his Hebrew name, which signifies 
obedient. The writer ventures to suggest : may not the origin of 
our familiar name of Thomas be found far away amongst the count- 
less synonymes of the sun-god, Phoenician Thammuz, fix)m whom 
the Greeks borrowed their Adonis ? In his vision of Jerusalem 
Ezekiel mourned to see Jewish women ' weeping for Tanmiuz/ the 
beloved idol in which was personified the summer sunshine, yearly 
blotted from the sky by the rude hand of winter. This festival was 
in June, part of the month was called Tamuz, and we may well 
believe that to sons bom to them at that time the daughters of 
Judah, who worshipped him, would love to give his name. Once 
established as a favorite name, it would continue to be used long 
after its idolatrous significance had passed away, even as many 
heathen names are used by us. 

' Satumino. — ^This name, in the days of St. Cyprian, the mar- 
tyred bishop of Carthage, in the eighth century, was at the same 
time so common and so distasteful to him, that in epistles written 
by him in the name of the principal members of his church, it is 
mentioned as ^ Satumino, another, and again another.' It would 
seem still to find strange favour amongst the Italians. A short time 
back, at a London police-office, Sattemino Terribile was brought up 
on a charge of murder — this name of terrible import, unfortunately, 
seeming in his case to have been too suggestive. 



NOTICES TO CLASS L DIVISION 2. 

* Joachim is said to be the Hebrew name given to Moses by his 
parents before he was carried as an infant from his home. 

'^ Zassarw. — ^How much significance there is in the names of 
Lazarus and Bethany in connection with Christ's first victory over 
the grave I Bethany sig. house of dates, a village of palms; palm- 
branches in all lands and in all times being symbolical of victory. 
The village venerated by the Arabs is called by them El Azariah, 
in Arabic and Hebrew a synonyme for Lazarus. Axrael * is their 

* In Arabic, Azr signified strength. 



NOTICES TO CLASS I. 241 

angel of death ; was not that name also derived from the Hebrew 
Esrael; the meaning of which is identical with the former names^ 
all four signifying the help of God? If so, then in the words 
' LazaruS; come forth I ' we have the angel of Death himself sum- 
moned, and in his name all the dead ransomed from the power of 
the grave. By God's help with Lazarus will be our victory over 
death; by Go^s help with Joshua our entrance into the promised 
land. 

* l^ridionj S^ro. — ^This name and its diminutive^ belonging to 
a bishop of Cyprus in the fourth century, patron saint of Corfu, is 
a favourite name amongst modem Greeks. The grand old classical 
names have a strange sound to uS; used; as they are there, so com- 
monly : LeonidaS; LycurguS; &c. ; and, amongst women. Calypso, 
Calliope, Cleopatra, Aspasia. Besides these, some of their most 
favourite names are : (Hebrew) Michaelis, (Latin) Constantis, their 
own Petros,Kyrio8 (was it not originally from the Persian Kouresh, 
the sun?), and Kyrillos, our Cyrus and Cyril 5 for women's names, 
Helena, Aglaia, Agathonia, Polyxene ; and for men and women 
both, Dimitri. 

' Thar, — In the Land nama-bok of Iceland, one-third of the 
names given have reference to Thor (the Daring), the favourite 
divinity of the Scandinavians, as his fether Wodin, or Odin, was 
of the Anglo-Saxons. 

8 Anselm, — ^Anses, As, Os, inferior gods worshipped by the Teu- 
tonic race, corresponding to the deified heroes of Greece and Rome. 

^ Amin, the name of Mohammed when young, his mother's 
name having been Amina. The strange combination of Jewish 
traditions and Christian reminiscences is supposed to have been 
owing to his mother having been a Jewess converted to Christianity 
by the Syrian monk Sergius.* Deen, or Din (religion), signified 
the practical part, and Imd.n (faith) the doctrinal part of Islamism, 
Islam, salvation, or, as some translate it, to mean originally resiff- 
nation — are they not the same? and in Christianity also? Man 
must renounce his own will in all things; he must look up to, de- 
pend upon God as a child upon his father, ere he can accept and 
rejoice in His will, and Bib revealed will become his guide in life, 
his hope in death. Is not Heaven's song ' Amen I Alleluia P ' So 
be it! Praise the Lord! 

* Von Hammer. 



II 



244 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Probus — Good; Malim — Omo- 

buono— Oood man. 
Spanish, Sanchez^ Sancha (w.) 

— A samt 
Justus, Justinian, Justine («?.) 

— Just. 
Honorius, Honor (w.), Norah 

(w,) — Worthy of honour. 
TuUius, Tullia (w.)y TuUiola 

(w.) — Worthy of being 

brought up. 



WOMEN. 

Una — One, expression of match- 
less perfection. 
Bona — Good. 
Emerentia — ^Deserving. 
Casta — Chaste. 
Mathurine — Perfected. 
Meliora — Better. 



Teutcmc. 



MEN. 

Vibert— Of eminent holiness. 

Wimund — ^Holy peace. 

Godard — Heavenly disposition. 

Engelbert — Bright as an an- 
gel. 

Amalaric; Sanscrit , Amala — 
Faultiess ruler. 

Gomesind; Spanish, Gomez — 
Good youth. 



Guthman; Spanish, Guzman — 

Goodman. 
Betstan— The best 

WOMEN. 

Amalia — ^Faultiess. 
Amalaberga — Faultiess tower, 

fig. steadfastness. 
Bathilde — Good girL 



Saidi, S&d—Firm, just. 



Cdtic. 

MEN. 



I Angus^fiKKmoNj^^— Undmatmg. 



Arahic. 



MSN. 

Saleh — ^Virtuous and just • 
Abu 1 Faal— Father of excel- 
lence. 



Aziz, Azeezah (w.) —Excellent 
Omar — Better. 

Persian, Anushirwan — Of a ge- 
nerous mind. 



Hindu, 

WOMEN« 

Mher ul Nica — First of women. 



CLASS n. — ^ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



245 



Division 3. 
Iiove and Jewels as significant of precionsness. 



MEN. 

Dayidy Hobab — ^Beloved. 

Jedidiah, Jedidah (w.)— Well- 
beloved. 

Benjamin — Son of my right 
band. 

Abner — The father's lamp. 

Absalom — ^The father's peace. 

Saul-^Asked for. 

Adlai — ^My ornament. 



WOMEN. 

Abigail— The father's joy. 
Hephzibah — ^Mydelightisinher. 
Keren Happuch — ^My box of eye 

ointment. 
Peninnah — Precious stone or 

coral. 
Ispah — Jasper-stone. 
Pinon — ^Pearl. 
Sapphira — Sapphire. 



Greek, 



Erasmus — ^Loved. 

Erasthenes — Greatly loved. 

Agapetus — ^Beloved. 

Polytimeus — ^Veiy precious. 

PhiletaS; Philemon^ Philander 
— ^Loving. 

Philopater,' Philomater^ Philo- 
delphus — Loving father, mo- 
ther, brother. 

Patrodesy Metrocles — Glory of 
father and mother. 

Pamphilius — ^Beloved by aU. 

Damiaa — ^Popular. 



WOMEN. 



EratO; Ebna — Love. 
Erotium — ^A little love. 
Deiphile — Twice loved. 
PasiphUa — ^Beloved by all. 
Philumena — ^Of a loving mind. 
Charis, Phintias, Phila, Phil- 

lina — ^Loving and loved. 
Eudora — ^A good gift. 
Medora («.) — A mother's gift, 
Lnogene— A beloved child. 
Delphine — A loving sister. 
Margaret, Margarita, Marguerite 

— ^A pearl. 
Menie («.) — Cared for, cherished. 



Latin, 



MEN. 

Amand, Amanda (w,\ Amias, 
Aymon — ^Beloved. 

Defflderius, Didier, Desir6— De- 
sired. 

Italian, Benventito — ^Welcome. 



Publius, Publicola — Popular. 

WOMEN. 

Amata,Amabel, Amy — ^Beloved. 
Yolumnia — ^Longed for. 



246 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



WOMEN. 



Nina,' Ninita — Darling, little 
darling (Old Spanish Diet. 



transl. as 'apple of the eye'). 
Mercedes' — ^A gift, a favour, also 
'thanks.' 



TeuUmic, 



MEN. 

Leofwyn — ^Love-winner. 
Leofstan — ^Best beloved. 
Leofric — ^Beloved ruler. 
Leopold — Beloved and brave. 
Alwyn, Alwy — ^Beloved by all. 
Ethelwyn — ^Noble and beloved. 
Berthold — ^Beloved and bright. 
Reynold* — ^Pure love. 
Edwin, Edwy — Happy and be- 
loved. 
Harold— Beloved leader. 



WOMEN. 



Wyn,Holdlie — ^Beloved, lovely. 
Deorwyn — ^Dearly loved. 
Deorswytha — ^Veiy dear. 
Minna, Minnie — ^Bome in me- 
mory, beloved. 
Vala— Chosen. 
Valborge — Chosen tower. 
Adeline — ^Noble wife. 
Audovere — ^Happy wife. 
Ghiselle, Giselle— Companion. 
Beage — Bracelet, fig. precious. 
Beage stan — ^Bracelet-stone. 



Madoc — ^Fatherly chief. 



MEN. 

I Mungo — ^Beloved. 



Arabic. 



MEN. 

Mustafa — ^The chosen. 

Aziz, Azeezah(tt7.) — Dear, ex- 
cellent. 

Sa'ed — ^Forearm (expression of 
nearness, deamess). 



WOMEN. 

Mahboobeh Shoh — ^Beloved. 
Rahmah — Gift of God's mercy. 
Tohfeh— A gift. 
Safiyeh ; TSxrkuh^ Sofiyeh — 

Chosen. 
Looloo Luluah; Ferwm, Mur- 

wari — Pearl. 
Johareh — ^A jewel. 



Zumurrud — Emerald. 

Terdany Statira («.) — A gold 
coin. 

Denaneer — Pieces of gold. 

Bahr el Kunooz — Sea of trea- 
sures. 

Shej eret el Durr — ^Tree of pearls. 

Nuzhet el Fuad— Delight of the 
heart. 

Nuzhet es Zeman — Delight of 
the age. 

Lezzet el Dunya— Delight of the 
world. 

Hazut en Unfoos — ^Life of souls. 

Kurrat el Eyn — Delight of the 
eye. 

Eoot el Kuloob— ^Food of hearts. 



CLASS U ABSTRACT QUALITEES. 



247 



Smdu. 

KEK. 

Door dowran — ^Pearl of the age. 



Soem — ^Emerald. 



WOMEN. 

Mootie— Pearl. 

Ani Mootie— Precious pearL 



C^neae, 

WOHEN. 

Ghiang Koo — ^Little darling. 



KSN. 



Wingemund — ^The beloved. 
Netis — ^The trusted friend. 



North American Indian. 

WOMEN". 

Nenemooslia — Sweet heart. 
Eeh-nis-kin — ^The ciystal stone. 



MEN. 

Malachi — ^An angel. 
Zaccheus — ^Pure. 
Er, Neri, Jairus — ^light. 
Abner — ^The father's lamp. 
Japhia, Nogah — Splendour. 
Samson — Sunny. 



MEN. 



Division 4. 

Light and Purity, 

Hebrew. 

Barak; Cnr^^. Barca— Light- 
ning. 



WOMEN. 

Euth — A vision (of bright- 
ness?). 
Almah — A maiden. 



Greek. 



Fosco — flight. 

Phano, Lychnos — ^A lamp. 

Phaon — ^Brilliant 

Peiiphas — Most brilliant 

iElianuS; Aland, Alan — Sun- 
bright. 

Anatole — ^Rising of the sun, the 
East. 

Lampadius — ^A torch. 

Ignatius — ^A kindled flame. 



Lycurgus — ^Work of light 
Apelles — ^Wthout shade. 

WOMEN. 

Heloise, Helena («.) — ^Bright as 

the sun. 
Phoebe, Selina — Pure radiance, 

as the moon. 
Asteria — Radiant as a star. 
Marmarium — Radiant. 
Aurorar— Morning light. 



248 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Actis — ^Ray of light 
Aglae^ Eudoxia — Splendour. 
Inclyta — ^Ulustrious. 
Delia^ PlLffidra, Lampisiiiin — 

Brilliant. 
Parthenia, Neottis, Cora, Co- 

rinne, Coralie — ^A maiden. ^ 
Lampeto — I shine. 
Olympia — Shining afar off. 
Psyches— The soul. 
Zora — Pure. 



Hyale — Crystal. 

Margaret; Margarita^ Margue- 
rite, Margeiy — ^Pearl. 

Katharine, Katinka, Katrine, 
Catalina^ Kathleen, Katie, 
K&te — Spotless, pure. 

Petala — A young leaf, fig. a 
young girl. 

Phffidora, Feodora — A shining 
gift. 



Zatin, 






Fulgens — Brilliant. 
Flaminius, Flaminia (w.) — 

Flame. 
Lucius, Lucullus, Luke, Lucia 

(«?.), Lucy (w,)f Lucille (tr.), 

Lucinda (w.) — Light. 
Clair, Clara (w.), Clare (w,), 



Clarinda (w.), Clarissa (w,) — 

Clear light. 
Lilius, Lilian (w,)y Lilias (w,), 

Lilla (w.) — ^Lily, fig. puriiy. 
Virginius, Virginia (w.) — Pure. 

WOMEN. 

Diana — ^Bright as day. 
Luna — ^The moon. 
Stella, Estelle— A star. 



Teutonic, 



MEN. 



Engelbert — Bright as an angel. 
Bertrand — ^Bright, generous. 
Albert, Adalbert, Ethelbert — 

All bright^ noble and bright 
Hildebert — ^Illustrious lord. 
Childebert — ^Illustrious prince. 
Gilbert, WiUibert— Light of 

many. 
Dagoberfc—Bright as day. 
Herbert — Illustrious ruler, or 

chief. 



Hubert — ^Mighty and illustrioufi. 
Egbert — ^Eminently bright 
Berthelm — ^Helmet of light 
Humbert — ^Light of home. 
Philibert — Beloyed and bright. 

WOMEN. 

Icelandic, Mona — ^The moon. 
Bertha — ^The shining one. 
Bagmar — The motider of day, 

the dawn. 
Hilda — ^The maiden. 



Celtic 



MEN. 

Taliessin — ^Radiant brow. 



WOMEN. 

Gwendaline— Lady of the white 
bow, the crescent moon. 



Essylt, Isolt, Ysolt — A vision 

(of brightness). 
Aeron — Queen of brightness, 

splendid one. 
Gladys, Gladusa — Brilliant, 

splendid. 
B^— The maid. 



CLASS n. — ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



249 



Spanish, 
Nini^—A young girl. 



Arabic, 



MEN. 

Abu Noor— Father of light. 
Doel Mekan — flight of the place. 
Kamar es Zeman — ^Moon of the 

age. 
Bedr Baaim-^The gniiling full 

moon. 
Es Semendal — ^The salamander. 



WOMEN. 

Shems en Nehar — Sun of day. 
Shems ed Doha — Sun of the 
forenoon. 



Budoor — Full moona, excess of 
splendour. 

El Bedr el Kebeer— The great 
full moon. 

Nejmet es Sab4k— Morning star. 

Noor el Huda—Light of day 
(also fig. guidance). 

Noor Mahal — light of the 
Harem. 

Noor Jehan— Light of the world. 

Nehar es Sena — ^Pharos of splen- 
dour. 

Zara — The brightness of the 
East 



Persian. 



MEN. 



Eouresh, Ehosrow, Mithra, &c. 

— ^The sun. 
Korshid— The splendour of the 



sun. 



WOMEN. 

Lab— The sun. 

Bozalanay from Roushen - 
Splendour. 



Assyrian, 

WOMEN. 

Sitareh; HebreiOf'EBQiei, Hester | Sosana, Susan^ Suzette — A. lily. 
—Star. 



North American Indians, 
WOMEN. I Hee-la'h-dee — The pure foun- 



Seet-se-be-a — The midday-sim. I tain. 



25U 



WHAT IS yOUE NAME? 



Division 6, 
Truth, Sincerity, and Fidelity. 



« MEN. 

Ammon, Amana (w.) — Faithful 
and true. 



Caleb— A dog (aa significant of 
fidelity). 



HEN. 

Evages— Truthful. 

Piston — ^Trusting, trustworthy. 



Greek. 

Philalethe— Lover of truth. 
Alethe (w.), Alethea («?.) — 
Truth. 



HEN. 

Fides, Fidelis, Fidelia (w.) — 
Faithful, true. 



Latm, 

Vero, Vera (w,), Verax, Vera- 
nius, Verania (w.) — ^Trae. 



HEN. 

Roger— A man of his word. 
Beomoth — ^A noble's oath. 



Teutonic. 

WOHEN. 

Gtertrude — Maiden trusted and 
true. 



Gruron — ^A true man. 



Cdtic. 

HEN. 

I Gwaip— A just man. 



Amin, Amineh (w.) — ^Faithful. 
Kuleyb, Celb, Celba(w.)— Dog, 
&^. fidelity. 



Arabic. 

Abu 1 Wefa^Father of fidelity. 
Sawab— Rectitude. 



North American Indian. 

HEN. 

Shonka— The dog. 



CLASS II. — ^ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



251 



Azur, Esdras, Hosliea — ^Helper. 
Eaphia — ^Healer (title of honour 

with Egyptian monarchs). 
Manaen — Comforter. 
Hanani, Ananias — Grace, mercy. 



Diviedon 6. 
Help-givers. 

Hebrew, 

WOICEN. 

Zillah — Shadow, fig. shelter, 
protection. 

Hamutal — Shelter (from heat 
or rain). 

Hannah, Anna, Anais, Annette, 
Annie, Nanette, Nanina, Na- 
non, Anina, Anita '^ — Grace, 
good-will. ♦ 



Greek. 



MEN. 



Soter, Sosthenes, Sosia, Sosan- 

dra («?.) — Saviour, preserver. 
Alexis, Alexia (w,), Amyntas 

(m. tr.), Alcides, Boetius, 

iJpicurus — ^Helper. 
Jason — ^Healer. 

Onesiphorus — ^Bringer of help. 
Alexander, Alexandra («?.), 

Alexandrina (w.), Alaster, 

Allister — A brave protector 

or defender. 
Lysias, Lysander — ^Liberator. 
I^dius, Giles, Gillian (w.) — A 

shield. 
Evergetes — ^Benevolent. 
Megalitei>— Large heart. 



Aristobulus — Excellent coun- 
sellor. 

Menelaus — Who strengthens 
the people. 



WOMEN. 

Panacea — ^A healer. 
Euryone — Of vast usefulness. 
Pyrgo — ^A tower, fig. protection, 

shelter. 
Charixene, Polyxene — ^Lover of 

strangers, hospitable. 
Charis, Charity — Good-wilL 
Ophelia— A help-giver. 
Eucharis— Gracious, Good, and 

Fair. 



Latin. 



MEN. 

Salvator — Saviour. 
Sulpicius — ^A refuge. 
Fulk— Support. 
Scipio — ^A staff. 

Gratian, Gratia (w.), Grace 
(w.), Gracienne (m?.) j Italian^ 



Graziosa; SpanUhy Engracia 

— Courteous, kindly. 
Auxilius— Helpful. 
Benevolus — Well-wisher. 
Publius, Publicola— Universally 

esteemed. 
Expeditus— One who expedites. 



252 



WHAT IS YOUB NAME ? 



Extricatus — One who extricates. 
Ponce — ^Abridge, fig. of succour. 

WOMEN, 

Meicedee— Favour. 



Carita — Charity. 
Genereuse — Generous. 
Portia — ^A harbour^ fig. safety. 



Teutonic, 



HEN. 



Adolphus, Adolphine (w,), Ude- 
fonzo — ^Noble helper. 

Alfonzo, Alphonsine (t(7.) — Al- 
ways a helper. 

Ludolf— The people's help. 

Udolph — ^Happy helper. 

Rodolph, Rolf, Raoul— Counsel 
and help. 

Randolph and Ralph — Pure, 
disinterested help. 

Chilperic — Kingly helper. 

Botolph— Ship of help. 

Gyffard — Liberal heart. 

Gaston — ^Hospitable. 

Roland — Saviour of his coun- 

try(?). 

Beomhelm — ^Helmet of the no- 
bles. 



William, Wilhelmina (w.) — 
Helmet, or helm, of many. 

WOMEN. 

Ethelgifa, Elgiva— Noble help- 
giver. 

Heldewig, Hawisa, Avico — 
Lady of defence. 

Lutgarde — Protectress of the 
people. 

Emma; Icelandic^ Ammie — A 
nurse. 

Hildegarde — A lady who is a 
protectress. 

Bridget (brygge)— Bridge, fig. 
of succour. 

Ingeborge — Tower, fig. of de- 
fence, shelter. 

Lina («.) — ^A support 



Celtic. 



MEN. 

Cdtic ^ Teutonic, Ceol mund — 
Ship of protection. 



WOMEN. 

Cwen burgh — ^A woman who is 
a tower, fig. trustworthy. 



MEN. 

Azim — ^Defender. 
Hhafiz; Persian, Hafiz — Pre- 
server. 



Arabic, 

Maaroof— Kindness. 
El Feizad — ^The overflowing, fig. 
generosity. 



North American Indian. 
Mecheet a neuch— The wounded bear's shoulder. 



CLASS II. — ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



258 



Division 7. 
Courage and Strength. 



Hebrew, 



XEN. 

Ari, Arieh, Laisli — ^A lion. 
Areli — Son of a lion. 
Fhoenic, Hiram — ^High-souled. 
Lebbeus, Boaz — Manly. 
Elon — ^An oak, fig. strength. 
(Hdeon — Whg breaks. 



Herod, Herodias (w.) — 

dragon. 
Zeeb— A wolf. 

WOMEN. 

Eshtaol — Strong woman. 



Greek, 



HEN. 



Andrew, Adrian, Alcander^ An- 

tenor — ^Manly, brave. 
Evander — Good and brave. 
Leander — Gentle and brave. 
Iphis — Courageous. 
Iphicles — Glory of courage. 
Iphicrates — Strength of courage. 
Nicias, Nicanor, Nicander, Nico 

(w.), Nicium(«r.) — ^Victorious. 
Nicephorufl — Bruiger of victory. 
Domitian — A conqueror. 
Nicholas,^ Nicola (w.), Colette, 

Nicodemus — Victorious over 

the people. 
Andronicus — Conqueror of brave 

men. 
Inachus, Alcestes, Alcestis (w.), 

Aldbiades — ^Full of strength. 
Callimachus — One who fights 

gloriously. 
Aper — Wild boar. 
Eetion — ^Eagle. 
Lycos, Lycostrates — Wolf, 

strength of a wolf. 
Cephas, Petros, Petrea (tr.), Pe- 
ter, Petronilla (w,)\ Italian, 



Pietro, Pietra (w.) ; Spanish, 
Perez j French, Pierre, Pier- 
rette(tf7.)jPerrine(ir.)— Rock. . 

Hector — ^An anchor, ^, cham- 
pion, defender. 

Machaera — Sword, fig. warlike. 

Chseremachus — Rejoicing in 
war. 

Panthoiis — Always brave. 

Triptolemus — Thriee brave. 

Pammenes — ^All-enduring. 

Telemon, Mentor — Patient and 
brave. 

Demosthenes — The strength of 
the people. 

Adamastus — ^Indomitable. 

Thrasymene — ^Brave speaker. 

Thrasybulus — Brave counsellor. 

Leo, Lebnidas, Lionel, Leonce 
(m. «?.), Leonora (w,), Leonie 
(«?.), Leontine (w,), Lasna'^ 
(w.) — Lion-like. 

WOMEN. 

Eunice — Good victory. 

Zelie — ^Zealous. 

Berenice— Bringer of victory. 



254 



WHAT IS YOUE NAME? 



Elpinice— Hope of victory. 
Deidamia — ^Dauntless. 
Doiymene — Courageoua. 
Aicliileonis — Chidf lioness. 



Iphigenia — Of a courageous race. 
Callisthenie — ^Full of strength. 
Timandra — One wlio honours 
braye men. 



Latin, 



KEN. 



Victor, Victoria (w.), "V^ctorine 
(w.), Vincent—Victorious, in- 
vincible. 

Romulus, Eomola (w.) — 
Strength, power. 

Marcus, Mark, Martin, Marcel- 
lus, Marcia(t(7.), Marcella(i(7.), 
Marcellina (w,) — Martial. 

Valentine, Valerius, Valerie (w.), 
Nero*— Strong. 

flrmin, Firmilianus — ^Firm, un- 
shaken. 

Lupus, French^ Loupj Sabme, 
Hirpufl— Wolf. 



Anthony, Antonia (w.), Antoni- 
nus, Antonina (w.), Antonio, 
Antoinette (w,) — ^Anton, race 
of Hercules, sig. of strength. 

Aquila, Aquilinus — ^Eagle. 

WOMEN. 

Tanaquil ® — Eagle chieftainess. 

Eomilda — Lady of power, La- 
tin 8r Teutonic. 

Ursula, Ursina — ^Little bear, sig. 
of courage. 

Elvira — Of manly courage. 



Teutonic, 



KEN. 



Archibald, Erkinbald, Baldric, 
Baudiy — Chief of the brave. 

Algernon, («.) Algar, Holgar — 
Noble weapon, fig. noble and 
brave. 

Hugh (ako Cdticy-Mighty. 

Frank, Francis, Francisco, Fran- 
ces(«7.), Fanny («7.), Francesca 
-(tp.), Fanchon (w.) — Lidomi- 
table. 

Edgar— Happy weapon, fig. suc- 
cessful in war. 

Germain, Germaine (t&.) — ^Man 
of war, warlike. 

Gerald, Geraldine (w.) — ^War- 
like chief. 

Gerard— Brave heart. 

Richard — Great heart, valiant, 
poweifuL 



Sigurd, Sigeard — ^Ruling spirit. 
Sigismund — Victorious peace 

(rmmd also sig. protector). 
Sighelm — ^Helmet of victory. 
Sigbert — ^Illustrious conqueror. 
Berenger, Berengaria (i(7.) — 

Warlike chief. 
Bertram — Eminent for strength. 
Engelram — Of supernatural 

strength. 
Gustavus, Gonsalvo, Gonzalez, 

Gunstaf— Staff" of war. 
Gunther — Warlike leader. 
Gunthram — Strong in battle. 
Meyrick — ^Renowned chie£ 
Hargrim, Grimoald — Fierce 

chiefl 
Hildebrand — Sword of war. 
(Hildr— War-goddess.) 
Canute — ^Enot, %. strength. 



CLASS n. — ^ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



255 



Sodbald — ^Fearless at sea. 
Modred ^^ — ^Brave counsellor, 
Charles^ Karl, Carlos, Charlotte 

(w.), Caroline (w,) — Valiant, 

strong. 
Leonard — ^Lion-heart. 
Leonrio — ^Lion-chie£ 
Arnold — ^Eagle-chief. 
Amulph — Eagle and wolf, ^, 

matchless braveiy. 
Everard — ^Heart of wild boar. 
Bernard, Bemardine (w,) — 

Bear's heart. 
Ulf, Olf— Wol£ 
Wulfiio— Wolf-chief: 



Ethelwolf— Noble wolf. 
Ranwulph — Generous wolf. 
Wulfheah— Tall wolf. 
Soewulph — ^Wolf of the sea, &c. 
Ferdinand; ($,) Spanish^ Her- 
nando (foerdig) — ^Daring. 



WOMEN. 

Matilda, Maude — ^Braye girl. 
Thora, Thordi8a,Thyrar— Daring. 
Velleda— Powerful. 
Gonda — ^Brave. 

Hildegonde, ^* Modgudor — Fe- 
male warrior. 



CeUic and Gaelic, 



loss, 
Cadwallader— Supreme disposer 

of battle. 
Rngal («.) (fion-gael) — Strong- 
est of the strong. 
Colgar — Warrior with the 

proud looks. 
Boiorigh, Brian — ^Terrible chief. 
Cedric («.) (cead righ) — War 

chief. 
Cadmar — Strong in battle. 
Fergus — Strong arm, strong 

man. 
Ard gal— Exalted yalour. 
Bugald («.) — ^Black-haired and 

strong. 
Caradoc (Caradawg) — Captain 

of fighting chariots. 



Dermot («.), DiarmidXduir meod) 

— Oak-father, fig. a chief. 
Morhold — Euler of the sea. 
Morvran, Mervyn — ^Raven of the 

sea. 
Tuileach — Overwhelming flood, 
Meiideth — ^Roaring of the sea, 
Gniphon — ^Battle-spear. 
Flamddwy — ^Firebrand. 
LleweUyn — ^Lion-like. 
Giy%i, Griffith, Gruffyd— 

Dragon. 
Arthur — ^A bear. 
Bathanal — Son of the wild 

boar. 
Budignat — Son of victory. 
Boadicea — ^Victory. 



HBN. 



Baharam — The planet Mars, a 



king, a sword. 
Behadar; Smdu, Behadur; Ara- 
bic ^ Ikirkish, Behadir— A 
hero. 



Persian. 

Kahraman — ^A warrior. 

Carcas — ^Eagle. 

Fareksavar — Intrepid horse- 
man. 

lurkish, Hdherim —r Thunder- 
bolt, 



256 



WHAT IS YOUB NAME 



AisUbi Sher; Arabic, 

Diilxasy &C. — ^Lion. 
Sherkok — ^Mountain lion. 
Alp Aisliii — Strong lion. 



Assad 



Gyaxares — ^lion-king. 
Aiisai — ^Lionlike. 
Kelig Aislan — Swcid of a lion. 
Kesel Arsl&n— Bed lion, &c 



KEN. 

ErUaad el Khasif— The loud 

pealing thunder. 
Alp — Strong. 
Ghanim — ^Taker of spoil 

Chme^e, 



Arabic, 

Hallouf— Wild boar. 
Marfain — Hyssna. 
Melek el Mansour — Vicstorious 
king. 



HEN. 

Hwang Ltbig — ^Yellow dragon. 
Tsing Lung — ^Azure dragon. 



Chaon-Kin-Lfing— Grolden dra- 
gon. 
Lung So— Bragcm renewed. 



North American Indian, 



Soangetaha — The strong-heart- 
ed. 

Kwasind — Strong man. 

Pahtoocara — ^He who strikes. 

Munnepuska — He who is not 
a&aid. 

Goto kow pah a — He who stands 
by himself. 

Eeshakkonee — The bow and 
quiver. 

Kenen, Pehta, Nixwarroo, &c. — 
War-eagle.* 

Eeahsapa — ^The black rock. 

Nekim6 — ^Thunder. 

Tunt aht oh ye — ^The thunderer. 

Ea chin che a — ^The red thunder. 

Wa saw me saw — ^Roaring thun- 
der. 



four 



Mahtdthpa — The four bears, 
fig. of fourfold courage. 

Shome cosse— The wol£ 

Chaheechopes — The 
wolves. 

Kah gah gee — ^The raven. 

Ladooke &— The buffalo bull 

Pez he kee — ^The bison. 



WOICEN. 

Oo jeen aheha — ^The woman who 
lives in the bear's den. 

Me cheet a neuh — The wounded 
bear's shoulder. 

Ejitequa — ^The female eagle. 

Ah kay ee pixen — The woman 
who strikes many. 



* A few only of these almost unpronounceable names are given as 
being characteristic, but every tribe has its various names signifying 
more particularly Thunder, Eagles, Eagle's ribs, &c., and Bears, red, 
white, grizzly, old, &c., Bear's diild, Buffalo's child, &c. T%e wounded 
heat's shotdder, as the name of a wife, suggests a pretty idea of tender 
and soothing support^ to which a terrible contrast is afforded by the 
woman who strikes many ! (Names quoted from Catlings N. A, Indians,) 



CLASS II. — ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



257 



MEN. 

Pauma— A kite. 



WOMEN. 

Pomare — ^Perhaps the feminine. 



DiviBion 8. 
Wisdom and Intellect. 



Hebrew. 



MEN. 

Zephaniah— The secret or coun- 
sel of God. 

Darda — ^Pearl of wisdom. 

Chilmah — ^Learned. 

Bamahas — Son of exhortation, 
or prophecy. 



WOMEN. 



Dinah — One who judges. 
Deborah — A bee, fig. industry 
and art of goyeming. 



Greek, 



MEN. 



Cleomenes, Climene (tr.) — A 

glorious mind. 
Sophocles, Clisophus — Glory of 

wisdom. 
CaUmoiis — ^Fine mind. 
Nicomedes — ^Powerful mind. 
Euphron, Euphronia (w.) — 

Eight-minded. 
Sophronius, Sophronia {w,), So- 

phroniscus — Temperate, wise. 
Cleobulus — Glorious counsellor. 
Aristobulus — Best counsellor. 
Chiysostom — Golden-mouthed, 

fig. of eloquence. 
Pythagoras — ^Who speaks as an 

oracle. 
Numa — ^Law. 
Cosmo — Order. 
Bulls — Well-advised. 
Nestor — One who remembers, 

or is experienced. 
Archimedes — ^A master-mind. 
Melesias — Thinkei:. 



Pythias — ^Enquiring. 
DsBdalus — ^Ingenious. 
Cadmus — ^Who adorns. 
Metiochus— Prudent. 
Gregory — Vigilant 

WOMEN. 

Sybil— Counsel of God. 
Theano — ^Divine intelligence. 
Sophia, Sophy, Sophiele, Sopho- 

nie — ^Wisdom. 
Sophronia, Sophrosyne, Sophro- 

nium — Temperate, modest. 
Ida («.), Idaline — ^Far-seeing. 
Arsinoe — ^Lofty-minded. 
Ismena, Athencuis, Minervina — 

Learned. 
Eurymene — ^Large-minded, 
Eurydice — ^Liberal judgment 
Urania (from Sanscrit), Varouna 

— ^Who studies the skies. 
Eudocia— Who thinks well. 
Phantasia— Imagination. 
Icaaia— Who conjectures. 



S 



258 



WHAT IS YOUE NAME? 



Latin, 



HEN. 

Oato— Well advised, pradent. 
FacunduB — Eloquent 



WOMEN. 

Sapientia— Wise,- French fm^m, 

Sage. 
Prudence. 



TeiOxmic. 



HEN. 



Ernest, Ernestine (w.) — Ear- 
nest-minded. 

Egbert, Cuthbert— Eminent for 
wisdom. 

Robert, Rupert, Robin, Robi- 
netta(t«;.) — ^Bright counsellor. 

Cuthwin — ^Winner of wisdom. 

Wistan — Wisest. 

Conrad — ^Wise counsellor. 

Alured («.) — Universal coun- 
sellor. 



Ethelred, Ethelreda" (w.), Au- 
drey — ^Noble counsellor. 

Roderick^ Bpaamh^ Rodriguez, 
Diaz — Chief counsellor. 



WOMEN. 

Edma — ^IVGnd. 

Radegunde — A woman who 
counsels. 



Arabic, 



El Abtan— The most profound. | Meh di— A guide. 
Norfk American Indian, 



Chesh 00 hong ha — ^Man of good 

sense. 
Not oway — ^The thinker. 
Mash kee wet — ^The thought. 



Wa hon gaakee — "No fool. 
Hahnee — ^The beaver. 
Pah me cow«tah — ^The man who 
tracks. 



Division 9. 
Glory, Power, Noble Birth, and Station. 

Hebrew, 

Sharai — ^Prince. Jared— Ruler. 
Jesse, Jessica («?.), Jessie (w.) — 

Wealthy. 
Adonizedek — ^Lord of justice. 
Adonibezek — ^Lord of lightning. 
Aaron— Lofty mountain. 



MEN. 

Abraham — Father of a great 

multitude. 
Malchufl — ^Eing. 
Adramm^ck — Power of the 

Mng, 



CLASS n. — ^ABSTEACT QUALITIES. 



259 



Ephraim — ^Increasing. 
Bartimeufl — Of honourable birth, 
or the son of Timeus. 

WOMEN. 

Milcah — Queen. 
Sarah — ^Princess. 



Debprah — ^Bee, fig. female ruler. 

Aholibamah — *My tent is ex- 
alted.' 

Magdalene, Madge, Madeleine, 
Madeline — Tower, magnifi- 
cent. 



Greek. 



MSN. 



Basil, BasiHs («?.); modem Greek, 
Vaasilis, Vassilissi (w.), Va- 
sileia (w.) — King and Queen. 

Anaxis, Anaxo (w,) — King and 
Queen. 

Kyrios, Kyria (tc.), Kyrillos, 
Cyrus, Cyril, Cyrilla (w.), 
Cyra (w.) — ^Lord, lady. 

Archelaus — Chief of the people. 

Porphyry — ^Purple, ^g» royal. 

Stephen, Stephanie (to,) ; Spa- 
nish, Esteban ; JFi^ench, Etienne 
, — Crowned. 

Epiphanius — ^Most illustrious. 

Sebastian — ^Reverenced. 

Creon — 'I command.* 

Croesus — ^Who commands. 

Pericles — Surrounded with 
glory. 

Entimeufi — ^Honoured. 

Cleitus — ^Illustrious. 

Cleogenes — Son of glory. 

Cleon, Cleander — A glorious 
man. 

Cleodemus — Glory of the people. 

Cleostrates — Glory of the army. 

Cydias — Glory. 

Euclid — ^True glory. 

Eugene, Eugenie (w.), Eupator 
—Well-bom, of noble descent. 

Hegemon— Leader, 



Panciateft— All-powerful. 
Trismegistus — Thrice great 

(counsellor to Osiris). 
Patrocles — Father's glory. 
Metrocles — Mother's glory. 
Archebulus — Chief counsellor, 

chief of the senate. 
Archestrates — Chief of the army. 
Archippus — Chief of the cavalry. 
Aristocrates — The power, or 

rule, of the best. 
Demosthenes, Democrates — 

Power of the people. 

WOMEN. 

Iphianassa — Brave queen. 

Panthea — ^Divine. 

Pantaclea — ^^-glorious. 

Celia, Medea — One who com- 
mands. 

Phenice — Palm-tree, fig. victory. 

' Monimia — Self-sustained. 

Eleutheria — Liberty. 

Clio, Clelie, Cleine, Clorinda — 
Glorious, renowned. 

Cleonimia — Glorious name. 

Oleodora — Glorious gift, 

Cleopatra — ^A father's or a coun- 
try's glory. 

Clearista — ^Best glory. 

Clytemnestrar— Glorious wife, 

Cleophilar— Lover of glory. 



82 



260 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Latin, 



MEN. 



Regulus, Regillianus — Kingly. 

Hegina (w.), Heine (w.) — Queen. 

Augustus, Augusta (w.), Au- 
gustine (m. w.)f Crescentius, 
Crescens (w.) — ^Increasing. 

Maximus, Maximin, Magnus — 
Great. 

Celsus — Elevated, 

Titus, Tita (w.), Titian (I^rusc.) 
— Honoured. 

Patrick — ^Noble. 

Liberius, Camillus, Camilla (w.) 
Freeborn. 

Tancred (».) — ^Aged chief. 



Tanagra(w.) — Aged cbieftain- 

ness. 
Lorenzo, Laurence^ Laurentia 

(w.), Laura(t(;.) — ^fig. Crowned 

with laurel. 
Palma, Palmatius, Palmyre (w,) 

— ^Palm-tree, fig. of victory. 
Respectus — One whom people 

turn back to see. 
Caius, Caia (w) — (used to sig.) 

Master and mistress. 

WOMEN. 

Couronne ^ — Crown. 
Digna — ^Worthy of honour. 



Tetdantc. 



MEN. 



Otho, Odo, Odette (w.) (from 
Odin) — Significant of supreme 
power. 

Sanscrit <$* Teutonic, Amalario — 
Faultless ruler. 

Alaric, Athalric ; Spanishy Alva- 
rez — Noble ruler. 

Reginald; Frenchy Regnier — 
Godlike or chief ruler (regni, 
gods), 

Theoderic — Fatherly chief or 
ruler of the people. 

Louis (».), ** Ludwig, Ludovic, 
Clovis, Cloud, Louisa (w.), 
Louise (w.), Louison(?(7.) {Old 
FrmcK)y Aloys ; RussiaUy Lo- 
doiska (w.) — Hero of the 
people. 

Attala, Ella (m. w.)— Noble. 

Athelstan — The most noble. 

Landric — ^Lord of the country. 

Sigeric — Victorious lord. 

Dudda — ^Head of the family. 



Dimstan — ^The highest. 

Marmaduke, Waldemar — Most 
mighty. 

Ethelward, Aylward, Ethelwold 
— Noble governor. 

Meyrick, Almeric, Ethelmer, 
Aylmer — Great and nob^e. 

Aldred, Eldred, Wildred— Re- 
vered by many. 

Henry, Harry, Eric, Erica (w.), 
Eoric (eorl, ear/), Henrietta 
(w.), Harriet (w.), Hetta (w.) 
— A mighty lord or a hero. 

Herman, Hermanric, Armand — 
Commander in chief of an 
army, 

Walter, Waltheof— Chief of an 
army. 

Soefreth — ^Freedom of the sea. 

Evremond, Ebermund** — ^Wild 
boar, protector. 

WOMEN. 

Cunegonde— Royal lady. 



CLASS n. — ^ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



261 



Aldegonde, Olga — ^Noble lady. 

Ethel— -Noble. 

Ethelswytha — Most noble. 

Adelaide, Adeline, Adelicia, 
Ad^le^Adela, Adeliza, Adeliz, 
Alix, Alice, Ethelinda — ^Noble 
maiden. 

Hermenegilde^ Hermione, Er- 



minia, Ermengarde, Irmen- 
trude,*6 Irma — ^Maiden of high 
degree. 

Clotilde («.), Othilde, Ottilie, 
composed of Olovis and Hilda 
— Sig. of a chiefs daughter. 

Alodie, Elodie — ^An heiress. 

Ethelwyne— Noble and beloved. 



Celtic and GaeUe, 



MEN. 



Rhys, Kuiz, Ruy, Conan*^ — A 

prince. 
Gallawyg — War-god,fig.mighty 

chief. 
Kneack — ^Noble. 
Fingal («.) — ^Noble and strong. 
Hugh, Hugues (Hu-cadam) — 

The mighty, indomitable. 
Gwanar — ^The ruler. 
Murdock,Murtagh — Great chief. 



Verken-kedo-righ — Great chief 
of a hundred heads. 

Or-kedo-righ — Chief of a hun- 
dred valleys. 

Trystan — ^The proclaimer. 



WOMEN. 

Gwen-hywar — Lady of the sum- 
mit of the water, fig. queen of 
the sea. 



Sclavoman. 



MEN. 

Vladimir *® — Glory of princes. 
Droghimir — Qood prince. 
Casimir — ^Prince of the chief 
house. 



Ladislas, Wladyslaw, Lancelot 

— Glory of power. 
Stanislaus — Glory of the state. 



MEN. 

Melchior — Kingly. 



Persian, 

(WOMEN. 
Ariana — ^Honoured. 



MEN. 



Arabic, 



Malek Shah— King. Mellaky 

— ^Princess. 
Almir — ^A prince. 
Shems al Mulook — Sun of kings. 
Taj ah Mulook — ^Diadem of kings. 



Seyf el Mulook — Sword of kings. 
Seyf ud Dowlah — Sword of the 

state. 
Hamed — Praised. 
Mohammed, El Amjad — Greatly 

praised. 



262 



WHAT IS TOUB NAME? 



Sliamikli— Higb; lofty. 
TurktshyTogiod bey— The falcon 
lord. 



Zita — ^Mistress. 

Sharaf al Benat— The glory of 
damsels. 



WOMBir. 

Penytt AmxQa-*-Oreat lady, | Pun Amzna-^^^Iden lady. 
Mexican. 

HEN. 

Montezuma — Severe master. 
North JLmencan Indian. 



MEN, 

Stee cha CO me CO — The great 

king. 
Hongs kay be^ (synonymes in 

every tribe, not titles, names 

given to children) — ^The great 

chief. 



Ha na tah me mauk— The wolf- 
chief. 

Chee me na na quet— The great 
cloud. 

Koman nikin-^'-The great wave. 



Divicdon 10. 

Peace and Qentleness. 

Mebrew, 



KEN. 

Solomon, Salome (w.) — ^Peace. 
Noah, Manoah — Rest. 
Jonah — ^A dove. 
Barjonah — Son of a dove. 



VOXBN. 

Jemima^ Syrian, Hamami^^A 

dove. 
Rachel — ^A ewe lamb. 



Greek. 



MEN. 

Irenseus, Irene (w.). Iris (rain- 
bow) — Messenger of peace. 

Leander — A genUemanf gentle 
and brave. 

Melisander (a poet) — Significant 
of a man with honied lips. 

Meteo — Gentle. 

Parmenio— Patience. 

Eudius — Serene. 



WOMEK, 

lanessa — ^Who governs gentle. 

lanira — ^Who softens men. 

Melissa — ^Bee, fig. honey. 

Millicent, Milly, Melicerta, Me- 
litar— Honey, sweet 

Melina — Balm, gentle. 

Dros^e — ^Dew, ^g, both of sooth- 
ing and refreshing. 

Glycera-^weet 



CLASS n ^ABSTEACT QUALITIES. 



263 



Amaryllis — ^A refresHng streanu 
Ethrosyne — ^A serene Bkjr, 
Elais — Olive-tree. 
Azelie — ^Not emulous. 



Orca — Oil- vessel; fig. healing and 

peacemaker. 
Paula («.), Pauline — ^Rest 
Rhene — ^A lamb. 



Latin. 



Celestinus, Celestine (w.) — ^Hea- 
venly-minded. 

Clement, Clementina («7,), de- 
mentia (w.), Clemence (w.) — 
Courteous, af&ble. 

Oliver, Olivia (w%), Olive (w.), 
Olivaxez — Olive-tree, ^g, 
peace. 

Placidius, Placidia (w.), Pladlla 
(w.), TranquiUus^ Tranquilla 
(w.), Quietus, Mansuetus, 
Lenius, Lena (to.), Latona — 
Quiet, gentle. 



Pudens, Pudentia(to.) — ^Modest. 

Tacitus — Silent 

Tace (w.) — Be silent I 

Old Frenchj Aignan, Agnes {w)^ 

Naucy; 7re2sA,Nest^ ISpanuik, 

Inez — ^A lamb. 



WOMEN. 

Dulcibella, Douce — Sweet and 

fair. 
Serena, Terentia — Soft, gentle, 

patience. 



Teutonic. 



MEN. 



Frederic, Fritz, Frederica (w.), 
Alfric, Afra (w.).— -Peaceful 
ruler. 

Alfred — All peace, or the genius 
of peace (eBlf— genius). 

Humphrey — Home-peace. 

Wilfred — Peace of many. 



Ilaymond,Reinfred — ^Pure peace. 
Manfred — Man of peace. 
Ofiia— Mild, gentle. 
Winfred, Winifred («?.) — ^Peace- 
winner, or Lover of peace. 

WOMEN. 

Mildred — Gentle of speech. 



CeUic. 

MEN. 



Columba, Colombo (w.), Mai- | Tegid — Serenity ; also Beauty. 
colm(coulm) — ^Dove. | Owen — ^Lamb, or form of John. 



KEN. 

Salam, Salameh (tr.) — ^Peaoe. 
Es Samit— The Silent. 



Arabic. 

I WOUEMk 

Ten 'oxa--Sof(i, geatbe. 



Syriac, 

WOMEN, 

Semiramis (hamami) — ^A dove. 



264 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Division 11. 

Charm, Winsomeness, and Melody and Perfume 

figurative of them. 

Hebrew. 



■WOMEN. 



Naamah — ^Pleasant. 
Phoenician f Sidonia — Enchant- 
ress. 
Bithron — ^Daughter of Melody. 
Mahala, Anah — Sweet singer. 



Kebekali — One who draws 

with a noose. 
Hadassah — ^Myrtle. 
Keziah — Cassia. 
Keturah — ^Incense. 



Greek, 



^milianuS; Maximilian — A 
winning speaker. 

Emilius, Endlia [».] (w.), Emily 
(w.)— Of winning manners. 

Pisander, Peitho — One who per- 
suades men. 

Eulalos — ^Eloquent. 

Erasiphron — Of a kindly voice. 

Eumenes — Charming. 

WOMEN. 

Charis — Grace. 

Epicharis — ^Full of grace, exqui- 
sitely charming. 

Aspasia — ^Winning. 

Hedia, Hedyla — Pleasing. 

Euphemia, Effie, Phemie, Eula- 
lie — One who speaks sweetly. 

Emmeline, Amelia («.) — ^Full of 
melody. 



Lyra, Lyris — ^A lyre, fig. of har- 
mony. 

Evadne, Ariadne — Sweet singer. 

Hymnis — ^A singer. 

Euterpe — Charming. 

Calliope — ^A beautiful voice. 

Ligia— Silvery-voiced. 

Philomela — ^Lover of song. 

CEdomium — Nightingale's 
throat. 

Erianthe — Sweet as many 
flowers. 

Muriel, Thya — ^Perfume. 

lanthe, lone, la — Violet, fig. 
Modesty. 

Haidee («.) — ^Modest. 

Aura, Isaura — Soft air. 

Rosaura — ^Breath of a rose. 

Cassiopeia — ^Fragrance of cassia. 

Mjrrrha, Myra, Myrtah, Myr- 
rhena — ^Myrtle. 



Latin, 



WOMEN. 



Gratiu8(m.), Gratia, Gratianus 
(m.), Gratiana, Grace, Gra- 
cieuse, Gracienne, GrazieDa, 
Graziosa; Spaniahj Engracia 
— Graceful, winsome, charm- 
ing. 

Violet, Viola, Violetta, Violante 
— ^fig. Modest grace. 



— ^Fragrantweed, 
fig. Little dar- 



JFVewcA,R^s6da 

mignionette, 

ling. 
Carmen (*.) (favorite Spanish 

name), Carmenta — Song, also 

sig. a charm. 
Vinnulia — ^Winning. 
Blandine— Caressing. 



CLASS n. — ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 



265 



Arabic, 
WOMEN. I EneeselJelees — Charming com- 

Sliereeii, Hulweh— Sweet. [ panion. 

North American Indian. 



WOMXK. 

Shawon dazee — ^The south wind. 
Pshanshaw — Sweet-scented 
grass. 



Minne ha' ha — ^Laughing water. 
Minnewa'wa — ^Pleasant sound 
of wind in the trees. 



Titian or Figian Islands, 

WOMEN. 

Ntdogabui — One who smells sweetly. 



Divisioii 12. 
Joy, Joy-giverSy and Good Fortune. 



MEN. « 

Baruch — ^Blessed. 
Sardis — ^Prince of joy. 
Terah — ^Flourishing. 
Ephratah— Fruitful. 
Isaac — ^Laughter. 



MEN. 



Mebrew. 

Joseph; Spanish, Jqb6; Briton, 
Joscelyn; Italian, Giuseppe; 
Josepha (w,), Josephine (w.), 
Giuseppina (w.) — Increasing. 

Ave — ^All hail I sig. of welcome. 



Chreek, 



Evelpis, Elpidius — ^Hopeful. 
Elpis — ^Hope. 
Eudemon — Fortunate. 
ChsBremon, Charmion (w.), 

Charmis — Glad. 
Thales, Thalia (w,), Thallusa 

(w.) — ^Flourishing. 
Euthalia — ^Flourishing richly. 
Charops — ^Rejoicing the eyes. 
Charimene (w.) — Rejoicing the 

spirit. 
Tychichus, Eutyches, Syntyche 

— ^Fortunate. 



Polydor, Pandora (w.) — Much 

gifted. 
Plutarch — Who commands 

riches. 
Procopius — Successful. 
Charilaus — Rej oicing the people. 
ChsBriphiles — ^Lover of joy. 

WOMEN. 

Euphrasia, Euphrosyne — 

Joyous. 
Gelasia — Laughing. 
Amenai'de — Satisfied. 



266 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Zatwh 



HEN. 



Benedict, Benoit, Benoite (w.), 

Beata (w.) — ^Blessed. 
Beatrice — Making blessed. 
Felix, Felicia (w.), Felicity (w,), 

Felis© (w.),Fortunatiis, Faus- 

tus, Fausta (w.), Faustina (w.) 

—Happy. ^ 
Salvius, Salvia (w.), Salvina (w.) 

— Sage,, fig. safety. 
Hilaiy, Gaudentius, Jocunda 

(w.)— Joyous. 



Bonaventure — Good fortune. 
Boniface — ^Pleasant face, 
Prospero; Italian, Properzia — 

Prosperous. 
Sallust— Healthy and happy. 

WOKEN. 

Letitia, Lettice — Gladness* 
I^ench, Esp^rance — ^Hope. 
Spamsh, Mercedes — Favour. 
Frenchf Opportune— Welcome. 



Teutomc, 



Odo, Eudes--Happy, powerful. 

Odalric, Ulric, Ulrica (w.) — 
Happy ruler. 

Edwy, Hedwig (w.) — Happy 
chiet 

Edwin — ^Happy and beloved. 

Edward — Guardian of happi- 
ness. 



Edmund — ^Happy peace. 
Geoffrey, Jeffrey— Joyful peax». 



WOKEN* 

Edith— Blessed. 
Ida (m. w.) — ^Happy. 
Eleanor, Ellen, Lenora, Nellie 
-Fruitful 



MEN. 

Abu Saadat, Umr' Sood (w.) — 
Father, mother of prosperities. 

Sa'ad, Sa'a dek (w.), Zaidee (w.) 
— Prosperous. 

Perook — ^Fortunate. 

El Asad — ^Most prosperous. 



Arabic, 

Selim, Selimah(teT.) — Healthftil. 
Mes'ood, Mes'oodeh (w.), Mey- 

moon, Meymooneb (ift)—- 

Happy, 



WOldCN. 

Noam— Felicity. 



Persian, 



HEN. 



Feroz— Fortunate. 
Ferozeshah — ^Fortunate king. 
Ferdusi, Feridoon — ^Paradisi- 
acaL*' 



WOMEN. 

Ayesha («.) (aische) — ^Happj, 
Mmdu, Nannada — Bestower of 
pleasure. 



II 



NOTICES TO CLASS II. 267 



NOTICES TO CLASS H. ABSTRACT QUALITIES. 

^ Penoffia, Pan-HagiA, AU-holy, the name given to the Virgin 
Maiy by the modem Greeks, 

* Phihpater, PhUomater, — ^With all their bomidless wealth of 
words, and their ingenuity in forming names by endless combina- 
tions of them^ the Greeks had a strange, uncomfortable fancy for 
calling people by their opposites. A shepherd-guardian and de- 
fender of the sheep would be named Lycidos, from Lycos, a wolfy the 
enemy of the flock ; to a cold, unimpassioned orator would be given 
a name signifying warmth ajid Jire, Some of these mocking names 
were given on graver grounds. Two of the Ptolemies were sur- 
named as above : the first, because he poisoned his father; the second, 
because of his undutifulness to his mother, who, in consequence, 
endeavoured to exclude him from the succession to the throne. 
This curious fancy for misnomers seized also on the mind of an 
Eastern monarch. His wife, who was exquisitely beautiful, was 
named by him Cabihat, sig. ugly, so that the effect of her charms 
might be heightened from their striking contrast to her name. 

8 Mha, — ^This word, or name, as it has become to us, is used by 
the Spaniards as a term of endearment, sig. darling; Ninita, lit^ 
darling ; or simply to express ' a young girl,' and also in address- 
ing a young lady, answering (but rather more familiarly) to our 
modem 'Miss,' 'the English Mees,^ as our French neighbours say. 
Every other European nation has a better-sounding title for un- 
married ladies than we possess. In frock-and-pinafore days. Miss 
sounds not a miss (though even then it will not do to dwell upon 
the actual meaning of tiiie word, a loss, a want) ; but surely as ap- 
plied to elderly ladies in spectacles, it has a siUy sound. In Pope's 
and Addison's days, young ladies after ten years of age assumed the 
title of Mistress, which was given to both married and unmarried 
women. Miss, applied to a grown-up girl, was a term of reproach. 
Could not some scholar in a chivalrous spirit take up the cause of 
the unmarried daughters of Great Britain and supply them with a 
more befitting title P 

Mercedes, a favorite name for Spanish women, is also used by 
Spaniards as a term of respect, answering to 'your honour' in 
English. 'Muchas mercedes' signifies 'many thanks,' as in mo- 
dem Greece the surname of one of the Ptolemies, Eucharisto, sig. 
very gracious, is the common word for expressing thanks, being the 
exact rendering of the French 'miUe grlces.'^ Mercedes, as a name, 



268 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

with its pretty double signification of 'a gift' and thanks/ may 
be to the parents as an acknowledgement for the blessed gift of a 
child^ and to the child as a reminder that her life should be indeed 
a cause of thankfulness. 

4 Reynold. — ^The clear waters of the JRhine may illustrate this 
name; in the German word 'rein' is still preserved the signifi- 
cation j9t/r«^ clear, 

^ Anna, or Hannah, — That word of melody, ffrace, as significant 
of 'good- will/ has echoed unceasingly through this fair world of 
ours since 'the morning stars sang together' of God's favour to 
man, and the crystal streams and pleasant trees of Paradise gave 
back the sound. High above all the discords of earth, it has rung, 
it will ever ring on the ear of faith, but sweeter far has it become 
since angels sang it over the cradle of Bethlehem. 'The word grace, 
so infinite in significance even to the heathen world, has its 
synonymes in all languages, and men have loved to make of it a 
name, and dower with it their children. 

As a Hebrew name, Anna, gracCy has a double significance, be- 
longing to Virtue, God-given grace, as illustrated by Prov. xi. 16 : 
' a gracious woman retaineth honour j' and belonging to Help-giverSf 
in that grace implies kindliness, good-will. In Hebrew, the prefix 
Jeho to Hanan makes it a Name of Religion, signifying God^s 
grace, or Gocts gift. From Jehohanan come John, Jane, &c. 

Grace, in the Greek Charis, and the Latin Gratia, also bears' a 
double signification. Charis, as good-mU, the original of our Cha- 
rity, inward grace, belongs to Help-givers ; and, in the sense of 
otdward grace, charm of manner, greater than the charm of beauty, 
it belongs to what I have called Winsomeness. The Latin Gratia 
I have looked upon in like manner. 

* Nicholas. — ^This name would suggest matter for a chapter, 
which must here be compressed into a little note. It has the sin- 
gular distinction of making two diametrically opposite impressions. 
When we hear it, we think of a holy man, a lover of children, the 
protector of the defenceless and weak — ^we think also of the devil I 
The bravest English schoolboy, however lightly he may utter the 
name, would have a very wholesome dread of the appearance of 
' Old Nick.' The most timid little Greek, Russian or German girl, 
as she lays her fair head on her pillow one night in the year, has 
no dearer wish (supposing always that she knows that she has been 
good) than that her (in German) Santa Claus should visit her 
bedside before morning ; for then she will surely discover in the 
stocking laid ready to his hand, the toys that she longs for most. 



NOTICES TO CLASS n. 269 

For the evil repute of the name of 'Nick* we must go much 
farther back than to Niccolo Macchiavelli, the wily Florentine po- 
litician of infamous memory, upon whom some learned writers once 
fathered it ' Old Nick ' had his origin in the malignant water- 
sprites of Northern mythology. They were male and female, Nix 
and Nixe, Neckar derived from necce, to kill. In the semblance of 
a fair youth or girl, or an innocent-looking child, these dreaded 
beings were supposed to haunt the most beautiful streams ; wiled 
onward by the enchanting melody of their songs, unwary travellers 
were lured to the water's edge, and then — their destruction was 
secure. Have the Nixies fled P Would to God they were I Evil 
spirits, both male and female, with enticing words accomplish still 
the ruin of immortal souls. 

Not only by the river side, but far below the surface of the earth, 
in the gloomy depths of the Harz-mountain mines, we again catch 
the echo of the fatal name. Kupfer-Nickel, the fumes of which 
are poisonous, has for its deadly compounds arsenic and cobalt, so 
named from Gabalus, the once so-dreaded demon of the mines that 
the Church-service of Germany had a special form of prayer used 
for the expulsion of the fiend. 

But the children's loved Santa Claus, or Claussen, as he is af- 
fectionately called, must not be forgotten. The Christian Saint's 
Greek name was prophetic, Victorious over the people^ with that 
best victory winning their hearts. In aU Roman Catholic coim- 
tries this holy man is looked upon as the protector of the weak 
against the strong ; he is emphatically the Saint of the people. 
Marvellous tales are told of his babyhood — standing up with 
joined hands to pray, when an infant of but a few hours old, and 
other incredible performances. Pity it is that foolish inventions 
should thus throw discredit on the realities of a good man's life. 

The origin of St. Nicholas's stocking may well be true, for his 
vast wealth was spent in acts of charity. Three daughters of a 
distressed noble are said to have been relieved from a threatened 
life of misery by marriage portions contained in stockings, which 
were thrown in at their window on successive nights by the Saint. 
Therefore it is that in Greece, and Russia, and Germany stockings 
are laid out on the eve of St Nicholas (December 6) for the Saint 
to fill. 

Mixing the false with the true, a terrible tale hangs over the 
three children which usually accompany St. Nicholas in his pic- 
tures. At a time of famine, the Bishop of Myra, travelling in his 
diocese, lodged at the house of a man supposed to be of good repu- 



270 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

tation. The monster^ howerer^ since provisions had become scarce, 
had been accustomed to steal children, murder them, and serve 
them up as food to his guests. Bat the revolting dish placed be- 
fore the holy man told its own tale, and the bishop, rising £rom the 
table, discovered a tub of dismembered limbs, over which he made 
the sign of the cross, and three children instantly arose alive and 
well, to be restored to their overjoyed mother. 

The irreverent custom practised in England, in Eoman Catholic 
times, of electing ' a boy bishop,' originated in the name given to 
St. Nicholas of the 'Child Bishop,' on account of his early piety. 

The synonyme of Nicholas, Nicodemus, is applied in France as a 
term of reproach ; cW un Nicod^nWf means a silly man, who seeks 
for popularity. This application of the name doubtless refers to 
the Nicodemus of Scripture, who at first visited our Lord by night, 
' for fear of the Jews ;' but his after-fearlessness should have wiped 
away the reproach. It was the voice of Nicodemus that was raised 
before the assembled rulers to inquire : 'Doth our law judge any 
man before it hear him, and know what he doth ? ' And it was 
Nicodemus who brought an hundredweight of myrrh and aloes to 
embalm the body of the Crucified. 

7 L(Bna. — ^A bronze statue in Athens of a lioness without a 
tongue commemorated the noble spirit of this woman of lion-heart. 
Concerned in the conspiracy of Harmodius and Aristogiton, to 
overthrow the tyrant Hippias, Lssna was dragged to the torture ; 
on her way she bit off her tongue, lest her coming agony should 
wring from her the name of an accomplice. 

* Nero. — ^This name, so constantly given to black dogs, may 
seem to the general reader wrongly translated. It is, however, on 
the best authorities said to be a Sabine word, sig. valiant ; others 
have derived it from the Greek neuron^ nerve. Not valiant, but 
of iron nerve the monster must have been whose hand kept true to 
time in the dance music he played while the cries of his victims 
in the burning city resounded on all sides. Nero, as black, comes 
to us from the Italian ; from the Latin niger, black, we have Nigel, 
sig. a dark, black-haired man. Nero was wrongly painted in the 
great French picture in the International Exhibition : the tyrant's 
©special pride was his golden hair. 

® TanaquU, — Tana, a word found on Etruscan inscriptions, sig- 
nifying master, lord, and, as applied to women, corresponding with 
the Eoman prsnomen Caia, i.e., mistress of the house* It is sin- 

* Salverte. 



NOTICES TO CLASS II. 271 

galar to find also a Persian word. Tan, signifying strength, power, 
while amongst the ancient Scots a Thane was a chief. 

*^ Modred and Be^peduB^ — Lucifer, the Ught^bearer, accepted now 
as the ^ proud/ and Abigail, the father's Joy, only accepted as a 
' maid-servant,' have shown us how names have been wrested from 
their original meanings — ^how many words also have been similarly 
wronged. In digging about the old roots of languages when name- 
hunting, WB come upon some in whom are discovered the title- 
deeds, as it were, of words long since dispossessed of their birth- 
right Too late to hope to restore them to their high estate, it is 
at least curious to read their original grant. 

See now Respectus, a Roman name. What would have been 
thought of the sanity of anyone who had spoken of the late Duke 
of Wellington as respectable P And yet we find Respectus a name 
of high repute, signifying, as it did, a man whom all turned Jxick to 
look at ; it would therefore have been no inappropriate word to use. 

And Modig, too I Ask anyone the meaning of the word Moody, 
they wiU tell you: 'out of humour.* Not so did the hardy Norse- 
men, the Yikingr of old, look on the original word. Mod, Modig 
(still preserved in the German ' Muth ') signifies courage, or a brave 
spirit, and as such the noblest of the land were proud to bear 
names of which it formed a part : Modred was one who counselled 
bravely, Thormod was one of supernatural courage. But the old 
spirit clings about some old names ; it would seem, from the armo- 
rial bearings of the family, that Moodys were modig still, however 
their name might be read. An achievement of honour shows two 
hands grasping the Rose of England, for a King's life was saved at 
the risk of Edmond Moody's own; and the motto they bear is, 
* Risk to save.' 

Reversing the usual order of things, in another Northern name 
we find the probable origin of a word, which from such origin 
derives additional significance. The wife of Lok, the evil genius, 
or devil| of Scandinavian mythology, was named Signa, or Sinna — 

... the snaky soroeress that sits 
Fast by Hell-gate, and keeps the fatal key. 

'* JBUdegonde and Modgudor, — ^In the warlike race of the Teu- 
tons we not only find amongst the names of men wolves and hearsy 
the spear, the stc^, and the helmet of war, but many of their wo- 
men's names are strangely warlike too. For the progenitors of a 
race which should make little England first amongst the nations 
of the earth; it needed that every element of success should 



272 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

combine ; the Celtic blood was intrepid to dare, tbe Teuton nerve 
resolute to do, and valiant men were matched with women high- 
couraged beyond the wont of the sex. Significant of this, we find 
that the three terminations most common in Teutonic feminine 
names are all significant of courage. Hilda, from Hildr, the war- 
goddess of the North ; Gunda, or Gonda, from gunnr, war (both 
of these were indeed names of themselves) ; and wiga, from the 
masculine wig, or vich, sig. a hero. Freyga, the beautiful, was 
represented with a drawn sword in her right hand, and in her left 
fi bow, signifying thereby that in time of need women as well as 
men should be ready to fight 

" Ethdreda, nolle counsellor. — ^How inappropriate to such a 
source seems the word of vulgar meaning, tawdry ! At St. Ethel- 
reda's or St. Awdrey's feir cheap laces were sold, and gay but 
worthless gewgaws, to attract the simple country wenches and 
their swains, who came prepared to buy, however limited may be 
their choice ; and so, from Ethelreda's fair, showy things of Uttle 
value came to be called tawdry. 

*' Courowne, — ^Names expressive of royalty are commonly borne 
by private individuals in all coimtries, except our own. In Italy, 
Kegina is often heard, and still more frequently in France the 
name of Heine. Amongst the peasant women of Alsace, Couronne 
was at one time a very &vourite name. 

^^ Lama. — To this name has been attached the signification of 
' an illustrious hero.' I have ventured to change it to ' hero of the 
people,' Lud or Leod wig. The C in Clovis makes it a royal de- 
signation. 

" Evremond, JEbermtrnd, — ^Mund signified both peace and pro- 
tectum. In connection with this last it had amongst the Scandi- 
navians the additional meaning of a ?umd. The tvM-boar protector 
would be the designation of a man high in power and of great cou- 
rage^ The wild boar was held in especial honour, as the means 
whereby mankind was supposed to have been taught the use of the 
plough. It was said by the Teutons that the first plough was 
made on the model of its snout, with tusks of iron on either side 
to tear up the ground. 

*® Irmentmde, — ^In this name of the mother of the Guelphs was 
combined two of the favourite ideas of the Teutons. Irminsula 
was a chief idol of the nation. Eormen, sig. great, vast, entered 
into the composition of many names, Hermanric, Hermione, &c. 
Trudr sig. fortitude, Jlmmess — ^was conadered a peculiarly femi- 
nine designation. Many names composed from it have passed 



NOTICES TO CLASS !!• 273 

away^ some of themi such as Mimidrud^ would sound harsUy in 
our ears; but Gertrude, once Gerdrud, remains^ sig. one strong- 
hearted and true. Lina, as a termination or as a name by itself, 
has a lovely signification : a 'support on which to lean/ HUina 
was a tutelary goddess of the North, to whom men looked for help 
in their hour of need. For true woman, could any name be more 
significant P 

*^ Conan. — The Celtic word for a prince comes near to the Teu- 
tonic Cuning or Cyning, which illustrates the words 'knowledge is 
power,' kunnan being the Gothic word to know, Cuning is also 
said to signify valiant : well might the crown be worn by know- 
ledge and valour combined. The initial C, as significative of 
royalty, is seen in Chilperic, Childebert, &c. Childe signified a 
youth of noble or knightly birth j we often meet with it in old 
ballads, and in that later noble poem, ' Childe Harold.' 

Amongst the Sclavonians V (or W) as an initial was a royal 
letter, a contraction of VasUeus, from the Greek Basileus, a king. 

Vassilis, Vassilissi, is the modem Greek for King and Queen, 

*® Mir, — This word is of Eastern origin, Emir, a prince. Under 
the title of Ameer al Omra, prinoe of the princes,, a, family of humble 
origin exercised in Persia a power nearly regal during a century 
and a half. One of them. Prince Azed ud Dowlah (sig. the pro- 
sperity of the 8tate)y having constructed a dyke across the river Keer, 
near the ruins of Persepolis, it was named Bund Ameer, the princess 
dyke. Travellers ignorant of the meaning of the words have given 
this name to the river itself, and poets, misled, have sung of ' a 
bower of roses by Bendameer's stream.' 

The word Mir, from its double meaning in Sclavonic, is sug- 
gestive, signifying a prince and a waU, A strong wall, for support 
and defence, ^ould a prince ever be to his people. 

** Ferdusi, — The Persian poet so named was originally called 
Isaac. His ' Shah-nameh,' Book of Kings, a history of Persia, is 
said to contain 60,000 rhymed couplets. 

Feridoon is a name to this day significant to the Persians of 
their ideal of a perfect monarch. Four lines quoted by Sir J. Mal- 
colm from the Gulistan of Saadi are thus literally^rendered in 
words and measure : — 

The blest Feridoon an angel was not, 
Of musk or of amber he formed was not, 
By justice and mercy good ends gained he; 
Be just and merciful, thou'lt a Feridoon be.* 

* Secret Societies of the Middle Ages : Histoiy of the Assassios. 

T 



274 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



CHAPTER XIIL 

Classified list — Class m. Personal characteristics. Three 
divisions and notices — including names principally from the 
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Arabic, Celtic, North 
American Indian, &c. &c. 



CLASS in. 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



Division 1. 

Names signif^ring Beauty and Youth, and Flowers as 

typical of them. 

Hebrew, 



MEN. 

Abinoam — ^Father of beauiy, or 
father of Noam (the handsome), 

Japhet, Adoram, Naaman,^ Naa- 
mah (w.) — ^BeautifiiL 

Adin, Ada (w.) — Ornament, 
adorned. 

Dishon — ^Antelope. 

Zibiah — ^Deer. 



WOMEir. 

Naomi, Sephora, Tirzah, Thyraa, 
Theresa («.) — ^BeautifoL 

Ruth — ^A vision (of beauty?) 

Tamar — ^Palm-tree, fig. upright 
graceful figure. 

Tabitha — (Jazelle-eyed. 

Jael, Jaaleh — G^eUe. 

Orpah — A &wn. 



Greek. 



KEN. 

Caliztus, OaUsta (tr.), Narcisras, 
Hyperidea — Of great beauty. 

WOMEK. 

Theophaoie — Divine appear- 
ance. - 
Kalonioe — Beauty's victory. . 



Callidora — Beauty's gift. 
Calligenia — ^Daughter of Beauly. 
Abra — ^Beautiful. 
OharitoblepharoB — Beautiful 

eyebrows. 
Hebe — ^Youth. 
Parthenope— Young fece. 
Thais— Lovely. 



CLASS III. — ^PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 275 



Glaptyra — ^Elegant, graceful. 
Dorcas — Gazelle-eyed. 
Europa — Large-eyed. 
Chloe — ^Blooming. 
Cleanthe — ^A glorioiis flower. 



Anthemia, Polyanthe — ^Bloom- 
ing as many flowers. 
Ampelis, Ampelisca — A vine. 
Philyrea — ^A willow, fig. grace. 
Pjrrallis — ^A brilliant bird. 



Latin, 



MEN. 



JSiruscan, "Horacef Horatio, Ho- 
ratia (w.) — ^Worthy to be be- 
held. 

Formosus,rormosa(tr.)j French, 
Bevis — ^Handsome. 

Florus, Florian, Florence (w.), 
Flora (w,), Florinda (w.) — 
Flower, fig. beauty. 



Junius, Junia (w.) — ^Young. 

WOMBN. 

Pulcberie — ^Most beautiful. 
Arabella — ^Fair altar. 
Hortense — ^A garden. 
Poppea — A doll, ^g, beauty 

without mind. 
ItaUanj Gelsomina — Jasmine, 



WOMEN. 

VcBnn, Vanessa («.) — ^Beautiful. 
Holdlie — ^Lovely. 



Teutonici 

Linda — ^Lovely maid. 
Theodelinde («.), Yolande — 
Fairest in the land. 



CeUic. 



MEN. 



Pryd-ain — ^Father of beauty. 
Prudwen (w.) — ^Lady of beauty. 



WOMEN. 



Essylt, Yseult, Isolt — ^A spect- 
acle, a vision (of beauty). 
Gwen wyn wyn — Thrice fair. 



Flur — ^Flower. 

Gwend dydd — ^Fair lady of day. 
Gwen frid — Fair face. 
Gweneverj OldJEnglishjQKaoTe; 

Italian^ Ginevra, Genoflef&; 

Drenchj G^n^vi^ve — ^Fair wife. 
Dervoigil — Daughter pure and 

fair. 



Arabic, 



MEN. 

Hassan — ^Handsome. 
Persian f Behras — Beautiful as 
the day. 

WOMEN. 

Bustan — Garden. 
Zahr el Bustan— The flower of 
the garden. 



Zahr el Naring — Orange-blos- 
som. 

Yasimeen — Jasmine. 

Zarifa, ZareefiEih, Ghazaleh — 
Graceful. 

Shehrazad (Scherazade) — Open^ 
ingenuous countenance. 



t2 



276 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME ? 



Qtillanar; Pernany Gulnaxe — 
Pomegxanate-blcNSSom. 

Sasafeh— Willow. 

Maijaneh — Coral^ %. coral lips. 

KadeebelBan — ^Willow-branch, 
fig. of exquisite grace. 



Alif (letter^ Arabic)-— Tall and 

slender. 
Persian^ Qeiran — ^Antelope. 
Assyrian, Susan — ^A lily, or an 

iris, fig. radiantly bright. 
Egyptian, Lalahzer — A garden 

of tulips. 



North American Indian, 



MEN. 


Olitipa— Prairie-bird. 


Kokah — ^Antelope. 


Owaissa — ^Blue bird. 


Shinga wossa — The handsome 


Mong shong shaw. Wee 


bird. 


onka->^nding willow. 


WOMBN. 


Mahnahbezee — ^The swan. 


Tahmiroo — Starded fawn, %. 




soft dark eyes. 




Division 2. 


Complezioii, Hair, Height, &c. 


Hebrew. 


MKN. 


Edom- 


-Red. 



Greek, 



MEN. 



Seleucos — ^Brilliantly fair. 

Leucosie (w.) — ^Fair. 

Melander, Melanie (w.) — ^Dark. 

Melanthus, Melanthusa (w.) — 
Dark flower. 

Hyacinth (w. w.), Giacinta, Ja- 
cinthe — ^Dark flower and gem. 

Qlaucus, Glaucopis (w.) — ^Blue- 
eyed. 

Miltiades, Milto (w.) — Vermil- 
ion, brilliant complexion. 

F^hDB, I^ha (to.) — Eed- 
haired. 

Diochat^s — Splendid hair. 

Plato — Bnoad-chested, or wide 
forehead. 



WOMEN. 



Jjiriopo— Face of a Hly. 
Rhodope — Face of a rose. 
Kalyca — ^Rosebud. 
Rhoda, Rhodocella — Rose. 
Gkdatea — ^Bfilk-white. 
Chione — ^Like new-fallen snow. 
Cymo — Waves, fig. white as 

sea-foam. 
Cyanea — Fig. eyes blue as the 

sea. 
Chloris— Pale. 

Phryne' — Toad, fig. very pale. 
Argyrea, Argentine — Of silvery 

whiteness, 
lone, lanthe; lofissa — D«^ as 

a violet 



CLASS III. — ^PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 277 



Aurora — Beauty of moniing, ^g, 

fair. 
Lycoris — ^Beauty of twilight, fig. 

dark. 
Chryseis, Chryalla — Golden- 

liaired. 



Electra — ^Amber-haired. 
Xanthe — ^Yellow-haired. 
Leucophyra — ^White eyebrowa. 
Minutia — Small, delicately 
made. 



XEN. 

Alban, Albinia (tr.), Albyn, 

Aubyn — ^Fair. 
Caadidus — ^Brilliantly fair. 
Ebumus — White as ivory. 
Maurice, Maury — A Moor, fig. 

dark-complexioned. (Greek, 

anumros,) 
LongiQus — Tall. 
Gracchus — Slender. 
Paul, Paula ' (w.), Pauline (tp.) 

—Little. 
Csecilius, Cecilia (w.), Cecile — 

Grey-eyed. 
Aurelius, Aurelia (w,) — Golden- 
haired. 
Eosius, Eosianus, Hose (ir.), 

Ilosa(w.), Rosina (w.) — Rose, 

fig. rosy complexion. 



Latin. 

Caesar, Caesonia (w.) — Haying 
much hair. 

Julius, Julian, Julia (w.), Giu- 
letta (w,) — Soft-haired. 

Cincinnatus * — Curly-haired. 

Nigel — ^Black-haired. 

Rufus,* Rufina (w.), SuUa — 
Red-haired. 

Rutilius, Rutilia (w.) — Fiery 
red. 

Flavins, Flavia (w.) — Yellow- 
haired. 

WOMEN. 

Rosalie-^Rose and lily. 

Rosalba — ^White rose. 

Bianca, Blanche, Lily, Lilian, 

Lilias, Lilla — All significant 

of fairness. 



MEN. 

Alberic, Aubrey — Fair-haired 

chief. 
Sweyn — ^Young man. 



Teutonic. 

Rosalind — ^Maiden like a rose. 
Golde — Golden-haired. 
Brunehilde — ^Dark-eyed maiden. 
Griselda — Grey-eyed maiden. 



WOMEN. 

Tetdonic ^ Latin, Rosamund — 
Rose of the world. 



Heaburge — High tower, ^g. 

taU. 
Bugega — ^Nimble as a hind. 



MEN. 

Dugald («.) — ^Black-haired. 
Gael — A strong man. 
Vhir dhu Mohr — The great 
black-haired man. 



Celtic. 

WOMEN. 

Gwyneth — ^The fair one. 
Rowena — ^The white-necked (P). 
Foinnghuala — ' Fair-shouldered 
woman.' 



278 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Brenna^ Brenda (*.) — Dark- I Faith fail ge — 'Honeysuckle of 
kaired (braii^ raven), \ ringlets.' 



Arabic, 

MEN. 

Abu sk Sk4mat — Fatker of 
moles. 



WOMEN. 

El Ward fi 1 Akmann— A rose- 
bud. 



Soosan— A lily. 

Zuleika, («.) Zeleekak — Bril- 
liantly £edr. 

Leyla^ Leila • («.) — ^Nigkt, fig. a 
dark beauty. 

Rakab— Wkite cloud, ^g. fair- 
neaa, also of fickleness. 



Division 3. 

Personal Defects, 

Seln'ew, 

MEN. 

Necho — ^Lame. 



/ 



Persian, 

MEN. 

Barasmones — ^Wko squints. 



MEN. 

Macer^ Isckas (to,) — Tkin, mea- 
gre. 



Greek. 

Gyrtius — ^Bent. 
Lambda (w.) (letter i, a) 
Crooked legs. 



Latin, 



MEN. 

Claudius, Claude (m. w,), Clau- 
dine (w,) — ^Lame. 

Plautus, Plautilla(tt;.)-- Flat- 
footed. 

Lavinius, Lavinia (w,), Scsevola 
— ^Left-kanded. 

PsBtus — Sligkt squint 

Strabo — Crooked eyes. 

Ravilius — Red-eyed. 

Clocles — One-eyed. 

Balbus, Balbina (w,) — A stam- 
merer. 



Naso— Large nose. 
Grypus — ^Hook-nosed. 
Camus — ^Monkey-nosed. 
Calvus— Bald. 
Crassus — ^Fat. 
Flaccus — ^Hanging ears. 
Gibbus — Hump-backed. 
CurvuB — ^Bent 

Turpilianus, Turpilia (w,) — Un- 
sightly, ugly. 

WOMEN. 

Raucula— Hoarse voice. 



NOTICES TO CLASS IH. 279 



NOTICES TO CLASS HI.— PERSONAL 
CHARACTERISTICS. 

^ Naaman, — ^Does not tlie meaning of this name heighten our 
interest in the Bible story of Naaman the Leper P It was not 
only the successful general, the captain of the host of the King of 
Syria, upon whose arm his sovereign leant when he went to ' the 
house of Rimmon,' but a man distinguished also for his personal 
beauty, upon whom this terrible disease had fiallen. The name 
borne by a Syrian would seem to have been a long-established 
Hebrew name, for we find it amongst the sons of Benjamin. 

* Phryne, — This tbo celebrated woman owed the unpleasant 
name by which she was known to the extreme paleness of her com- 
plexion j but her exquisite beauty rendered her independent of 
colouring, and she disdained to paint like other women of her class. 
In the eyes of all good and wise men Corinth was disgraced, not 
embellished, by Phryne's statue of gold; but the disgrace went 
farther back, even to Corinth's acceptance of gifts from so infamous 
a source. By the extreme liberality of her disposition we are, 
however, touchingly reminded of Phryne's original name — Mnesa- 
reta, memory of virtue, 

3 Patda and Patdme have been here repeated under their usual 
Latin derivations, lest my readers should not agree with my refer- 
ring them to the Greek word iravXa, rest, 

* CmcirmatiM, — ^Ancient astrologers asserted that children bom 
during the rising of the Pleiades had curly hair. 

^ Mufua. — The numerous Latin names (amongst which may be 
numbered^Byrrhus, Byrrhia [w.], Burra [w.], apparently derived 
£rom the Greek purrhos) signifying red hair, which was much 
esteemed amongst the Romans, are in curious contrast to their 
lack of names significant of dark beauty, of which the Greeks 
had so many. 

« Zeykif Leila. — ^Amongst the many characteristic Arabic names 
for which the writer has been indebted to Lane's ^ Notes to the 
Arabian Nights,' to her regret she found untranslated this lovely 
name of world-wide celebrity, as the darling of all Eastern poets. 
Unable to rest its signification on better authority, the writer ven- 
tures to suggest that, as Leilat and Leylat sig. nights, it is more 



280 WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 

than probable that Leila sig. night. For one of the lustrous-eyed^ 
dark-haired daughters of the East few names could be more 
appropriate : — 

She walks in beauty, like the night 
Of cloudless dimes and stany skies. 

The Greeks had a name nearly s3^onynK>us^ Lycoris^ beauty oftm" 



In Ayesha, another celebrated Eastern name^ it will be seen that 
another suggested signification is given in default of an authorised 
one. The writer supposes it to be derived &om the Persian word 
aisehe, happy. 



CLASS IV MISCELLANEOUS. 



281 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Classified List — Class IV. Miscellaneous— AnimalB, plants, 
places, letters, numbers, &c. — Notices — including names 
principally from the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Celtic, 
Arabic, North American Indian, &c. &c. 



CLASS rv. 



MISCELLANEOUS, 



INOLTJDINa NAMES SIONIFTINa ANIMALS, PLANTS, PLACES, 
LETTEHS, NUMBEBS, ETC. 



H^ew, 



HEN. 



James, Jacob; liaHan, GHia- 
como, Jacopo ; 8paMkj lago, 
Biego, Jacqueline (10.), Ja- 
quetta (w.) — ^Beguiling. 

Moses; Arttbic, Moussa, Mnsa, 
Muza — ^Dra-wn from the wa- 
ter. 

Adam — ^Red earth. 

Bartholomew--Son that sus- 
pends the waters. 

Abijam— Father of the sea. 



Eglaim-— Drops of the sea. 

Japhet — ^Hunter. 

Nimrod-— Leopard. 

Arad— -wild ass, fig. hunter of 

them. 
Jubal— A trumpet. 
Job — One who mourns. 

WOXBN. 

Mary,^ Maria, Miriam, Mari- 
amne, Marion, Hfinnie, Mar- 
tha — ^Bitterness. 



Greek. 



MEN. 



Philip, Philippa (w,), Philip- 
pina (w.), Dorippa (w.) — 
Lover of horses. 



Gteorge, Georgina (w.) — ^A culti- 
vator. 

Pelagic ; Spanish, Pelayo— The 
ocean, iig, a mariner. 



282 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Antiochus — ^For or against 

Didymus, Didyma (w.) — A 
twin. 

Blaise; 8p<m%8h, Bias — insen- 
sate. 

lopsius — Good cheer. 

WOMEN. 

Penelope— A worker in cloth; 
or a silent worker. 



Lalage — A talker. 

Thetis, Thalassis— The sea. 

Scione — One who lives in the 
shade. 

Tryphena, Tryphosa — Luxu- 
rious, a lover of pleasure. 

Meconium — Poppy-juice. 



Latin, 



KEN. 

Urban — ^living in the town. 
Peregrine — a stranger. 
Sylvester, Sylvanus, Sylvia (w.) 

— ^Prom a forest, strange, 

homely. 
Pontius — ^The sea. 
Pilate — a dart. 



Caracalla— A garment 
Fabricius — ^A smith. 

WOMEN. 

Spanish, Dolores; Italian, Do- 

lara— Sorrow. 
Telega — Cloth, fig. a worker, 

industrious. 



MEN. 

Eidda — A horseman. 



MEN. 

Lear, Lyr — Sea-shore. 

WOMEN. 

Cordelia — Token of 



Teutonic. 

Sholto («.) (ceol)— A ship, fig. a 



Celtic. 

flowing. 
Morgiana — ^Lady of the sea. 
Teutonic 'cmd Celtic, Nanthilda 
— Child of the torrent or 
dingle. 



MEN. 

Gustasp 5 Spanish, Gaspar, 
Gasparine (w.), Caspar— A 



the 

Persian, 

horseman. 
Gour — Wild ass (hunter of 
them). 



NorOi American Indian, 

MEN. 

Wash ke mon ge— The fast dancer. | Kah beck a (w.)— A twin. 
Titian, Figian Islands, 

MEN. 

Batinisavu— Edge of a waterfSall. 



CLASS IV ^MISCELLANEOUS. 



283 



Zimri — ^A branch. 



Plants. 
Hebrew, 

KEN. 



Serug— A shoot, a tendril. 



HEN. 

Smilax — A yew. 

WOMEN. 

Cottina — Crown of wild olive. 



Greek. 

Daphne — ^Laurel. 
Ipsea — ^Ivy. 
Phillia — ^A reed. 



MEN. 

Appinfl — ^A parsley-crown, prize 

of victory. 
Fabian, Fabius, Fabiola (w.) — 

A bean. 
Cicero — ^A vetch (or wart). 
Papyriufl — ^Papyrus. 



Quercus — ^Red oak. 

Sirpeius — Willow. 

Vitia — A vine. 

Lentulus — ^Lentile. 

Urtia, Urticula (w.) — ^A nettle. 

Pisius — A pea. 



North American Indian, 



MEN. 



Wnkmisir — Com. 
Pah ta choochee — Shooting 
cedar. 



WOMEN. 



Shako— Mint 
Shedea — ^Wild sage. 
Layloo ah pe ai she kaw (!) — 
The grass, bush, and blossom. 



Hebrew, 



MEN. 

(Gamaliel— The camel (or 

recompense) of God. 
Becher — ^Young cameL 
Hamor — ^An ass. 



the 



Zippor, Zipporah (w.)— A bird. 
Oreb — A raven. 

Hagabah, Agabus — A grass- 
hopper. 



284 



WHAT IS YOUR NAME? 



Greek, 



MEN, 




Saurus — ^A lizard. 


Hippias— A horse. 




Cochlis— A snail. 


Panthera — A panther. 




Cornelius — Rook, bird of good 


Moschus — ^A calf. 




omen. 


Alectryon — ^A cock. 




WOMRN. 


Corax— A raven. 




Ega, Eriphrear— A kid. 


Myllia—A muUet. 




Chelidonis — ^A swallow. 


Batrachus — A frog. 




Telligida— A little grashopper. 




Latin. 






Hircius, Capeiv— A goat 


Catulufl— Little dog. 




Vossius— A fox. 


Camelius — Camel. 
Vitemua--Calf. 




Vulturgius— Vulture. 
Passer — Sparrow. 


Asellufl, Asinius, Asella 


(«;.)- 


Corvus, Corvinus — Crow. 


Ass. 




Mergu&— A sea-mew. 


Murenar— Lamprey. 




WOMEN. 


Mugillanus — ^Mullet. 




Felicular— A kitten. 


Vespasian, Vespellian— ' 


Wasp. 


Muscar-A fly. 




Places. 


MEN. 




WOMEN. 


Tiberius, BritAnnicus, Germani- 


Nydia, Nessida, Sabina — 


cus, Gallus, Gaetano 


(Caje- 


modem Indiana, Vimeira, 


tano) — modem Khelit, &c. 


Alma.» 


Lydia, Lesbia, Elida, Melita^ 






Letters. 


• 


Greek, 


Beta, Delta, Epsilon, 


Theta — ^Name given to -^sop, significant 


of acuteness, &c. 






Numbers. 




Latin. 


Una~l. 




Sextus, Sextina(i(;.) Sextllia (w) 


Secundus, Secundilla (w 


0-2. 


—6. 


Tertius, TertuUus, Tertiillian, 


Septimus, Septilia (w.)— 7. 


Tertia(w.)— 3. 




Octavius, Octavia («;.)-— 8. 


Quartus, Quartia (w.) — 4. 


Nonius, Nonia (w.) — ^9, 


Quintus, Qoiintin, Quintillian, 


Decimus, Decima (w.) — 10. 


Quintilla (?(7.)--5. 







NOTICES TO CLASS IV. 285 



NOTICES TO CLASS IV.— MISCELLANEOUS. 

^ Mary. — ^Fram the sea^ that vafit ezpaofie of bitter waters, the 
Roman Catholics have derived some of the titles they bestow on 
the Virgin Mary, ' Star of the sea,' ^ Lady of the sea.' From the 
bitterness of the sea^-that ever-present type to the Hebrew mind, 
whether for gladness or grie^ the name of Miriam, as significant of 
the bitterness of bondage, may have been derived. In connection 
with this name, it is curious to notice that at the Feas); of the 
Passover, when the overthrow of this bondage is commemorated, 
a cup of salt water (in remembrance of the Bed Sea, it is supposed) 
is placed by the Jews beside the bitter herbs which are dipped 
into it by tiiose who partake of the feast 

* Alma, — Names of places have never formed a very large or 
favorite class of names ; a very few, therefore, have been given only 
as specimens. In our day, and amongst ourselves, such names are 
seldom met with out of one class of persons. Soldiers and sailors, 
wanderers over the face of the globe, not unfrequently give to 
their cMldren names derived jfrom the place of their birth. Vic- 
tories, too, are commemorated in this way. It will be in the 
recoUection of all how many a fatherless babe but a few years back 
was baptized in tears by the name of Alma. Almah, amongst the 
ancient Jews, was a word which signified a maiden. 

In a churchyard where tombstones, as is their wont, were 
covered with records of departed wortfi, a little child looked up 
and asked, ^But where are all the wicked people buried P ' Such 
a question might seem not irrelevant here. 

A glorious array of noble and excellent qualities, epithets of 
dazzling beauty and exquisite grace ! What, then, were the wicked 
and the ugly people called P 

A few specimens of names of this last unfortunate class have 
been g^ven, but individual names were for the most part given in 
hope^ uttered with blessings by loving lips, so that by far the 
greater number of significations are pleasing. 

Some evil-sounding names there are, which, where evil livers 
were there too, must have been names of evil import. The Koman 
name Locusta was but too terribly significant of one whose pre- 
sence was a curse \ a devouxer of life, death and desolation follow- 



286 WHAT IS YOUB NAME? 

ing her steps. Locusta was a professed poisoner. The Greeks^ 
too^ had a Panther, and a Ljcomedes, mind of a wolf, and Tigris 
was a woman's name I It must be confessed that we also had 
nearer home names of very unpleasant signification. Amongst 
the gentle Creiwys and Gwenwynwyns, the ' thrice fair ' of the 
ancient Britons, moved a terrible creature Gwrvorwyn, the ' man- 
maid ' or virago I Noble Machtildas and kindly Elgivas were no 
doubt often jostled aside by a Selethrytha, a good threatener. 

But my labour of love has been to seek out for names of good 
not evil import. Would that in those old times these good names 
had always been lived up to ; but the story of the Persian visitor to 
Athens is well known. The Oriental, gifted himself with a re- 
splendent name, looked admiringly on men distinguished by such 
superb names as Polycletes, t?ie very celebrated, Olitomachus, the 
iUustrious warrior, till a better-informed friend disenchanted him 
by the news that his obeisances had been wasted on men whose 
lives were the exact opposite of their names — bestowed on them 
in infancy by fond and hopeful parents. But need such recollec- 
tions discourage us in the ennobling task we may or ought to set 
before ourselves ? Oh, let us not forget toe answer to Christian 
names. Should we not strive truly so to do ? First, in the fuU and 
wide and glorious significance of the words Christian Names \ and 
next, in the individual graces which our respective individual 
names may signify. 

Is the task hard ? Are our Christian names so glorious that we 
despair of living up to them P Despair ! with Heaven before us 
and a Saviour at our side P 

^ Faint yet pursuing,' 

Wearied still the race renewing ; 

Hold on thy way, brave heart. 
In spirit strong, though limbs are fSeiiling ) 
Eesolute, though life is paling. 

Soldier of Christ thou art ! 

Now may sweet Heaven send thee 
Gbod angels to befriend thee, 

To be thy spirit's stay ; 
Thy faltering steps grow stronger, 
Oh, yet a little longer 

Brave heart, hold on thy way. 



NOTICES TO CLASS IV. 287 

Briar and thorn overleaping^ 
Whicli treacherously are creeping 

To bar the appointed road ; 
Through the hot noontide speeding^ 
The chill night-dews unheeding^ 

Press forward— to thy God I 

Powers of hell defeating — 
In thy bright armour meeting 

IJnharmed their every shock ; 
Thy Captain's banner o'er thee, 
His blessed Cross before thee ; 

Thy refuge and thy rock. 

In the straight path abiding, 
Where Faith's pure star is guiding. 

Bear up, thou gallant one. 
Still increasing light shall cheer thee, 
When thy destined goal more near thee 

Tells that thy race is run ! 

See where a wreath of glory, 
More bright than human story. 

Hath given to mightiest deed, 
With starry light undying, 
On Heaven's pure altar lying, 

Awaits the conqueror's meed I 

By Him Whose mercy's never-ending, 

The Saviour in Whose strength thou'rt wending 

Shall then sweet rest be given. 
'Faint yet pursuing,' 
Wearied— still the race pursuing. 

Speed on, brave heart, to Heaven ! 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES 

WITH THEIR 

CLASSES AND DIVISIONS. 



Notet.-^A few more diminatives and varieties of form in Names are here 
added, which woald have over-crowded the Classified List. 

French terminations have occasionally been given, especially to women's 
names where the sound is more pleasing, as in Celestine, Hortense, Valerie, &c. 

Amongst Hebrew and Greek names some will be found which were common 
to men and women ; as with us there are a few so used by both — such as 
Florence, Cecil, &c. 

Where the writer has been unable to decide between two significations, she 
has submitted both suggestions to her readcris, as in Pamela, &c. 

Occasionally the same name may be found in different languages, having 
'distinct origins and signiP cations, as the Greek and the Teutonic Ida. In some 
cases the meanings of such names somewhat assimilate, as the Hebrew Almah 
significant of a maidenj and the Latin Alma signifying holy, pure, and fair. 
Alma has, however, been placed in Class 4 amongst * Names derived from Places,' 
as it is absolutely from the Russian river and its mingled memories of pride 
and grief that the name has become with us ' a household word.' 



u 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES 

'WITH THBIB 

CLASSES AlO) DIVISIONS. 



II 




1 


9 


Page 


02 




4 


II 


Page 


Heb. 


Aaron 


2 


258 


Heb. 


Adam 




21,281 


Ar. 


Abd Allah 


1 


2 


54, 239 


Grk. 


AdamastoB 


2 


7 


253 


If 


Abd el Ahad 


1 


2 


239 


Tea. 


Adelaide 


2 


9 


9,50,5 


}) 


Abd el Kader 


1 


2 


239 


tt 


Ad^le 


2 


9 


261 


» 


Abd el Eadoor 


1 


2 


239 


yt 


Adelicia 


2 


9 


261 


n 


Abd el Melik 


1 


2 


216,239 


It 


Adeline, Aline 


2 


9 


261 


ft 


AbdelMeshid 


1 


2 


2*39 


n 


Adeliz,Adeliza 


2 


9 


261 


n 


Abd er Bahman 


1 


2 


54.216 


n 


Adza (dim« of 


2 


9 


261 


« 


AbdesSelam 


1 


2 


216,239 




Adeliza) 








Chal. 


Abd n Shems 


1 


2 


238, 239 


«« 


Adeleve 


2 


3 


246 


Ar. 


AbdelWadood 


1 


2 


239 


Heb. 


Adin 


3 


1 


274 


Heb. 


Abdiel 


1 


2 


236 


,« 


Adlai 


2 


3 


245 


Ass. 


Abed Nego 


1 


2 


92, 238 


Tea. 


Adolphos, 


2 


6 


252 


Ar. 


Abd Ql Leyl, 


4 








Adolphine 










servant qf 








Heb. 


Adonibezek 


2 


9 


258 




night 








ff 


Adonizedek 


2 


9 


258 


Heb. 


Abel 


4 




24 


n 


Adoram 


3 


1 


274 


Heb. 


Abiel 


1 


2 


236 


H 


Adrammeleck 


2 


9 


258 


}f 


Abigail 


2 


3 


23, 245 


Grk. 


Adrian 


2 


7 


253 


}f 


Abijam 


4 




281 


tj 


Aedoniam 


2 


11 


264 




Abinoam 


3 


1 


222, 274 


n 


Aelianas 


2 


4 


247 


^ 


Abitnb 


2 


2 


243 


«, 


Aemilianos 


2 


11 


264 




Abner 


2 


3,4 


223, 245 


Celt. 


Aeron 


2 


4 


248 










247 


Teu. 


Afra 


2 


10 


263 


Grk 


Abra 


3 


1 


274 


Heb. 


Agabos 


4 




283 


Heb. 


Abraham 


2 


9 


91,2i8f 


Grk. 


Agapetas 


2 


3 


245 


9t 


Absalom 


2 


3 


245 


n 


Agatha, Aga- 


2 


2 


243 


At. 


El Abtan 


2 


8 


258 




thoina 








n 


Abu '1 Fazl 


2 


2 


244 


n 


Agathenor 


2 


2 


243 


yy 


Abu Noor 


2 


4 


249 


n 


Agathon 


I 


2 


243 




Aba Saadat 


2 


12 


266 


n 


Agarista 


2 


2 


243 




Aba 'sh Sh^ f 
mat i 


2 


12 


} 84, 278 


„ 


Aglaia 


2 


4 


248 




3 


2 


Lat. 


Agnes, Nancy, 


2 


10 


263 


}f 


Abn '1 Wefa 


2 


5 


250 




(Welsh) Nest 








Grk. 


Actis 


2 


4 


248 


Heb. 


Aholibamah 


2 


9 


259 


Heb. 


Ada, Adah 


3 


1 


48, 126, 
274 


NA.I 


Ah kay ee pix 
en 


2 


7 


256 


Ten. 


Adalbert 


2 


4 


248 


Ar. 


Ahmed, Hamed 


2 


9 


54, 261 



u2 



292 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



Q2 




i 


si 


Page 


Pi 

Teu. 




i 


n 


Page 


Lat. 


lAignan 






Alphonse, Al- 


2 


6 


252 


Old 


2 


10 


263 




pbonsine 








Fr. 








tt 


Alfonzo, Ilde- 


2 


6 


252 


KJL.I 


Akwiab, War 


2 


.7 






fonzo 










Eagle 








n 


Alured 


2 


8 


258 


Ar. 


Ala ed Deen 


1 


2 


239 


If 


Alwyn 


2 


3 


246 




(Aladdin) 








Lat. 


AraadeoSjAma- 


1 


2 


77, 237 


Grk. 


Alan, Aland 


2 


4 


247 




dis 










(fromAeiianus) 








» 


Amabel, Amy 


2 


3 


245 


Ten. 
T.at. 


Alaric 

Alban, Albinia, 


2 
3 


9 
2 


260 
226, 277 


Sans. 
Teu. 


j- Amalia 


2 


2 


244 




Aubjn 








)) 


Amalario 


2 


2,9 


231, 244, 


Ten. 


Alberic, Aubrey 


3 


2 


277 










260 


n 


Albert, Alberto, 
Albertine 


2 


4 


2, 30, 205, 
248 


n 


Amalaberga 


2 


2,9 


231, 244, 
260 


Grk. 


Alcander 


2 


7 


253 


Lat. 


Amand, 


2 


3 


245 


ff 


Alcestes 


2 


7 


253 




Amanda 








Ten. 


Aldegonde, 


2 


9 


261 


»» 


Amato 


2 


3 


245 




Olga 








Grk. 


Ambrose 


2 


1 


242 


}} 


Aldred 


2 


9 


260 


Ar. 


El'Amjad 


2 


9 


261 


Grk. 


Alexander, 


2 


6 


2, 30, 102, 


Grk. 


Amaranth 


2 


1 


242 




Alexandra, 






200, 251 


»» 


Amaryllis 


2 


10 


263 




Alexandrina 








Lat. 


Amias. See 








n 


Alaster, Allis- 


2 


6 


251 




Amand 










ter, Alick, 








Heb. 


Ammon,Amana 


2 


5 


250 




Saunders 








Teu. 


Ammie 


2 


/ 6 


252 


ft 


Alcides 


2 


6 


251 


Grk. 


Amelia (s.) 


2 


11 


264 


If 


Alethe,Alethea 


2 


6 


189, 250 


Ar. 


Amin, Ami- ) 
neb, AminaJ 


1 


2 


230. 241, 


Teu. 


Alicia, Alice 


2 


9 


261 




2 


5 


250 


ff 


Allix (dim. of 


2 


9 


261 


%t 


Aminedeen 


1 


2 


239 




Adelaide) 








Egy. 


Amosis 


1 


2 


22, 238 


Grk. 


Alexis, Alexia 


2 


6 


102,251 


Grk. 


Amenaide 


2 


12 


238, 265 


Heb. 


Almah 


2 


4 


247 


n 


Amyntas 


2 


6 


251 


Lat. 


Alma 


4 




284,285 


ii 


Ampelis, Am- 


3 


1 


275 


Teu. 


Alodie 


2 


9 


261 




pelisca 








Teu. 
Old 


1 Aloys (from 
Louisa) 


2 


9 


260 


n 


Anastasius, 
Anastosia 


2 


I 


242 


Fr. 








11 


Anatole, Ana- 


2 


4 


247 


Grk. 


Alectryon 


4 




284 




tolia 








}} 


Alcibiades 


2 


7 


253 


Heb. 


Anah 


2 


11 


264 


Ar. 


Alif 


3 


2 


276 


Grk. 




2 


9 


259 


Ten. 


Algar 


2 


7 


254 


11 


Andrew 


2 


7 


102, 200, 


n 


Algernon (s.) 


2 


7 


254 










224, 253 


n 


Alfred 


2 


10 


121, 263 


11 


Andronicns 


2 


7 


253 


n 


Alfric 


2 


10 


263 


Celt 


Angus, Ango 


2 


2 


49, 244 


t» 


Almeric, Ayl- 
mer (s.) 


2 


9 


260 


Heb. 


Anna, Anne, 
Annie 


2 


2,6 


2,31.77, 
243, 251 


Ar. 


Almir 


2 


9 


261 


H.Sp. 


Anite, Anina 


2 


2,6 


243 


n 


Alp 


2 


7 


256 


H.Fr. 


Annette, AnaTs, 


2 


2,6 


251 


Pers. 


Alp Arslan 


2 


7 


256 




Nanette, Na- 








Teu. 


}AlYarez(8.) 


2 


9 


260 




non, Nannie, 
Nanina 









AXPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



293 



II 




i 

5 

1 


i| 


Page 






3 

5 




Page 


Grk 


Angela, Ange- 


2 


121, 151, 


Grk. 


Artemisia 


1 


2 


235 




lina, Angelica 






237 


Celt. 


Arthur 


2 


7 


200, 255 


Hin. 


Ani Mutoo 


2 


3 


247 


Ar. 


Asad 


2 


12 


266 


Lat. 


Annunziata 


1 


2 


237 


Lat. 


A8ellu8,A8ella 


4 




284 


Teu. 


Anselm 


1 


2 


238, 241 


Fr. 


Asile 


2 


6 


191 


Lat 


Anthony, Auto • 


2 


7 


254 


Lat. 


Asinius 


2 


6 


284 




nia, Antoninus, 








Pers. 


Askn 


2 


7 


256 




Antonina, An- 








Ar. 


Assad 


2 


7 


256 




toinette 








Phoe. 


Asdrubal 


1 


2 


238 


Grk. 


Antiochus 


4 




282 


Grk. 


Aspasia 


2 


11 


46, 264 


}* 


Antenor 


2 


7 


253 


Pers. 


Aspatha 


1 


2 


238 


» 


Anthemia 


3 


1 


275 


Grk. 


A8pidia,a«AieW 


2 


6 




Pers. 


Anushirwan 


2 


2 


244 


Ital. 


Assunta 


1 


2 




(}rk. 


Apelles 


2 


4 


247 


Grk. 


Asteria 


2 


4 


247 


Lat. 


Aper 


2 


7 


159, 254 


♦♦ 


Asyncritus 


2 


2 


243 


71 


Appins 


4 




283 


Teu. 


Athalric 


2 


9 


260 


M 


Aquila 


2 


7 


254 


n 


Athelsten 


2 


9 


260 


J1 


Arabella 


3 


1 


45, 275 


Grk. 


Athenais 


2 


8 


257 


Heb. 


Arad 


4 




281 


» 


Athanasius, A- 


2 


2 


129, 242 


Ork. 


Archeleonig 


2 


7 


254 




thanasia 








)} 


Archelaus 


2 


9 


72, 259 


Teu. 


Attala 


2 


9 


260 


n 


Archebulus 


2 


9 


259 


n 


Aubrey (from 


3 


2 


277 


» 


Archestrates 


2 


9 


259 




Alberic) 








n 


Archippus 


2 


9 


259 


Lat. 


Aubyn (from 


3 


2 


277 


n 


Archimedes 


2 


8 


257 




Alban) 








Teu. 


Archibald 


2 


7 


254 


Teu. 


Audrey (from 


2 


8 


258 


Celt. 


Ardgal 


2 


7 


255 




Ethelreda) 








Grk. 


Aretas, Areta 


2 


2 


225, 243 


Ut. 


Augustus, Au- 


2 


9 


76, 260 


j» 


Aretaphila 


2 


2 


243 




gusta 








Heb. 


Areli 


2 


7 


253 


»» 


Augustine, 


2 


9 


260 


Grk. 


Argentine 


3 


2 


276 




Austin 








)} 


Argyrea 


3 


2 


276 


Teu. 


Audovere 


2 


12 


246 


» 


Ariadne 


2 


11 


264 


„ 


Aulaflf 


2 


10 


51 


Heb. 


Ari, Arieh 


2 


7 


253 


Grk. 


Aura 


2 


11 


264 


yen. 


Arisai 


2 


7 


256 


Lau 


Aurelius, Anre- 


3 


2 


277 


Heb. 


Ariel 


2 


2 


236 




iian, Aurelia 








Pers. 


Ariana, Arria 
Aristides 


2 
2 


9 
2 


261 
243 


Grk. 


Aurora | 


2 
3 


4 
1 


} 247, 277 


n 


Aritttocles 


2 


2 


83,243 


Lat. 


Auxilius 


2 


6 


251 


n 


Aristotle 


2 


2 


243 


Heb. 


Ave 


2 


12 


182, 265 


n 


Aristarchus 


2 


9 


259 


Teu. 


Avice (Hawisa) 


2 


6 


252 


»» 


Aristocrates 


2 


2,9 


185, 259 


Pers. 


Ayesha (s.) 


2 


12 


266, 280 


«» 


Aristobulus 


2 


6,8 


251,267 


Teu. 


Aylmer,Almeric 


2 


9 


260 


Teu. 


Arnulph 


2 


7 


255 


Teu. 


Aylward, 


2 


9 


260 


)i 


Armand 


2 


9 


260 




Athelward 








Pers. 


Arnold 
ArsUn 


2 
2 


7 
7 


255 
256 


Heb. 

Ar. 


}Ayub(Job) 


4 




281 


M 


Arslantash 


2 


7 


255 


Heb. 


Azariah 


1 


2 


92, 236 


V 


Arslowpe 


2 


7 


255 


)> 


Azrael 


1 


2 


119 


Grk. 


Arsinoe 


2 


8 


46, 257 


Grk. 


Azelie 


2 


10 


263 


»> 


Artemas, Arte- 


1 


2 


235 


Ar. 


Azimuth 


2 


6 


203 




mis 








» 


Azim 


2 


6 


252 



294 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



w > 




1 


Q- 
2 


Page 


Lat. 




2 


12 


Page 


Ar. 


Aziz, Azeezah 


2 


244, 246 


Benvenuto 


245 


Heb. 


Aznr 


2 


6 


251 


If 


Benevolus 


2 


6 


251 












Heb. 


Benjamin 


2 


3 


245 












Teu. 


Beornhelm 


2 


6 


252 


Grk. 


Bacco, Bac- 


1 


2 


235 


n 


Beornotb 


2 


5 


25U 




chis 








Heb. 


( Beppo (from 
1 Giuseppe) 


1 


2 


236 


Ar. 


Bahr el Kn- 


2 


3 


246 


lul. 










nooz 








Teu. 


Berenger, Be- 


2 


7 


254 


Pen. 


Baharam 


2 


7 


255 




rengaria 








Cau. 


BaJHzet 


1 


2 


238 


Grk. 


Berenice 


2 


7 


253 


Lat. 


Balbus, Bal. 
bine 


3 


3 


278 


Teu. 


Bernard, Ber- 
narda, Bernar- 


2 


7 


9,255 


Ass. 


Balthazar 


1 


2 


238 




dine 








Lat. 


Baptist, Bap- 


1 


2 


237 


11 


Bertha 


2 


4 


50, 248 




tittta 








11 


Berthold 


2 


4 


246, 248 


Heb. 


Barak 


2 


4 


247 


ji 


Berthelm 


2 


4 


248 


Phoe. 


Barca 


2 


4 


247 


n 


Bertrand 


2 


4 


248 


Pere. 


Barasmanes 


3 


3 


278 


11 


Bertram 


2 


7 


254 


Heb. 


Baijonah 


2 


10 


262 


Grk. 


Beta 


4 




284 


)} 


Barnabas 


2 


8 


257 


Heb. 


Bethiah 


1 


2 


236 


11 


Bartholomew 


4 




281 


Teu. 


Betstan 


2 


2 


244 


n 


BartimeoB 


2 


9 


259 


Heb. 


Bettina (Eliza- 


1 


2 


236 


t* 


Baruch 


2 


12 


265 




beth) 








Grk. 


Basil, Basileos. 


2 


9 


150 


Lat. 


Bevis 


3 


1 


275 


11 


Basilis, Basi 


2 


9 


259 


»> 


Bianca, Blanche 


3 


2 


8,277 




line, Basilica 








Heb. 


Bithron 


2 


11 


264 


Celt. 
Teu. 


Bathaiial 
Bathilde 


2 
2 


7 
2 


255 
244 


Grk. 
Spa. 


] Blaise, Bias 


4 




282 


Heb. 


Bathsheba 


1 


2 


236 


Lat. 


Blandine 


2 


11 


264 


Vitn. 


Batinasavu 


4 




282 


Ar. 


Boabdil (8.), 


2 


3 


246 


Grk. 


Batracbus 


4 




111,284 




Keeper of the 








Tea. 


Beage, Beage- 
stan 


2 


3 


^46 




gate of the 
heart 








Lat 


Beata 


1 


2 


^37 


Heb. 


Boaz 


2 


7 


253 


i» 


Beatrice 


2 


12 


2,9,30,46, 


Celt. 


Boadicea (a.) 


2 


7 


229, 255 










226, 266 


Grk. 


Boetius 


2 


6 


251 


Ar. 


Bedr Baaim 


2 


4 


249 


Celt. 


Boiorigb, Brian 


2 


7 


255 


11 


Bedr er Deen 


1 


2 


239 




(8.) 








n 


El Bedr el Ke- 


2 


4 


249 


Lat. 


Bona 


2 


2 


244 




beer 








11 


Bonaventura 


2 


12 


266 


Heb. 


Becher 


2 


3 


283 


n 


Boniface 


2 


12 


266 


Pers. 


Behadar 


2 


7 


255 


Celt. 


Botolph 


2 


6 


252 


Ar 


Behadir 


2 


7 


255 


11 


Brenda, Brenna 


3 


2 


99, 278 


Hin. 


Bebadoor 


2 


7 


255 


11 


Brian (s.) 


2 


7 


255 


Pers. 


Behras 


3 


I 


275 


Teu. 


Bridget, Bride 


2 


6 


252 


Asa. 




1 


2 


238 


Lat. 


Britannicus 


4 




284 


19 


Belteshazzar, 
Baltbasar 


1 


2 


238 


Ten. 


Brunehaut, 
Biunehilde 


3 


2 


277 


11 


Belus 


I 


I 


235 


Celt. 


Budignat 


2 


"7 


255 


Lat. 


Benedict, Be- 


1 


2 


9, 237, 266 


Ar. 


Budoor 


2 


4 


48,249 




nedicta, Be- 








Celt. 


Bugega 


3 


2 


277 




uuit, Benoite 








Grk. 


Bulls 


2 


8 


257 



ALPHABETICAL LIST 07 KAMES. 



295 



II 




3 



2 


|l 


Page 


II 




1 


II 


Page 


Celt 


Mn 


4 


248 


Lat 


Cato 


2 


8 


258 


Ar. 


Bastaa 


3 


1 


275 


}i 


Catullus 


4 




284 












Tea. 


Cedric (8.) 


2 


7 


255 












Ar. 


Celb, Celba 


2 


5 


250 


Grk. 


Cadmus 


2 


8 


257 


Lat 


Celestinus, Ce- 


2 


2 


243, 263 


Celt. 


Cadwallader 


2 


7 


255 




lestine, Celeste 








n 


Cadinar 


2 


7 


255 


Grk. 


Celia, Celine, 


2 


9 


259 


Lat 


CflMilius, Cecil, 


3 


2 


277 




Cenie 










Cecilia, Cecile 








Lat 


Celsus 


2 


9 


260 


Lat. 


) Cawar, Csbso- 
f nia 


3 


2 


76,277 


Celt 


Ceolmund 


2 


6 


252 


San. 


4 




75 


Grk. 


Cephas 


2 


7 


253 


Lat. 


Caias, Cam 


2 


9 


260 


f) 


Chasremon, 


2 


12 


265 


Heb. 


Caleb 


2 


5 


250 




Charimene 








Grk. 


Caliztos, Ca- 


3 


1 


274 


N.A.I 




2 


7 


256 




lista 








Chi. 


Chaonkin Ldng 


2 


7 


256 


)} 


Callidora 


3 


1 


274 


Grk. 


Chasremachus 


2 


7 


253 


» 


Calligenia 


3 


1 


274 


Teu. 


Charles (Earl), 


2 


7 


126, 255 


}} 


Caliistooa 


3 


1 


274 




CbarUe 








n 


Callimachos 


2 


7 


253 


n 


Charlotte, Car- 


2 


7 


255 


It 


CallinotU 


2 


8 


257 




line, Lolotte, 








V 


Calliope 


2 


11 


264 




Lottie 








n 


Callisthenia 


2 


7 


254 


n 


Caroline, Car- 


2 


7 


9 


)» 


Calyca, Kalyca 


3 


2 


276 




lotU 








Lat. 


Calvus 


3 


3 


278 


Grk. 


Charia { 


2 


3,6 


225, 245 


n 


Camelios 


4 




284 


2 


11 


251, 264 


n 


Camillas, Ca- 


2 


9 


260 


)} 


Charity 


2 


6 


251 




milla 










Charixene 


2 


6 


251 


n 


Camus 


4 




278 




Cbarilaus 


2 


12 


265 


t» 


Caodidus 


3 


2 


277 




Charimene 


2 


12 


265 


Tea. 


Canute 


2 


7 


254 


» 


Charmion, 


2 


12 


265 


Lat. 


Caper 


4 




284 




Cbarmis 








Celt. 


Caradoc 


2 


7 


255 




Charops 


2 


12 


265 


Lat 


Caracalla 


4 




282 


n 


ChDsriphiles 


2 


12 


265 


Pere. 


Carcas 


2 


7 


255 


n 


Charitoblepha- 


3 


1 


173, 274 


Lat 


Carita, Charity 


2 


6 


252 




roB 








Tea. 


)Carlotta. See 
f Charles 








NJk.l 


Ohee me na na 


2 


9 


262 


Sp. 










quet 








J^t 


Carmen (s.) 


2 


11 


264 


Grk. 


Chledonis, 


4 




284 


Teu. 


Caroline. See 
Charles 










Chledonium 
Cherubino, 


1 


2 




Lat 


Caras, Caroline 
(s.), dearly 
loved 


2 


3 




Heb. 
Ital. 


Angel excel- 
ling in know- 
[ledge 








Sola. 


Casimir 


2 


9 


261 


NJk.I 


Chesh 00 hong 


2 


8 


258 


Grk. 


Cassiopeia 


2 


11 


264 




ha 








Pers. 


Caspar, Gas- 


4 




282 


Heb. 


Chilion 


2 


2 


243 




pard 








)» 


Chilmah 


2 


8 


257 


Lat 


Casta 


2 


2 


244 


Lat 


Cbilo 


3 


3 


226 


Grk. 


Catherine. See 


2 


4 




Teu. 


Chilperic 


2 


6 


252 




Katharine 








Grk. 


Chione 


3 


2 


276 


Spa. 


Catalina 


2 


4 




}t 


Chloe 


3 


1 


275 


IiaL 


Caterina 


2 


4 




n 


Ciiloria 


3 


2 


276 



296 



AUHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



II 




1 


ii 


Page 


ii 

Celt 




1 


1^ 


Page 


Grk. 


Christabel. See 


1 


2 




Oolgar 


2 


7 


255 




Christian 
Chrestilla 


2 


2 


243 


Celt 
Lat 


1 Colnmba, 


2 


10 


263 




Christian, 


1 


2 


237 


,1 


Colambos 


2 


10 


117 




Christine 








Celt 


Conan 


2 


9 


261, 273 


jy 


Christopher, 


1 


2 


117,237 


Ten. 


Oonrad 


2 


8 


195. 258 




Kitt, Eester 








Lat 


Oonstantine, 


2 


2,5 


226 


n 


Chrjrsander 


2 


2 


243 




Constantia, 








n 


Chrjr8eis,Chi7- 


S 


2 


277 




Constance 










silla 








Grk. 


Cora, Eora, Co- 


2 


4 


248 


V 


Chrysoetom 


2 


8 


45, 257 




risca 








Lat. 


Cincinnatus 


3 


2 


277.279 


n 


Oorinne,Coralie 


2 


4 


248 


)} 


Cicero 


4 




283 


M 


Corax 


4 




284 


ft 


Clair, Clare, 


2 


4 


130, 248 


Celt 


Cordelia 


4 




231, 282 




Clara, Cla. 








Lat 


Cornelius, Cor- 


4 




87 




rinda, Clarissa 










nelia, a horn 








!♦ 


CJandinSjClau- 
dU 


3 


3 


130 


11 


Cor?xis, Corvi- 
nus 


4 




284 


}| 


Claude, Clau- 


3 


3 


278 


Grk. 


^osmo 


2 


8 


257 




dine 








11 


Cottina 


4 




283 


n 
Grk. 


Cocles 
Clearista 


3 
2 


3 
9 


278 
2.59 


Lat 

Fr. 


{■ Couronne 


2 


9 


260, 272 


tj 


Cleon,Clein^ 


2 


9 


259 


Grk. 


CrcBsus 


2 


9 


259 


ff 


Cleander, 


2 


9 


259 


Lat 


Crassus 


3 


2 


278 




Clelie 








Grk. 


Creon 


2 


9 


259 


yi 


Clio 


2 


9 


259 


Lat 


Crescentius, 


2 


9 


260 


ji 


CleitnB 


2 


9 


259 




Crescens 








ti 


Cleodora 


2 


9 


2.59 


Lat 


Crispin 


4 




131 


11 


Cleogenes 


2 


9 


259 


Ten. 


Canegonde,En- 


4 


2 


260 


n 


Cleonice 


2 


9 


2.59 




nigund 








11 


Cleonimia 


2 


9 


259 


Celt 


Cunobelin, 


I 


2 


217, 235 


It 


Cleopstra 


2 


9 


259 




Cymbeline 








11 


CleophiU 


2 


9 


259 


Ut 


Curvus 


4 




278 


t» 


Cleodemos 


2 


9 


259 


Ten. 


Cuthbert 


2 


8 


258 


It 




2 


8 


257 


M 


Cuthwin 


2 


8 


258 




mene 








Celt 


Cwenburh 


2 


6 


50, 229, 




Cleostrates 


2 


9 


259 










252 


11 


Clinarete 


2 


2 


243 


Pers. 


Cjazares 


2 


7 


256 


11 


Clorinda 


2 


9 


259 


Grk. 


Cydias 


2 


9 


259 


11 


Cleobulus.Cleo- 


2 


8 


257 


11 


Cyanea 


3 


2 


276 




buline 








11 


Cymopolios 


3 


2 


226, 276 


*i 


Cleanthe 


3 


1 


275 


II 


Cyprian 


4 






Lat 


Clement, Cle- 
mentinas, Cle- 
mens, Clemen- 
tina, Clemence 


2 


10 


263 


Grk. 
origi- 
nally 
Pers. 


) Cyrus, Cyra 
1 Cyril.Oyrilla 
1 Cyreniu8,Cy- 
) rene 


2 


4,9 


259 


Grk 


Clinarete 


2 


2 


243 












Tea. 


Clotilde 


2 


9 


261 












«» 


Cloyis (Louis) 


2 


9 


260 


Grk. 


Diedalas 


2 


8 


257 


Grk. 


Cochlis 


4 




284 


Ten. 


Dagmar 


2 


4 


99, 248 


Grk. 


> Colette (Ni- 
i cholas) 


2 


7 


253 


M 


Dagobert 


2 


4 


248 


Fr. 








Grk. 


Damian 


2 


3 


245 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



297 





, 


1 




Page 






S 



11 


Page 


Heb. 


Daniel 


1 


2 


92, 236 


Lat. 


DonatQs 


1 


2 


237 


Grk. 


Daphne 


4 




283 


Hin. 


Door Dowran 


2 


3 


247 


Heb. 


Darda 


2 


8 


257 


Grk. 


Dorippa 


4 




281 


>» 


David 


2 


3 


200, 245 


t. 


Dorothea, Doro- 


1 


2 


2, 31, 237 


»» 


Deborah 


2 


8 


257,259 




thy, Dora 








Tflt. 


Decimas, De- 


4 




284 


>» 


Dorymene 


2 


7 


254 




cima 








Schi. 


Droghimir 


2 


9 


261 


Grk. 


Deidamia 


2 


7 


254 


Grk. 


Dros^ 


2 


10 


263 


n 


Delia 


2 


4 


248 


Tea. 


Dudda 


2 


9 


260 


>» 


Delphiue 


2 


3 


245 


tt 


Dunstan 


2 


9 


260 


p 

n 


Delta 
Demetrins, Di- 


4 
1 


2 


284 
235, 238 


Celt. 


Dugald(8.) { 


2 
3 


7 
2 


230 
255, 277 




mitri 








Lat 


Dnlcibella, 


2 


10 


263 


n 


Demosthenes 


2 


7,9 


253, 259 




Douce 








Ar. 


Denaneer 


2 


3 


113,246 












Teu. 


Deorewyn, De- 


2 


3 


246 














orswytha 








NJL.I 


Elachiu cheft 


2 


7 


256 


Celt. 


Derniot(8.),Di- 


2 


7 


202, 255 


if 


Kahsapa 


2 


7 


256 




annid 








Lat. 


Ehnrnns 


2 


2 


277 


»» 


Dervoigil 


3 


1 


275 


Teu. 


Eadwolph 


2 


7,12 




Lat. 


Desiderias, Di- 


2 


3 


245 


}} 


Edgar 


2 


7,12 


254 




dier, Dfeir^e 








»» 


Edith 


2 


12 


2,31,50,' 


n 


Devote (Fr.) 


1 


2 


237 










266 


Grk. 


Diana | 


1 


1 


235 


99 


Edmund 


2 


12 


2, 31, 266 


2 


4 


248 


n 


Edward 


2 


12 


2, 30, 121, 


n 


Didymus, Di- 


4 




282 










266 




dyma 








n 


Edwin 


2 


3,12 


246,266 


Heb. 


) Diego 
i (James) 


4 




281 


n 


Edwy 


2 


9,12 


246, 266 


Sp. 








If 


Edma 


2 


8 


258 


Lat. 


Digna, Digne 


2 


9 


260 


Heb. 


Edom 


3 


2 


276 


Heb. 


Dinah 


2 


8 


257 


N.A.I 


Eehnisldn 


2 


3 


247 


Grk. 


Diodatus, Dieu- 
donnrf 


1 


2 


238 


n 


Ea shah koo 
me 


2 


7 


256 


}} 


Diocles, Diocle. 


1 


1 


159, 235 


Grk. 


Eetion 


2 


7 


253 




tian 








n 


Ega 


4 




284 




Diochatea 


3 


2 


276 


Teu. 


Egbert 


2 


4 


248, 258 


n 


Diogenes 


1 


2 


238 


Grk. 


Egidius, Giles, 


2 


6 


251 


» 


Diogiton 


1 


2 


238 




Gillian 








n 


Dionysius. 


1 


2 


197,238 


Heb. 


Eglaim 


4 




281 




Denys, Denise 








Grk. 


Elais 


2 


10 


263 


It 


Diomede 


1 


2 


238 


Heb. 


Eldad 


1 


2 


236 




Diphile 


2 


3 


245 


Teu. 


Eldred 


2 


9 


260 


Heb. 


Dishon 


3 


1 


274 


Ut. 


Electa 


1 


2 


237 


)} 


Dorcas 


3 


1 


275 


Grk. 


Electra 


3 


2 


277 


Ar. 


Doel Mekan 


2 


4 


249 


Heb. 


Eli 


1 


2 


236 


Lat. 
Sp. 
Ital. 


] Dolores, Do- 
1 lara,Lola 


1 


2 


182, 237, 
282 


n 

f» 

Grk. 


Kliab 
Elimelech 

Elida 


1 
1 
4 


2 
2 


236 
236 
284 


ft 


Domenico, Do- 


1 


2 


183, 237 


Heb. 


Eliezer 


1 


2 


236 




menichinai 








M 


Elijah 


1 


2 


188, 236 




Domingo 








Grk. 


Eiigins, Eloy, 


1 


2 


237 


Lat. 


DumitittQ 


2 


7 


253 




Lo, Loo 









298 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



Si 




1 


|| 


Page 


^ ► 


1 


11 


Page 


Ten. 


EleaDor, EIU- 


2 


12 


20,266 


Grk. 


Erasiphron 2 


264 




nor, Ellen, 








}i 


Srasthenes 2 


3 


245 




NelUe 








»> 


Srato, Erotium 2 


3 


245 


Grk. 


Eleutheria, 


2 


9 


196, 259 


ItaL 


Ercole,Hercule8 1 


1 


235 




Elentherins 








Tea. 


Eric, Erica 2 


9 


260 


Heb. 


Elisabetb^Eliza, 


1 


2 


2,31,189, 


Grk. 


Srianthe 2 


11 


264 




Ellie, Eispeth, 






191,236 


*» 


Eriphrea 4 




284 




Elttie, Lizzie, 








Teu. 


Ermengarde S 


9 


261 




Lisa, Libby, 








»» 


Srminia, Her- S 


9 


261 




Betha, Betey, 










roione 








BeiMiie,Bettina 








}} 


Ernest, £rne»- S 


. 8 


258 


11 


Eli»heba,£lia 


1 


2 


236 




tine 






Teu. 


Ella 


2 


9 


260 


Heb. 


Esdras S 


. 6 


251 


n 


Elgiva, Ethel- 


2 


6 


50,101,252 


11 


Eshtaol S 


. 7 


253 




git'a 








Teu. 


Esmond 2 


► 9 


238 


n 

Heb. 


Elodie 
Elon 


2 
2 


9 

7 


261 
253 


Lat 
Fr. 


j- Esperance S 


t 12 


266 


Grk, 
Ital. 


[Elma 


2 


3 


245 


Grk. 
Sp. 


JEsteban \ ^ 
Etienne ) 


9 


259 


Grk. 


Elpidias 


2 


12 


265 


Fr. 






n 


Elpinice 


2 


7,12 


254 


Celt 


Essylt, ( S 
Yseultlsoltt i 


I 4 


} 248, 275 


f) 


Elpis 


2 


12 


226,265 




i 1 


Lat. 


Elvira 


2 


7 


254 


Ut 


Estelle, Stella S 


I 4 


275 


At. 


ElWardfilAk. 


3 


2 


278 


Heb. 


Esther. Hester S 


I 4 


29,35, 24» 




mann 








Tea. 


Ethel,Ethelinda S 


2 9 


261 


Grk. 


Emilias, Emi- 
lia, Emily (s.) 


2 


1] 


2,31,264 


»> 


Ethelbert,Adal- 1 
bert, Albert 


I 4 


2, 9, 205, 
248 


Lat 


Emerentia 


2 


2 


244 


n 


Ethelred,Ethel- 2 


I 8,9 


227,258, 


Tea. 


Emma 


2 


6 


252 




reda, Audrey 




272 


Heb. 


Emmannel, Ma- 


1 


2 


77, 236 


n 


Ethelwyn S 


2 3,9 


246 




nuel, Manuela, 








n 


Ethelswytha S 


I 9 


261 




Manaelita 








11 


Ethelward, i 


i 9 


260 


Grk. 


Emmeline 


2 


11 


264 




Aylward 






Ar. 


Enees el Jeleeb 


2 


11 


265 


n 


Ethelwold S 


2 9 


260 


Tea. 


Engelbert 


2 


2,4 


244,248 


11 


Ethelwulph 


2 7,9 


255 


11 


Engelram 


2 


2,7 


254 


,» lEthelwyne 
Grk. Ethra, Ethro- . 


2 3,9 


246 


Heb. 


Enoch 


1 


2 


9,223,236 


2 11 


263 


Grk. 


Entimeus 


2 


9 


259 




syne 






n 


EpaminoDdas 


2 


2 


243 


Teu. 


Eudes 


2 12 


266 


n 


Epaphros(Aph- 


1 


1 


235 


Grk. 


Eucharis 


2 2,6 


46, 251 




rodite) 








» 


Euclid 


2 9 


259 


Heb. 


Ephraim 


2 


12 


259 


,1 


EudsBmon 


2 2,12 


265 


Grk. 


Epicharis 


2 


11 


264 


„ 


Eudius 


2 2,10 


262 


}> 


Epicurus 


2 


6 


251 


» 


Endocia 


2 8 


257 


tt 


Epiphanius, 


I 


2 


183, 237, 


,» 


Eudora 


2 2,3 


245 




Epiphanie, 






259 


tt 


Eudoxia 


2 2, 4 


248 




Tipbanie 








11 


Eugene, Euge- 


2 9 


259 


Heb. 


Ephratah 


2 


12 


265 




nie 






Grk. 


Epsiloa 


4 




284 


11 


Eulalos, Eulalie 


2 2,11 


9, 46, 264 


Heb. 


Er 


2 


4 


247 


11 


Eumenes 


2 9.11 


I 264 


Grk. 
ItaL 


Erasmus, ' \ 
Elmo J 


2 


3 


245 


11 


Eunice 


2 2,7 


126, 243. 
253 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF KAME8. 



299 



M 




1 


II 


Page 


II 

Lat. 




1 


II 


Page 


Grk. 


Eapheinia,Effie, 


2 


2,11 


121,264 


Fides, Fidelis, 


2 


6 


260 




Eppie, Pheinie 
EuphraMtes 










FidelU 








ff 


2 


8 


83 


Lat 


Felicula 


4 




284 


II 


Eaphraiiia, £a- 
phrouyne 


2 


12 


265 


}i 


Felix, Felicia, 
F^Iicit^, Felise 


2 


12 


124,266 


u 


Euphroiif £u- 
phronia 


2 


2,8 


257 


Ten. 


Ferdinand (s.), 
CSp.)Hemando 


2 


7 


255 


k)l 


Eurymenes 


2 


2,8 


243,257 


Pers. 


Ferdusi, Feri- 


2 


12 


266, 273 


it 


Eurydice 


2 


2,8 


257 




dooD 








n 


Europa 


3 


1 


275 


tt 


Feroz (Ar.) 


2 


12 


266 


n 


Euryone 


2 


2,6 


251 




Ferook 








)f 


Eupator 


2 


9 


259 


Grk. 


Feodor,Feodora. 


2 


4 


248 


n 


Eiuebias, Eum- 


2 


2 


243 




See Phsdura 










bia 








Pere. 


Ferozeshah 


2 


9,12 


266 


ff 


Eustace, Euata- 


2 


2 


25,95,243 


Celt. 


Fergus 


2 


7 


201,255 




8ia 








Lat. 


Fiamma (Ital.) 


2 


4 






Euterpe 


2 


11 


264 




See FlaminiuB 






248 




Eutbalia 


2 


12 


265 


Celt. 


Fineach 


2 


9 


261 


If 


Eutychus 


2 


12 


156, 265 


If 


Fingal (8.) 


2 


9 


255,261 


}} 


EuthynoUs 


2 


2,8 


243 


Lat. 


Finnin, Firmi- 


2 


7 


254 




Evadne 


2 


11 


264 




lianus 








i} 


Evangelista, 


1 


2 


183,236 


If 


Flaccns 


4 




278 




Evangeline 








Celt. 


Flamddwyn 


2 


7 


255 


n 


Evander 


2 


2 


243, 253 


Ut. 


Flaminius, Fla- 


2 


4 


248 


ft 


Evaristus, Eva- 


2 


2 


243 




minia, Fiamma 










rista 








ff 


FlaviuSf Flavia 


3 


2 


87, 277 


ff 


Evages 


2 


5 


250 


ff 


Floras, Flora, 


3 


1 


275 


ff 


Evelpie 


2 


2,12 


265 




Florian, l<lo- 








}t 


Evergetes 


2 


6 


251 




rinda 










Evodie 


2 


2 


243 


Celt 


Flur 


3 


I 


275 


Heb. 


Eva, Evelina, 


2 


1 


22, 242 


ff 


Foinnghuala 


3 


2 


277 


Wei. 


Eveleen, Evelyn 
Evan (John) 


I 


2 


236 


Grk. 
Ital. 


}Fosoo 


2 


4 


247 


Ten. 


Everard (Ebe- 
rard) 


2 


7 


255 


Teu. 


Frank, Francis, 
Frances, Fran- 


2 


7 


9,254 


}} 


Evremond 


2 


6,9 


260,272 




cesca, Fanny, 








L.t. 


Expeditus 


2 


6 


252 




(Fr.) Fanchon 








ff 


ExtrictttUB 


2 


6 


252 


Lat 


Formosus, For- 


3 


1 


276 


Heb. 


Ezekiel 


1 


2 


236 




mosa 








ft 


Ezra, a helper 


2 


6 




II 


Frederic, Frede- 
rica, Fritz 


2 


10 


263 


Lat. 


Fabian, Fabiue, 


4 




283 


II 


Fulge s 


2 


4 


248 




Fabio, Fabiola 








II 


Fulk 


2 


6 


251 


ft 


Fabriciua 


4 




282 


II 


Fulvius,Fulvia, 


3 


2 






FaounduB 


2 


8 


258 




tavrnt/'Colour- 








A?. 


Fadl ed Deen 


I 


2 


239 




ed hair 








Celt. 


Faithfaiige 


8 


2 


278 












Pere. 


Fareksavar 


2 


7 


255 


Celt 


Gael, atrong 


2 


7 


232 


Lat. 


FaiiBtu8,Fauata, 
FauBtinus, 


2 


12 


266 


Heb. 


Gabriel, Gabri- 
ela, Gabrielle 


1 


2 


9,236 




Faustina 








Lat. 


Gaetano (Caje- 


4 




284 


Ar. 


El Feizad 


2 


6 


252 




tano) 









300 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OP NAKES. 



o >■ 


• 


1 


u 


Page 


Si 




J 

1 


II 


Page 


Grk. 
Lat. 

Celt. 


Galatea 

GallQs 

Gallawyg 


3 
4 
2 


2 

9 


276 
284 
261 


Heb. 
Ital. 


/ Giuseppe, 
■ Ginseppina 
i (Joseph) 


2 


236, 265 


Heb. 


Gamaliel 


1 


2 


283 


Ar. 


Ghanim 


2 


7 


256 


Pers. 


Gaspar (Gqs- 


4 




282 


Chi. 


Ghiaug Koo 


2 


3 


247 




lasp) Gasparine 








Ten. 


Ghiselle, Giselle 


2 


3 


246 


Ten. 

Sp. 


} Gaston 


2 


6 


252 


Celt. 


Gladys, Gla- 
dusa 


2 


4 


248 


Lat. 


Gandentins 


2 


12 


266 


Grk. 


Glaphyra 


3 


1 


275 


Ar. 


Ghazaleh 


3 


1 


275 


n 


Glaucopis 


3 


2 


276 


»» 


Geiran 


3 


1 


276 




Glaucus 


3 


2 


276 


Grk. 


Gelasia 


2 


12 


265 


n 


Glycera 


2 


10 


263 


Lat. 


Gelsornina 


3 


1 


275 


Pers. 


Gour 


4 




282 


Lat. 


) Gemma, a 
i jewel 


2 


3 


* 


Ten. 


Godard 


2 


2 


244 


lul. 








M 


Godfrey 


1 


2 


2, 31, 237 


Lat. 
Fr. 


}Gin4nxise 


2 


6 


252 


»» 


Godwin 


1 


2 


237 








it 


Golde 


3 


2 


277 


Celt 


Gen^vifeve, Gi- 
nevra (Guene- 


3 


1 


275 


Sp. 


Gomez (Gome- 
sind) 


2 


2 


192, 244 




ver), Ganore 








Ten. 


Gonda 


2 


7 


255 


Tea. 


Geoffrey .Jeffrey 


2 


12 


77, 266 


}| 


Gonsalvo, Gon- 


2 


7 


254 


Grk. 


George, Geor- 
gina 


4 




29,199,281 




salez (Gun- 
staf),Gu8tevus 








Ten. 


Gerald, Geral- 
dine 


2 


7 


254 


N.A.I 


Go to kow pah 
a he 


2 


7 


256 


n 


Gerard 


2 


7 


150,254 


Celt. 


Gniphon 


2 


7 


255 


tt 


Germain, Ger- 


2 


7 


254 


Lat. 


Gracchus 


3 


2 


277 




maine 








V 


Grace (Grati- 


2 


6,11 


226. 251, 


Lat. 


Germanicns 


4 




284 




ns). Gratia, 






264, 268 


Grk. 


(It.) Geronimo, 
(Fr.) J^rSme 
(Hierouymus) 


1 


2 


237 




Gratianus, 
Gracienne, 
Gracieuse, 








»> 


GeVonte, an old 
man 


4 








Graziella, 
Graziosa, £n- 








Ten. 


Gertmde 


2 


5 


49,189^50 




gracia 








Grk. 


) Giacinta, 
i Hyacinth 


2 


8 




Grk. 




2 


8 


195 


Ital. 


3 


1 


207, 276 


Teu. 


Grimoald 


2 


7 


254 


Grk. 


GervasejGerasi- 


2 


9 




i» 


Griselda 


3 


2 


277 


, % 


mus, honoured 








Celt. 


Grftron 


2 


4 


250 


Lat. 


Gibbus 


3 


3 


278 


n 


Gryffyn, 


2 


7 


255 


Heb. 


Gideon 


2 


7 


253 




Griffith 








Ten. 


Gilbert (Willi- 


2 


4 


248 


Lat. 


Grypus 


3 


3 


278 




bert) 








Peu. 


Gudale 


1 


2 


237 


Grk. 


Giles, Gillian 
(Eoridius) 


2 


6 


251 


Pers. 


Gulnare, Gul- 
lanar 


3 


1 


48, 276 




/Giovanni, 








Teu. 


Gunther 


2 


7 


254 


Heb. 


Naiiui, Gio- 








ty 


Gunthram 


2 


7 


254 


Ital. 


vanna. See 
\ John. 








i» 


Gustavus 
(Gunstaf) 


2 


7 


192, 254 


Lat. 


/Giulio.Giulia, 
j Giuletta, 
^ Julius 


3 


2 


277 


Sp. 


Guzman, Guth- 


2 


2 


244 


Ital. 










man 
















Fr. 


Guy, Guidon 


2 


7 


2, 31, 78 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



301 





i 


a 


Page 


t\ 




3 i% 

2 4 


Page 


Celt. 


Swair 2 


4 


250 


Grk. 


Helena (s.), 


247 


„ 


Grwanar 2 


9 


261 




Helen, Elena 






Tf 


Gwen. See 






?} 


leloise, Eloise 


2 4 


247 




Gwyneth 






Teu. 


lenry, Henri- 


2 9 


78, 260 


Celt 


Grwendaline, j 2 
Gaenddolenl £ 




} 49,248 




etta, Hetty, 












H^nee, Etta, 






)) 


Gwenddyd { l 




} 275 




Eric, Erica, 
Harry, Harri- 






n 


Gwenfrid J 


I 


275 




et (Eoric) 






)} 


Gwenhwyar 2 


9 


261 


Heb. 


Elephzibah 


2 3 


245 


p 


Gwenwynwyn i 


1,2 


230, 275 


Teu. 


Herbert 


2 4 


248 


» 


Gwvneth.Gwen 3 


2 


230, 277 


Grk. 


Hercules (He- 


1 2 


238 


Teu. 


Gyffard 2 


6 


252 




raclius) 






Grk. 


Gyrtius 3 


\ 3 


278 


Ten. 


Herman, Her- 
manric 


2 9 


260 










Teu. 


Hermenegilde 


2 9 


261 


Heb. 


Hadassah £ 


( 1 


36, 264 


» 


Hermione, Er- 


2 9 


261 


Pera. 

Ar. 


|Hafiz,Hhafiz S 


\ 6 


252 


Heb. 


minia 
Herod, Hero- 


2 7 


253 


Heb. 


Hagabah ^ 


t 


283 




dias 






NJLI 


Hahnee S 


\ 8 


258 


Ass. 


) Hester, Es- 
r ther 


2 4 


249 


Grk. 


Haidee (s.) S 


I 11 


264 


Heb. 






Ar. 


Hallouf 5 


I 7 


256 


Grk. 


Hiera 


2 2 


243 


» 


Hamed 5 


I 9 


261 


»f 


Hippias 


4 


284 


Heb. 


Hamor ' 


1 


283 


Lat. 


Hilary 


2 12 


266 


n 


Hamutol ^ 


I 6 


251 


Teu. 


Hilda 


2 4 


99. 248 


PhOB. 


Hamilcar 


1 2 


238 


,♦ 


Hildegarde 


2 6 


252 


Heb. 


Hannah, Anna \ 
Hanani, Ha- 
naniah, &c. f 


1 2 

2 6 


243 
236 


n 


Hildegonde 


2 7 


255, 271 




» 


Hildebrand 


2 7 


254 




t» 


Hildebert 


2 4 


248 


Ar. 


Hanna (John) 


1 2 


236 


Grk. 


Hippolytus 


4 


158 


HJLI 


Ha na tak me 


2 9 


262 


Heb. 


Hiram 


2 7 


253 




mauk 






Lat. 


Hirpus 


2 7 


254 


Tea. 


Hargrim 


2 7,9 


254 


», 


Hircius 


4 


284 


n 


Harold 


2 3,9 


246 


Heb. 


Hobab 


2 3 


245 


Ar. 


Haroun el Ba- 

sheed 


1 2 


216, 239 


Teu. 


Holdlie { 


2 3 

3 1 


] 246,275 


w 


Hasna (s.) 


3 1 




N.A.I 


Hongskayde 


2 9 


262 




(Hos'n), beau- 






Lat. 


Honorius, Ho- 


2 2 


226, 244 




tiftd 








noria. Honor, 






n 


Hassan 


3 1 


275 




Norah 






tt 


Hazut en Un- 


2 3 


246 


Heb. 


Hophra 


1 2 


238 




foos 






Pers. 


Hormuz, Hor- 


1 1 


196, 235 


Tea. 


Hawisa, Avice, 
Heldewig 


2 9,12 


252 




misdas. Ores- 
mades 








(Hedwig) 






Eng. 


Hope 


2 12 


266 


» 


Heaburge 


3 2 


277 


Grk. 


Horatio, Hora- 


3 1 


204 


Grk. 


Hebe 


3 1 


274 




tia, Horace 






it 


Hedia, Hedyla 


2 11 


264 


Lat. 


Hortense . 


3 1 


275 


n 


Hector 


2 7 


10, 253 


Teu. 


Hubert 


2 4 


248 


}i 


Hegeraon 


2 6 


259 


» 


Hugh, Hugo 


2 7,9 


195,254, 


» 


Heiiodorns 


2 4 


238 




Ugolino, 




261 



302 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



II 




1 


5^ 


Page 


II 


. 


8 

5 


ft- 


Pag« 


Celt 


Hognes (Hy 


2 


7.9 


217,261 


Heb. 


[saac 


2 


12 


265 




Gadam or 










rlsabella, Isa- 


1 


2 


9,236 




Cadam) 








Heb. 
Sp. 


bel, Isabean, 








Ten. 


Sarabert 


2 


4 


248 


Zabillet,Bel. 








•t 


Humphrey 


2 


10 


263 


la, Tibbie, 








K.A.I 


Ha r ah dee 


2 


2,4 


49, 249 




Isa (Elisa- 








Ar. 


Bttlweh 


2 


n 


265 




Lsabeth) 








Chi. 


Hwang L^g 


2 


7 


266 


Grk. 


Isaara 


2 


11 


264 


Grk. 


Hyale 


2 


4 


248, 207 


ft 


Ischas 


3 


3' 


278 


k>ti 


Hyacinth, Gia. 


2 


3,11 


207 


Heb. 


Ishmael 


I 


2 


215,236 




cinta,Jacintbe 


3 


2 


276 


Grk. 


[sidore, Isidora 


I 


2 


238 


}} 


Hypatia 


2 


2 


243 


>, 


Ismena 


2 


8 


257 


n 


Hymnis 


2 


11 


264 


Celt. 


Isolt, Ysseult 


2 


4 


} 248, 275 


n 


Hyperidea 


3 


1 


274 




(£ssylt),l8ola 


3 


1 












Heb. 


Ispah 


2 


3 


245 












»» 


Israel 


1 


5 


236 


Heb. 
Sp. 


Jiago (James) 


4 




281 


Heb. 


Jacob, Jacopo, 


4 




281 


Heb. 


(Gael.) Ian,. 










James, (Fr.) 










(Bus.) Ivan, 1 


1 


2 


9flft 




Jacques, 










(Brit.) lyesf 


1 


^oo 




Jacqueline, 










(John) ^ 










Jacquetta 








Grk. 


la, lanthe, lone, 


2 


11 


207, 264 


w 


Jane. See John 


I 


2 


5 




loeeea 


3 


2 


226, 276 


Lat 


Jannarius, 








91 


lanessa, lanira 


2 


9,10 


262 


lu). 


Gennaro, 








it 


Icasie 


2 


8 


257 


Fr. 


Janvier, 


4 




143 


If 


Ida,Idaline 


2 


8 


257 




ke^er of 








Ten. 


Ida (Odo) 


2 


12 


266 




doort 








Lat. 


Ignatius 


2 


4 


77, 247 


Heb. 


Jael 


3 


1 


274 


Ten. 


>Ildefonzo,Al. 
i fonzo 


2 


6 




n 


Jairos 


2 


4 


247 


Sp. 








•» 


Japhia 


2 


4 


247 


Tur. 


ndherim 


2 


7 


255 


n 


Japhet 


3 


1 


274 


Grk. 


Inachns 


2 


7 


253 




Tared 


2 


9 


258 


»j 


Indyta 


2 


4 


248 


Grk 


Jason 


2 


6 


251 


Pcrs. 


Indiana 


4 




284 ' 


Heb. 


Jedidah 


2 


3 


24.5 


Lat. 


Immaculata 


1 


2 


237 


» 


Jedidiah 


1 


2 


236 


Grk. 


Imogene (s.) 


2 


3 


245 


Ass. 


Jerab 


1 


1 


235 


Lat. 

Sp. 


1 Inez (Agnes) 


2 


10 


9,263 


Ten. 
Heb. 


Jeffrey, GeoflTrey 
Jemima (Ha- 


2 
2 


12 
10 


266 
262 


Tea. 


Ingeborge 


2 


6 


252 




mami) 








Lat. 


Innocent, Inno- 


2 


2 


243 


M 


Jeremiah 


1 


2 


181,236 




centia 








Grk. 


Jerome (Hie- 


1 


2 


237 


Grk. 


Iphianassa 


2 


7,9 


259 




ronymus) 








»' 


Iphigenia 


2 


7 


254 


Heb. 


Jesse, Jessie, 


2 


9 


258 


n 


Iphis 


2 


7 


253 




Jessica 








fi 


Iphicles 


2 


7,9 


253 


}t 


Joab 


1 


2 


236 


»» 


Iphicrates 


2^ 


7,9 


253 


n 


Job 


4 




281 


n 


Ipsea 


4 




283 


Lat. 


Jocunda 


2 


12 


266 


Grk. 


Irene, IrensBUS, 


2 


10 


97, 262 


Heb. 


Jochebed 


1 


2 


236 




Iris 








n 


Joel 


1 


2 


188, 236 


Ten. 


Irmentrade, Ir- 
ma 


2 


9 


261,272 


Heb. 


Joachim, Joa- 
quioa 


1 


2 


9,240 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



303 







1 


II 


Page 


M ^ 




1 




Page 


Beit. 


John, Jonathan 
Joannk, Joan, 
Jane, Janet, 
Janie,Jeannette, 
Janina (s.), 
Giovanni, Gio- 
7anna, Juan, 
Juana, Jua- 
nita,Iyan,Iye8, 
Ian, Owen, 


1 


2 


5,9,236 


Grk. 


Katharine, Ca- 
therine, 
(Sco.) Katrine, 
(Ir.) Kathleen, 
(Eng.) Katie, 
Cattie, Kate, 
(Sp.)Catelina, 
(Russ.) Ka- 
tinka,(igCa. 
terina 


2 


2,4 


25, 135, 
248 




(Brt.) Yves, 








Pers. 


Kesel Aralan 


2 


7 


256 




Yvonne, (Ar.) 








»» 


Kelig Asian 


2 


7 


256 




Hanna, (Ger.) 








K.A.I 


Kenen 


2 


7 


256 




Hans, (Turk.) 








Heb. 


Keren happnch 


2 


3 


245 




Ohannes 








11 


Keturah 


2 


11 


264 


ft 


Jonah 


2 


10 


35, 262 


n 


Kezia, Cassia 


2 


11 


264 


ft 


Jo6epb,Jo8epha, 


1 


2 


9,236,265 


Ar. 


Khadija 


1 


2 


239 




Josephine, 


2 


12 




Hin. 


Kh61at 


4 




284 




Zeffie, Joed, 








Pers. 


Khosrow, 


1 


1 


66,235^249 




Joecelyn, (It.) 










Kouresh 










Giuseppe, Giu- 








ti 


Koishid 


2 


4 


65, 249 




8eppina,Beppo, 








M 


Kburdad 


1 


2 


238 




(Sp.) Pepe, 








N.A.I 


Kokah 


3 


1 


276 




Pepita,(Ar.) 








»» 


Komanikin 


2 


7 


262 




Yusef 








Ar. 


Koot el Kuloob 


2 


3 


246 


Heb. 


Joshua 


1 


2 


41, 236 


Hin. 


Krishnur 


I 


1 


235 


Grk. 


Jovian 


1 


1 


235 


Ar. 


Kuleyb 


2 


5 


250 


At. 


Jowareh 


2 


3 


246 


»» 


Kurrat el Eyn 


2 


3 


246 


Heb 


Jubal 


4 




281 


N.A.I 


Kwasind 


2 


7 


256 


i» 


Jndah, Judith, 
Giudita 


1 


2 


188, 236 


Grk. 


Kyrios, Kyria, 
Cyrus, Cyra, 


2 


9 


259 


«t. 


Julius, Julia, 
Juliet, Julie, 
Giulio, Giu- 
letta, Julian, 


3 


2 


76, 277 




Kyrillo8,Cyril, 
Cyrilla 










Juliana 








Pers. 


Lab 


2 


4 


249 


Lat 


Junius, Junia 


3 


1 


226, 275 


Sola. 


Ladislas, Lan- 










Justus, Justi- 


2 


2 


244 




celot 


2 


9 


261 




nian, Justine 








N.A.I 


Ladookea 


2 




256 












Heb. 


Laish 


2 




253 












Grk. 


Lalage 


4 




282 


Ar. 


Kadeeb el Ban 


3 


1 


276 


Kgy. 


Lalahzer 


3 




276 


N.A.1 


Kah beck a 


4 




282 


Grk. 


Lambda 


3 




278 


n 


Kah gah gee 


2 


7 


256 


» 


Lampadins 


2 




247 


Ar. 


Kahraman 


2 


7 


255 


»> 


Lampeto, Lam- 


2 




248 


Grk. 


Kalonice 


3 


1 


274 




pisium 








f) 


Kalyca, Calyca 


3 


2 


276 


Ten. 


Landric 


2 


9 


260 


An 


Kamar es Ze- 
man,Gamaral- 
zaman 


2 


4 


249 


n 


Laurence, Lau- 
rentius, Lo- 
renzo, Laura, 


2 


9 


1.58, 260 


Ten. 


KarJ, Charles | 2 


7 


255 




Laure, Lau- 








S.A.I 


Katequa 


12 


7 


. 256 




rette 









304 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OP NAMES. 



II 




1 


II 


Page 


II 




1 


> o 
0« 


Page 


Lat. 


Lavinius, La- 
vinia 


3 


3 


278 


Teu. 


Louis(Ludwig), 
Ludovic 


2 


9 


260 


N.A.I. 


Laylooahpeai 
she kaw 


4 




283 


n 


Louisa, Louis >, 
Louison, 


2 


9 


272 


Heb. 


Lazarus, Aza- 


1 


2 


236, 240 


11 


(Rus.) Lodoiska 


2 


9 


272 




riah, Azrael 








Ar. 


Looloo, Luluah 


2 


3,4 


146, 246 


Grk. 


Leander 


2 


7,10 


253,262 


Lat 


Lucius, Luke, 


2 




130, 162 


Celt. 


Lear, Lyr 


4 




282 




Lucy, Lucie 








Heb. 


Lebbeus 


2 


7 


253 


n 


LucuUus, Lu- 


2 




248 


At. 


Leila (s.) 


3 


2 


278, 279 




cille 










(Leyla) 








n 


Lucian, Lu- 


2 




248 


Lat 


LeniuB, Lena 


2 


10 


263 




cienne 








ff 


Lentulus 


4 




283 


11 


Lucinda, Lucia 


2 




248 


Teu. 


Leopold, Leo- 


2 


3,9 


9,246 


Grk. 


Lucifer 


2 




23 




poldine 








Lat 


Luna 


2 




248 


n 


Leofric 


2 


3 


246 


Chi. 


LUngSo 


2 


7,9 


72, 256 


n 


Leofstan 


2 


3 


246 


Lat 


Lupus, Loup 


2 




254 


n 


Leofwyn 


2 


3 


246 


Teu. 


Lntgarde 


2 




252 


n 


Leonard 


2 


7 


255 


11 


Ludolf 


2 




252 


n 


Leonric 


2 


7,9 


255 


Grk. 


Lycidas, Lycos 


2 




130,253,267 


Grk. 


Laena 


2 


7,9 


253, 270 


11 


Lycostrates 


2 




253 


)f 


Leo, Leonidas, 


2 


7,9 


253 


» 


Lychnos 


2 


4 


247 




Lionel, Leonce 








11 


Lycoris 


3 


n 


277 


)} 


Leonora, Lenore, 


2 


7,9 


253 


„ 


Lycurgus 


2 




247 




Leonie 








n 


Lydia 


4 




284 


» 


Leontine 


2 


7,9 


253 


n 


Lyra, Lyris 


2 


11 


264 


Heb. 


Leczinska 
(Russ.) See 
Elisabeth 








It 


Lysias, Lysan- 
der 


2 


6 


251 


Lat. 


Letitia, Let- 


2 


12 


5,266 














tice 








Lat 


Mabel, May, 


2 


3 




Grk. 


Lesbia 


4 




284 




beloved and 








11 


Leucosie 


3 


2 


276 




beattifiU 








i» 


Leucophyra 


3 


2 


277 


At. 


Maaroot' 


2 


6 


252 


Ar. 


Lezzet el Dunya 


2 


3 


246 


Lat 


Macer 


3 


3 


278 


Lat 


Liberius, Li- 


2 


9 


260 


Grk. 


Machaera 


2 


7 


253 




beria 








Celt 


Madoc 


2 


3,9 


246 


Grk. 


Ligia 


2 


11 


264 


Heb. 


Magdalen, Mad- 


2 


9 


137 


Teu. 


Lina(8.)(Hlina) 


2 


6 


252 




dalena 








11 


Linda 


3 


1 


275 


„ 


Madeleine, Ma- 


2 


9 


259 


Grk. 


Liriope 


3 


2 


276 




deline, Madge 








Lat. 


Lilius, Lily, 


2 


4 


248 


11 


Mabala 


2 


U 


264 




Lilias 








Ar. 


Mahboobeh 


2 


3 


246 


ft 


Lilian, Lilla 


3 


2 


277 


N.A.I 


Mahsish, War 


2 


7 


256 


Celt 


Llewellyn 


2 


7 


255 




Eagle 








Lat 


Locusta 


4 




285 


11 


Mahnahbezee 


3 


1 


276 


Grk. 


Lois 


2 


2 


243 


»» 


Mahtohpa 


3 


1 


256 


Lat 


Longinus 


3 


2 


226, 277 


Heb. 


Malachi 


2 


4 


247 


n 


Lorenzo, Lau- 


2 


9 


158, 260 


11 


Malchus,Milcah 


2 


9 


258, 259 




rence, Lauren- 








Celt 


Malcolm (s.) 


3 


2 


263 




tiay Laura, 








Ar. 


Malek Shah . 


2 


9 


105, 261 




Lauretta 








Heb. 


M^nft^q 


2 


6 


261 



ALPHABETICAI. LIST OF NAMES. 



805 



" > 




1 

u 
2 


II 


Page 


11 




1 


II 


Page 


Ten. 


Manfred 


10 


263 


NJLI 


Mee cheet a 


2 


6 


252 


Heb. 




2 


10 


262 




neuch 








Lat. 


Mansnetns 


2 


10 


263 


Grk. 


Medea 


2 


9 


259 


Heb. 


Manuel, Emma- 


1 


2 


236 


ft 


Medora(8.) 


2 


3 


245 




nuel 








Ar. 


Mehdi 


2 


8 


258 


n 


Manuela, Ma- 


1 




236 


Heb. 


Mebetabel 


1 


2 


236 




nuelita 








Grk. 


MegaUter 


2 


6 


251 


Lat 


Marcus, Mark, 
Maim 


2 




254 


» 


Melander, Me- 
Unie 


3 


2 


276 


»i 


Maroellns, Mar- 
cella 


2 




254 


» 


Melanthus, Me- 
lanthusa 


3 


1,2 


276 




MarcellinuB, 


2 




254 


f, 


Melesias 


2 


8 


257 




Marcelline . 








,; 


Melita 


4 




284 


Lat 


Martin, Martine 


2 


7 


^54 


Pers. 


Melchior 


2 


9 


261 


Grk. 


Margaret, Mar- 
gariU 


2 


2,4 


4,98,198 


Heb. 


Melchizedek, 
king of right- 


1 


2 




)) 


Marguerite, 


2 


2,4 


149 




eoumeu 










Maggie, Mete 








Ar. 


Melek el Man- 


2 


7 


256 


n 


Margery, Mar- 


2 


2,4 


245, 248 




sour 










jorie 








Grk. 


Melina (s.) 


2 


10 


263 


It 


Maggie, Grete 


2 


2,4 




It 


Melisander, Me- 


2 


10 


262, 263 


Ar. 


Marjaneh i 


2 

3 




146 
276 




lissa, Melicerte, 
Melite, MilU- 








Teu. 


Marmaduke 


2 




260 




cent,Mmy 








Grk. 


Marmarium 


2 




247 


Lat 


Meliora 


2 


2 


'244 


Ar. 


Marfain 


2 




256 


Ar. 


Mellaky 


2 


9 


261 


Heb. 


Mary, Marie, 


4 




9,138,212, 


Grk. 


Menie(8.) 


2 


3 


245 




Maria, Mara, 






281, 285 


n 


Menelaus 


2 


6 


251 




Miriam 








n 


Mentor 


2 


7 


253 




(Ar.) Maryam, 








Lat 


Mergus 


4 




284 




(Gael.)Morag, 








11 


Mercedes 


2 


3,6 


192,237, 




Marianne, Ma- 
















246,252, 




rian, Marion, 
















266, 267 




Minnie, Mari- 








n 


Merourius 


2 


1 






etta,(Sp.) Ma- 








Gelt 


Merideth 


2 


7 


255 




riquita 








»» 


Mervyn (Mor- 


2 


7 


231, 255 


» 


Martha, Patty 


4 




281 




▼ran) 








N.A.I 


Mash kee wet 


2 


8 


258 


Ar. 


Mes'ood Mes'- 


2 


12 


266 


Grk. 


Ma|^rice,Maura, 


3 


2 


277 




oodah 










Maury, Moritz 








tt 


Mesroor, happg 


2 


12 




Teu. 


Matilda, Maude 


2 


7,9 


228,255 


Grk. 


Metiochus 


2 


8 


257 


Heb. 


Matthew, Mat- 


1 


2 


236 


„ 


Metrocles 


2 


3,9 


245, 259 




thias 








Ar. 


filByinoon, Mey- 


2 


12 


266 


Lat 


Mathurin, Ma- 


2 


2 


244 




mooneh 










thnrine 








Hin. 


Mher ul Nica 


2 


2 


244 


)) 


Max, Maxima, 


2 


9 


260 


Teu. 


Meyrick 


2 


9 


254,260 




Maximin 








Heb. 


Michael, Micha- 


1 


2 


9,92,236 


Lat 


r Maximilian, 
t Maximillenne 


2 


9,11 


231 




ela, Michel, 








Grk. 










Michelline 








Ten. 


May (s.) (Mai), 


2 


4 




tt 


Michal 


2 


2 


243 




a maiden 








Teu. 


Mildred 


2 


10 


50,190,263 


Grk. 


Meconium 


4 




282 


Grk. 


Miltiades, Milto 


3 


2 


276 



306 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



II 




1 


|l 


Page 


II 




1 


II 


Page • 


Grk. 


Minervina 


2 


8 


267 


Heb. 


Nanette (Anne, 


2 


2,6 


251 


Teu. 


Minna, Minnie 


2 


3 


246 




&e.) 








ir.A.1 


Minne ha ha 


2 


11 


49, 265 


Lat 


Nathalie 


1 


2 


183, 236 


11 


Minne wa wa 


2 


11 


49, 265 


Heb. 


Nathaniel, Na- 


1 


2 


236 


Lat 


Minntia 


3 


2 


277 




than, Neil 








Grk. 

VJLI 


Mrtio 

Mishe mokwa, 


2 
2 


10 

7 


262 


Celt 
Teu. 


}NanthiIde 


4 




231, 282 




tkegrtatbear 








Hin. 


Narmada 


2 


12 


266 


Pere. 


Mithra 


1 


1 


235 


Lat 


Naso 


3 


3 


226. 278 


11 


Mithridates, 


1 


2 


66, 238 


Ar. 


Neamet Allah 


1 


2 


239 




Mithridad 








Heb. 


Necho 


3 


3 


278 


11 


Mithrabarzanes 


1 


2 


238 


At. 


Nehar es Sena 


2 


4 


249 


Grt 


Mnecbns 


2 


2 


243 


»> 


NejmetesSabak 


2 


4 


249 


>f 


Mnesarete 


2 


2 


243,279 


N.A.I 


Nekim^ 


2 


7 


256 


Teu. 


Modgndor 


2 


7 


255,271 


Ten. 


Nellie (Ellen) 


2 


12 


266 


ft 


Modred 


2 


7 


255,271 


Heb. 


Neri 


2 


4 


247 


Ar. 


Mohammed, 


1 


2 


54,239, 


It 


Neriah 


1 


2 


236 




Mahmond 


2 


« 


261 


Sab. 


Nero 


2 


7 


254, 270 


NJLI 


M(»)g ahong 


3 


I 


49, 276 


NJLI 


Nenemoosha 


2 


3 


247 




Bhaw 








Grk. 


Nessida 


4 




284 


Ten. 


Mona 


2 


4 


248 


n 


Nestor 


2 


8 


257 


Grk. 


Monica, dhne 


4 






N.A.I 


Netis 


2 


3 


247 


11 


Monimia 


2 


9 


259 


Lat 


NeUuno 


1 


1 


235 


Hin. 


Mootie 


2 


3,4 


247 


Grk. 


Nidas, Nican- 


2 


7,9 


2.53 


Celt 


Morgiana, Mor> 
wen 


4 




114,282 




der, Nicanor, 
Nico, NiciUa, 








11 


Morhold 


2 


7 


255 




Nicium,Nicea 








Heb. 


Moses, 

(At.) Monasa, 
Mnsa, Muza 


4 




281 


»» 


Nicodemus, Ni* 
cholaa. Cola, 
Clans, Clans- 


2 


7,9 


253, 268 


Grk. 


Moschns 


4 




284 




sen, NicoU, 








Lat 


Mngillianos 


4 




284 




Nicoline,Nico- 








Celt. 


Mungo 


2 


3 


246 




lette, Colette 








N.A.I 


Manne pnska 
Murdoch, Mur- 


2 


7 


94, 256 


Grk. 


Nicephoms 


2 


7 


253 


Celt. 


2 


9 


261 


11 


Nioomedes 


2 


8 


257 




tagh 








Lat 


Nigel, Niger 


3 


2 


277 


Lat. 


Mursena 


4 




284 


Heb. 


Nimrod 


4 




281 


Gik. 


Muriel 


2 


U 


264 


Sp. 


Nina, Ninita 


2 


3 


192, 246, 


Pers. 


Mnrwari 


2 


3 


246 










267 


Lat 


Musca 


4 




284 


Ass. 


NinuB 


3 


1 


35 


Ar. 


Mustafa. { 


1 
2 


^l 


239, 246 


Pers. 

N.A.I 


Nisca, a roM 
Nixwarroo 


3 
2 


2 

7 


256 


Grk. 


Myllia 


4 




284 


Heb. 


Noah 


2 


10 


262 


It 


Myrrha, Myro, 


2 


11 


264 


Ar. 


Noam 


2 


12 


266 




Myra,Myrtale, 








Lat 


Noel, Nathalie 


1 


2 


183, 236 




Myrrhena 








Heb. 
Lat 


Nogah 
Nonius, Nonia 


2 
4 


4 


247 
284 












Ar. 


Noor ed Deen, 


1 


2 


95, 239 


Heb. 


Naaman, Naa- 


2 


11 


264,274 




Noureddin 










mah, Naomi 


3 


1 


279 


11 


Noor et Huda 


2 


4 


249 


Vit. 


Naiogabui 


2 


11 


265 


»f 


Noor Jehan 


2 


4 


249 


AS8. 


Nana 


1 


1 


235, 239 


» 


Noor Mahal 


2 


4 


249 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



307 



II 




1 


|l 


Page 


If 




1 


ll 


Page 


V.A.I 


Ne^ a way 


2 


8 


268 


Lai 


Palmetiofl, Pal- 


2 


9 


260 


Grk. 


Nnma 


2 


8 


257 




ma, Falmyre 








Lat 


Namerianns 


4 




284 




(Fr.) 








Ar. 


NuzhetelFoad 


2 


3 


246 


Grk. 


Pamela (s.), off 


2 


11 




»» 


Nazhet el Ze- 
moD 


2 


3 


246 




iweetnasfiit al- 
together darkf 


3 


2 




Lat. 


Nydia 


4 




284 




a bnmette 


















Grk. 


Pammenes 


2 


7 


253 












n 


PamphilioB 


2 


3 


245 


Heb. 


Obadiab 


1 


2 


181,236 


tt 


Panacea 


2 


6 


251 


Ut. 


Oeella 


8 


3 


226 


tt 


Panagie 


2 


2 


243, 267 


u 


OetaTius, Octa- 


4 




284 


n 


Panarista 


2 


2 


243 




Tian, OctaTia 








1, 


Pancrates 


2 


9 


259 


Ten. 


Odo, Otho, 


1 


2 


} 236,266 




Pandora 


2 


12 


265* 




Odalric 


2 


9,12 




Pantaclea 


2 


9 


259 


»» 


Odile, Odette, 


2 


9,12 


261 


n 


Panthea 


2 


9 


259 




OthUde, Ot- 








If 


Panthons 


2 


7 


253 




tilie 








), 


Panthera 


4 




284 


It 


Ola 


2 


10 


263 


91 


Papyrios 


4 




283 


n 


Olaf, Aalaff 


2 


10 


51 


» 


Parmenion ^^ 


2 


10 


262 


n 


Olga. SeeAl- 


1 


2 


261 


n 


Parthenia 


2 


4 


248 




degonde 








» 


Parthenope 


3 


1 


274 


H.A.I 


OUtipa 


3 


1 


49,276 


n 


Pasiphila 


2 


3 


245 


Lat. 


Oliver, OKvia, 
Olive 


2 


10 


263 


Heb. 


Pasqoale, Pas- 
cha 


1 


2 


236. 


n 


Omobaono 


2 


2 


244 


w. 


Passer 


4 




284 


Grk. 

N.A.I 


Onesiphoriu 
Oojeenu he ha 


2 
2 


6 

7 


251 
256 


Ut. 
from 


) Patrick, Pa- 
) tricia 


2 


9 


125, 199, 
260 


Grk. 


Olympia, 


2 


4 


248 


Grk. 










Olympe 








Grk. 


Patrocles 


2 


3,9 


10, 246, 259 


Ar. 


Omar 


2 


2 


244 


)} 


Paula, Pauline 


2 


10 


263 


Grk. 


Ophelia 


2 


6 


251 


Lat 


Pauly Paula, 


3 


2 


9,277,279 


Lat. 


Opportune 


2 


12 


266 




Pauline 








Grk. 


Orca 


2 


10 


263 


Grk. 


Pausanias, one 


2 


6 




Heb. 


Oreb 


4 




283 




who ailayi 








Celt. 


Orkedorigh 


2 


9 


261 




Borrow 








Heb. 


Orpah 


3 


1 


274 


Tah. 


Pauma, Po- 


2 


7 


257 


Egy. 


Osiris 


1 


1 


235 




mare (s.) 








Ten. 


Osbert 


I 


2 


238 


K.A.I 


Pehta 


2 


7 


256 


n 


Osmond 


1 


2 


238 


Grk. 


Peitho 


2 


11 


264 


ft 


Oswald 


1 


2 


238 


n 


PeUgio, Pela- 


4 




281 


»» 


Oswin 


1 


2 


288 




gie, Pelayo 








N.AI 


Owaissa 


3 


1 


276 


n 


Penelope 


4 




282 


Celt. 


Owen { 


2 


10 


^234,236, 
S 263 


Heb. 


Penninah 


2 


3 


245 




1 


2 


Grk. 


Pericles 


2 


9 


225. 269 












tf 


Perialla 


2 


2 


243 












»> 


Periphas 


2 


4 


247 


Lat. 


PsBtns 


3 


3 


278 


Lat 


Peregrine 


4 




282 


N.A.I 


Pah me cow e 
tah 


2 


8 


258 


»f 


Perpetua, im- 
changmg^con- 


2 


6 




i) 


Pah too cara 


2 


7 


256 




statu 








>» 


Pah ta chooche 


4 




283 


Hin. 


Perrya Amma 


2 


9 


262 



x2 



308 



AIFHABETICAI. LIST 09 SAaiES. 



SI 


1 


j: 


li 


1 
Fate . 


II 




i 


il 




Ork. FtfiiM (rr.> 








CWl 


Pelycnp 


2 




243 




SmTHa 








n 


Poiyder 


2 




9i5 




PeteJa { 


2 


4 


248 


ft 


Peijtiaeai 


2 


M 


M5 


» 


3 


1 


226 


71 


Poiynw 


2 




251 


n 


Peter (Pttfw), 


2 


7 


41,253 


Lat. 


Ponea 


2 




253 




rKtr», Perez, 








n 


PoDtm 


4 




282 




Peliea,Pienlte, 








9t 


PtW- 


3 




275 




PeUMbUa, Per- 








Gfk. 




2 




105,359 




rim 








LaL 


Portia 


2 




252 


ir.ii.i PttsbdUe 


2 


7 


256 


Hi- 


PociyiMn 


1 




238 


Efa>l»»ii 


1 


1 


64,235 ' 


Ut. 


PR»M 


2 




245 


Ofk.:pbiidni 


1 


1 


248 


91 


Pnbos 


2 




244 


» 


rhmdon, Feo- 


2 


4 


248 


QA. 


Pnteopioa 


2 




265 




dor^Feodom 








Ut. 


Praeper, Pro- 


2 




266 




Plubbe { 


1 


1 


197,235 




penia(ItaL) 








» 


2 


4 


247 


»t 


PrndeDtt 


2 




258 


>» 


PlueMfeto 


2 


2,4 


243 


CelL 


Prfidwen, Fiy- 


3 




275 


»» 


PbMD^PfaaiM) 


2 


4 


247 




Aaxn 








y| 


Phaauwi 


2 


8 


257 


VJkJ 


Pebamhaw 


2 




265 


tl 


Phcnke 


1 


9 


259 


Grk. 


Psycbe 


2 




248 


ff 


Pbtki, Phimaa 


3 


245 


fi 


PtoleiDj 


2 




64 


n 


Philaoaer.Pbi. 
lemoD, Pbi. 


2 


3 


245 


Lat 


PnbUna, PuIk 
licda 


2 




87,245 




leue 








n 


Podens, Pn- 


2 


2,10 


263 


11 


PbiUletfae 


2 


5 


250 




dentia 








n 


PbiUreto 


2 


2 


243 


n 


Pnkberie 


3 




275 


It 


FhilomeU 


2 


11 


264 


Hin. 


Pun Amma 


2 




262 


n 


Philaaelpbos, 


2 


3 


245 


Grk. 


Pjrallia 


3 




275 




PfailAdelpfaU 








If 


Pyrgo 


2 




251 


n 


Philopftter, 
PfailAmeter 


2 


3 


245, 267 


n 


Pyrrbua, 
Pyirha 


3 


2 


276 


w 


Philnmeiw, Fi- 


2 


3 


121, 245 


n 


Pflyllos 


4 




218 




lomena 








n 


PytbagofaB 


2 


8 


10, 257 


n 


Philip,Phmpi», 
Philippine 


4 




281 


»» 


Pytbiaa 


2 


8 


257 


w 


Pbjllie 


4 




283 












n 


Philyrea 


8 


1 


275 


Lat, 


Qoeroena 


4 




283 


n 


Pbintias 


2 


8 


245 


n 


Qnartns, 


4 




284 


n 


Phryoe 


4 




276, 279 




Qnarda 








Ut 


Pilate 


4 




282 


11 


Qointus, Qnin- 


4 




284 


U«b. 


Pinon, 'Pemn- 
oah 


2 


3 


245 




tillian, Qnin- 
tilla 








OrL 


Pieaoder 


2 


11 


264 


o 


Quietos 


2 


10 


263 


Lat. 


Pifias 


4 




283 












Ork. 


Piston, Pistus 


2 


5 


225, 250 












Ut. 


PinSyPia 


2 


2 


243 


At. 


Es Raad el 


2 


7 


256 


tt 


Plamdiu, Pla- 


2 


10 


95, 268 




Ehasif 










oilla 








Heb. 


Rachel 


2 


10 


121, 262 


6rk. 


Plato 


8 


2 


83, 276 


Tea. 


Radegunde 


2 


8 


258 


Lat. 


Plautas, Plaa- 


3 


3 


278 


Ar. 


Bahab 


3 


2 


278 




tilla 








n 


Rahmeh 


2 


3 


246 


^-rk. 


llutarch 


2 


12 


265 


Hin. 


Rftnn^ 


1 


1 


235 



ALPHABETICAI, LIST OF NAMES. 



309 



ii 

PIS 




1 


II 


Page 






s 


II 


Page 


Egy. 


ISameses * 


1 


2 


22 


Lat 


Bo8a,Bose, . 


3 


1,2 


277 


Tea. 


Randolph, 
Balph, Baool 


2 


6 


252 




Bosina, Bosa- 
mond, Boeabel, 








V 


Banwalph 


2 


7 


255 




JRosalba, Bosa- 








Heb. 

Egy. 


}Kaphia 


2 


6 


251 


Celt 


lie, Rosanne 
Rowena - 


3 


2 


277 


Heb. 


Raphael, Sa- 
phaela 


1 


2 


9,236 


Pers. 


Roxalane (Rou- 
shen) 


2 


4 


249 


Lat 


Rancnla 


3 


3 


278 


Lat 


Rufus, Rufii 


3 


2 


277, 279 


n 


Ravilios 


3 


3 


278 


ti 


Rutilius, Ru- 


3 


2 


277 


Teu. 


Raymond 


2 


10 


263 




tilia 








Heb. 


Rebekah, Re- 
becca 


2 


11 


264 


Heb. 


Ruth 


3 


1 


247, 274 


Lat 


Redento, Be- 


1 


2 


237 














denta 








At. 


SaH SaaMeh 


2 


12 


266 


)) 


Regulu8,Regal- 


2 


9 


7,260 


11 


Sa'ed 


2 


3 


105, 246 




lianos^Regilla, 








Celt 


Saidi, Sad 


2 


2 


244 




Regina, Reine 








Grk. 


Sabinus, Sabina 


4 




284 


Teu. 


Reginald, Beg- 


2 


9 


260 


Tea. 


Sffibald 


2 


7 


255 




nier 










Sseireth 


2 


9 


260 


u 


Reinfred 


2 


10 


263 


„ 


SsBwulph 


2 


7 


255 


Lat. 


Respectns 


2 


9 


260, 271 


Ar. 


Sakih ed Deen, 


1 


2 


71, 239 


)) 


Renatns, Bend 


1 


2 


129, 237 




Saladin 










Rdsdda 


3 


1 


264 


f) 


Saleh 


2 


2 


244 


Tell. 


Reynard 


2 


5 


148 


„ 


Salem; Salameh 


2 


10 


263 


n 


R^old 


2^ 


3,5 


246,268 


Lat 


Sallust 


2 


10- 


266 


At. 


Reyhan 


1 


2 


150, 239 


„ 


Salvator, Sal- 


2 


6 


155. 251, 


Grk. 


Rbene 


2 


10 


263 




vins, Salvien, 






266 


Celt 


Rhys, Kniz, 
Ray 


2 


9 


261 




Salvia, Sal. 
Vina, Sage 








Ten. 


Richard, Dick 


2 


7 


199,254 


Fr. 


Sage 


2 


8 


258 




Ridda 


4 




282 


Ar. 


EsSamit 


2 


10 


263 




Robert, Bobin, 


2 


8 


148, 258 


Heb. 


Samson 


2 


4 


247 




Rupert, Rn- 








„ 


Samuel, asked 


1 


2 






perta, Bobinia, 










of God 










Robinetta 








Lat 


Sanchez, San- 


1 


2 


244 


» 


Roger, Rudiger 


2 


5,8 


250 




cha 








11 


Roderick, Ro- 


2 


8,9 


258 


„ 


Sapientia 


2 


8 


258 




driguez 








Heb. 


Sapphira 


2 


3 


245 


ft 


Rodolph, Rolf 


2 


6,8 


252 


,> 


Sarah 


2 


9 


259 




Boland 


2 


6 


252 


1) 


Sardis 


2 


12 


265 


Lat 


Romilda 


2 


7 


254 


Ar. 


Sasafeh 


3 


1 


276 


Celt 


R^, a rose 


3 


1 




Lat 


Satumino 


1 


1 


235, 240 


Lat. 


Romulus, Ro- 


2 


7 


74, 254 


Heb. 


Saul 


2 


3 


245 




mola 








Grk. 


Saurus 


4 




111,284 


Grk. 


Rhoda, Rhodo- 


3 


1,2 


204. 276 


Ar. 


Sawab 


2 


5 


250 




cella, Rhodope 








Lat 


Scaavola 


3 


3 


278 


11 


Rosanra 


2 


11 


264 


,» 


Scipio 


2 


6 


88 


Lat 


Roeius, RoBi« 


3 


2 


277 


Grk. 


Sebastian 


2 


9 


76, 259 




anus 








„ 


Scione 


4 




282 


Ten. 


Rosamund, Ro- 
salinda 


3 


1,2 


277 


Lat 


Secundus, Se- 
cundiUa 


4 




284 



310 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



II 




1 

7 


Jl 


Page 


u 




1 


II 


Page 


N.A.I 


Seet-se-bea 


4 


249 


Ut 


Simeon 


2 


2 


243 


Grk. 


Seleucus 


3 


2 


276 


)i 


Sirpicns 


4 




283 


Ar. 


Selim, Selimeb 


2 


12 


266 


Aas. 


Sitareh, Esther, 


2 


4 


6,249 


}) 


Es Semendal 


2 


4 


249 




Hester 








Grk. 


Selina, Selene 


2 


4 


235, 247 


Grk. 


Smilax 


4 




283 


A3S. 


Semiramis 


2 


10 


35,127,263 


N.A.T 


Soangetaha 


2 


7 


256 


Heb. 


Sephom 


3 


1 


274 


Grk. 


Socrates 


2 


2 


225,243 


Lat 


Septimns, Sep- 


4 




284 


Ar. 


Soem 


2 


3 


247 




tilU 








»» 


Safiyeh, Sofian 


2 


3 


69^39,246 


»» 


Serena 


2 


10 


263 


Tor. 


Sofiyeh 


2 


3 


69,239,246 


Heb. 


Seraphine, Se- 


1 


2 


236 


Pera. 


SofiedDeen 


1 


2 


71, 239 




zafina 








Grk. 


Sophia, Sophy, 


2 


8 


9, 68, 134, 


}i 


Semg 


4 




283 




Sophonie, So- 






209, 257 


Lat. 


Sezta8,Seztilia, 
SezticU 


4 




284 




fia, Sophie, 
Sophiele 








Ar. 


Se7fedDeen{ 


1 
2 


2 

7 


} 239 


Grk. 
1* 


Sophocles 
Sophronlas, So- 


2 
2 


8.9 
2,8 


257 
257 


If 


Seyf ud Dow- 


2 


7,9 


261 




phroniscns. 










lah 










Sophronia, So- 


2 


2,8 


243, 257 


n 


SeyfelMnlook 


2 


7,9 


261 




phrosyne, So- 








M^^I 


Shako 


4 




283 




phronium 








Am. 




1 


1 


235 


Heb. 


Solomon, Sa- 


2 


10 


24, 262 


Heb. 


Shallnm 


2 


2 


243 




lome 








Ar. 


Shamikh 


2 


9 


262 


Grk. 


Sosandra 


2 


6 


251 


Heb. 


Sbarai 


2 


9 


258 


„ 


Sosthenes 


2 


2 


243 


Ar. 


SharafelBenat 


2 


9 


262 


91 


Soter, Sosia 


2 


6: 


251 


SJL.1 


Shawoudazee 


2 


11 


265 


Ass. 


Sosana 


2 


4 


209 


n 


Shedea 


4 




283 


Heb. 


Susan, Sn- 


3 


2 


191, 249, 


Ar. 


Shehr a zad, 


3 


1 


275 




sanna 






276 




Scherezade 








Ar. 


Soosan 


3 


2 


278 


n 


ShejeretelDarr 


2 


3 


48,246 


Grk. 


Spiiidion, Spiro 


1 


2 


238, 241 


Heb. 


Sbelemiah 


2 


2 


236 


Sda. 


Stanislaus 


2 


9 


261 


Ar. 


Shema ed Deen 


1 


2 


239 • 


Pers. 


Statini 


2 


3 


113, 246 


n 


Shema ed Doha 


2 


3 


249,261 


Grk. 


Stephen, Ste- 


2 


9 


4,259 


»t 


Shems el Ma- 
look 


2 


9 


261 




phanie, (Sp.) 
E8teban,(Fr.) 








}i 


Shems en Nehar 


2 


3 


249 




Etienne 








Pers. 


Shereen 


2 


11 


98, 265 


Lat 


SteUa, Estelle 


2 


4 


248 


zr.A.i 


Shingawossa 


3 


1 


94, 276 


n 


Strabo 


3 


3 


278 


Pers. 


Sher 


2 


7 


256 


11 


Snlpicins 


2 


6 


251 


n 
Ar. 


Sherkok 
Sboh 


2 
2 


7 
3 


256 
246 


Grk. 


SybU, Sibyl, Si- 


1 
2 


I) 


134, 257 


Celt. 


Sholto (s.) 


4 




282 


II 


Syntyche 


2 


12 


265 


N.A.I 


Shomecofise 


2 


7 


256 


NJLI 


Stee cha CO me- 


2 


9 


262 


PhOB. 


SidonU 


2 


11 


264 




co 








Ten. 


Sigbert 


2 


7 


254 


Ut 


Sylvester, Syl- 


4 




282 


11 


Sigeard, ^gnrd 


2 


7 


254 




Tanus, Sylvia 








11 


Sigeric 


2 


7,9 


260 


Ten. 


Sweyn 


3 


2 


277 


11 


Sighelm 


2 


7 


254 












11 


Sigismund 


2 


7 264 












11 


Sigwulph 


2 


7 254 


Heb. 


Tabitha 


3 


1 


274 


Heb. 


Simon 


2 


2 


1 45,77,243 


Lat 


Tacitos, Taoe 


2 


10 


227, 263 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



311 



Q 5 




3 

5 


II 


Page 


n 

Grk. 




1 


11 


Page 


N.A.I 


Tai ban 86 ^ai, 


2 


7 


214 


Thetis 






282 




bwsts of 








>» 


Theta 






284 




thunder at a 








Ten. 


Thora, Thyra 




2 


238 




distance 








11 


Thordisa 




2 


238, 255 


Ar. 


Taj el Mulook 


2 


9 


261 


11 


Thorgerda 




2 


238, 255 


Celt 


Taliessin 


2 


4 


248 


11 


Thorgeir 




2 


238 


Heb. 


Tamar 


3 


1 


274 


11 


Thorkell 




2 


238 


N.A.I 


Tahmirdo 


3 


1 


49, 276 


11 


Thormod 




2 


238, 271 


Etr. 


Tanagra 


2 


9 


260 


It 


Thorwald 




2 


238, 241 


»i 


Tancred (s.), 
Tangraid 


2 


9 


260 


Ph<B. 


Thomas (s.), 
Tom, Thoma- 




1 


235,240 


n 


Tanaquil 


2 


7 


254, 270 




Rina, (Heb.) 








Celt. 


Tegid 


2 


10 


263 




Thammnz 








Grk. 


Telamon 


2 


7 


253 


Grk. 


Thrasymene, 


2 


7 




)f 


Telega 


4 




282 




brave spirit 










TelesU 


2 


2 


243 


11 


Thrasybnlus, 


2 


7 




n 


Telligida 


4 




284 




brave counsel- 








Ar. 


Ten*om 


2 


10 


263 




lor 








Heb. 


Terah 


2 


12 


265 


Lat. 


Tiberins 


4 




284 


Sab. 


Terence, Teren- 


2 


10 


263 


Grk. 


Timandra 


2 


7 


254 




tisL^soft^genOe 








n 


Timarete 


2 


2 


243 


Lat. 


Tertins, Ter- 
tia, Tertnllus, 


4 




284 


n 


Timothy, who 
honours God 


1 


2 


237 




Tertnllian 








It 


Titus, Titian, 


2 


9 




Grk. 


Thais 


3 


1 


274 














Thalasaia 


4 




282 


Ar. 


Tobfeh 


2 


3 


246 




Tbales, ThaUa, 


2 


12 


265 


Grk. 


Topsins 


4 




282 




Thallnsa 








Ut 


Toussaint 


1 


2 






Theano 


2 


8 


257 




(Fr«nch),a;to- 








f) 


Tbekla, one 


2 


2 






gether holy 










who gwea glo- 








Grk. 


Triptolemns 


2 


7 


2.53 




ry to God 








11 


Trismegistus 


2 


9 


259 


)} 


ThemUtooles 


2 


2 


243 


11 


Tryphena 


4 




282 


99 


Theodore, The- 


1 


2 


237 


11 


Tryphosa 


4 




282 




odora 








Celt. 


Trystan 


2 


9 


261 


» 


Theodoeins, 
TheodosU 


1 


2 


237 


Lat. 


Tristam, sor- 
rowful 


4 






9t 


Theopbilns, 


I 


2 


237 


Chi. 


Tsing Liing 


2 


7 


256 




Theophila 








Celt 


Tuileach 


2 


7 


255 


9* 


Theophanie, 
Tiphaine 


1 


2 


183,237,274 


Lat 


TuUius, Tnllia, 
TuUiola 


2 


2 


45, 244 


99 


Theopbrastes 


2 


8 


83 


n 


Turpilianus, 


3 


3 


278 


Teu. 


Theodoric, Thi- 


2 


9 


72, 260 




Turpilia 










erry 








NJk.I 


Tuntahtohge 


2 


7 


256 


9* 


Theodelinde, 
Yolande 


3 


1 


275 


Grk. 


TychicuB 


2 


12 


265 


Heb. 


Theresa (s.), 
Th^r^se, Thd- 


3 


1 


9,274 














r^son, Zon, 








Teu. 


Udolph 


2 


6 


252 




Zeno, Teresa, 








99 


Ulf 


2 


7 


195, 255 




Thirza (Tir- 








If 


Ulric, Ulrica 


2 


12 


266 




zab) 










(Odalric) 









312 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



M 


• 


1 


|l 


Page 






2 


11 


Page 


Lat. 


Una 


4 


244, 284 


Lat 


Vivian, Vivia, 


1 




11 


Ursinns, Ursi- 


2 


7 


254 




life 










nins 








91 


Vitia 


4 




283 


It 


Jranla, Ureina 


2 


7 


254 


Scla. 


Vladimir 


2 


9 


261,273 


Ar. 


UmrSood 


2 


12 


266 


Lat 


Volumnia 


2 


3 


245 


Grk. 


Urania (Sans. 
Varonna) 


2 


8 


257 


» 


Vulturgios 


4 




284 


Lat 


Urban 


4 




282 












Heb. 


Uriel, Uriah 


1 


2 


236 


N.A.I 


Wahongaskee 


2 


8 


258 


Lat. 


Urtica,Urticula 


4 




283 


11 


Wa saw me saw 


2 


8 


256 


sp.: 


Urraca 


4 




8 


11 


Washkemonge 


4 




282 












Ten. 


Waldemar 


2 


9 


260 












11 


Waltheof, Wal- 
ter 


2 


9 


260 


Sans 


Vajezatha 


1 




235 


N.A.I 


Weemeonka, 


3 


1 




Ten. 


Vala 


2 




246 




btncUngwiUow 








n 


Vaen, Vanessa 


3 




275 


Teu. 


Wilfred 


2 


10 


263 


11 


Valborge 


2 




50, 246 


11 


William, WU- 


2 


6 


29, 252 


Lat. 


Valentine, Va- 
lentinian 


2 




254 




helm, Willie, 
Wilhelmina 








)f 


Valerius, Va. 


2 




155, 254 


11 


Wimund 


2 


2 


244 




lerie 








11 


Winfred, Wini- 


2 


10 


29, 263 


Tit, 




2 




217 




fred, Winnie 








Grk. 
Bus. 


}Vasileia 


2 




259 


N.A.I 

Ten. 


Wingemund 
Wistan 


2 

2 


3 

8 


247 
258 


Ten. 


Vellcda 


2 




255 


11 


Wolfgang, gait 


2 


7 




Lat. 


Verena 


1 


2 


237 




ofatootf 








11 


Vero,Vera,Ve- 


2 


5 


189, 250 


11 


Wolfheah 


2 


7 


255 




rax, Verauius, 








11 


Wolfric 


2 


7 


255 




Verinia 








N.A.I 




4 




283 


Lat. 
Grk. 


J Veronica 


1 


2 


151, 237 


Teu. 


Wyn 


2 


3 


246 


Celt 


Verkendorigh 


2 


9 


261 












Lat 


Virtue 


2 


2 




Grk. 


Xerxes, (Pers.) 


2 


7 


256 


}) 


Vespasian, Ves- 


4 




155, 284 














pellian 








11 


Xanthe 


3 


2 


277 


Celt 


Vhir dhu Mohr 


3 


2 


277 












Teu. 


Vibert 


2 


4 


244 












Lat 


Victor, Victoria 


2 


7 


77, 226 


Brit. 


Yves, Yvonne. 


1 


2 


236 


n 


Victorine, Vic- 


2 


7 


254 




See John, Jane 










toriola 








Ar. 


Yasimeen 


3 


I 


48, 275 


' 1* 


Vincent, Vin- 
centia 


2 


7 


' 157, 226, 
254 


Teu. 


Yolande (Theo- 
delinde) 


3 


1 


275 


Lat 


Vigilins, Vigi- 
liuitius 


2 


8 


258 


Celt 


Y80lt,l80lt(Es. 

sylt) 


2 
3 


4 
1 


} 248, 275 


Sp. 


Vimeira 


4 




284 












Lat 


Vinnulia 


2 


11 


264 












)) 


Viola, Tiolet, 


2 


11 


264 


Heb. 


Zadoc 


2 


2 


243 




Violetta, Vio- 








11 


ZaccheuB 


2 


4 


247 




lante 








Ar. 


Za'idee 


2 


12 


207, 266 


11 


Virginius, Vir- 
ginia, Virginie 


2 


4 


248 


M 


ZaIn<8.)(Zahr) 
afower 


3 


1 





ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES. 



313 



51 




1 


|l 


Page 


if 

Heb. 




1 


li 


Page 


At. 


ZahrelBnstan 


3 


1 


275 


Zillah 


2 


6,11 


48, 223, 251 


» 


ZahrdNaring 


S 


1 


276 


n 


Zimri 


4 




283 


11 


Zara 


2 


4 


207, 249 


11 


Zibiah 


3 


1 


274 


H.\ 


Zarifa 
Zechariah, re- 


2 

i; 


11 
2 


207,275 


»> 


Z^r, Zippo. 


4 




283 












At. 


Zita 


2 


9 


262 




God 








Grk. 


ZoS 


2 


1 


207,242 


)l 


Zeeb 


2 


7 


253 


n 


Zopyra 


2 


1 


242 


Grk. 


Zelie 


2 


7 


207,253 


11 


Zozimia 


2 


1 


242 


n 


ZenaYde 


2 


2 


207, 243 


11 


Zora 


2 


4 


248 


11 


Zeno,Zenobia[ 


1 
2 


2 

1 


203, 224 
242 


Ar. 


Zuleika(8.), Ze- 
leekah 


3 


2 


278 


Heb. 


Zephaniah 


1 


2 


69, 236 


It 


Zolma, Zulejr- 


2 


12 


207 


Grk. 


Zephyrino, Ze- 
phyrine 


1 


1 


196, 235, 




ma, Snleyma 










2 


1 


242 


11 


uumiimicL 


2 


3 


48,246 



The Latin names Aper and Domitian, Glasa 2, Division 7, have been placed, tbroagh 
an oversight of the wnter, amongst the Greek names of the same class and division. 
A similar oversight will be observed in Minotia, Class 3, Divinon 2, and in Maoer, 
Glass 3, Division 3, both of these names hting of Latin derivation. Ignatios, rightly 
translated p. 77, is wrongly classed p. 247. Gther oversights, doabtless, there are in 
upwards of 2,000 names, bat, the writer trusts, not so many as may appear to a casual 
observer. Many names of Latin sound and appearance may be traced, it is conscientiously 
supposed, to a Greek origin. Argentine, bom in Borne of Latin Argentum, does she not 
rightly claim sisterhood with Greek Argyrea, and a common descent from ' Arguros/ 
silver? Or rather let us trace back to * Argos,* shmkig, gUitermg. How suggestive, 
then, is the doubly significant musical name of the Grecian nymph — 'shining' and 
' swift * as a glancing ray of light I Beyond the power of the writer's pen is it even to 
touch upon the wonders of scientific research regarding the undulation of light: but 
in the simple thought of a woman's name, Argyrea, as figurative of one whose feet were 
silvery and swift, Siere is hope for her who would fain be the bearer of even the tiniest 
ray of light, tellmg of the Light of Life — the one true Light for time and for eternity. 



LOVDOV 

PBIVXBD BY SPOXTZSWOODB AlTD CO. 

mSW-BIBBBC BQUABB 



ErrcOa. 

Page 9, Une 8, for Franciaca read Frandsca de Aasiz (e de) 
„ 9, ,, 10, 11, onUt (de Ainsise e de) 

,, 48, „ 14, the reference to note should come after 'Susan/ line 12 
„ 242, „ 14, for Athenais read Athanasia 
„ 281, „ 12,/orJaphet — ^Hunter r^oc^ Japhet — ^Beantifdl 



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