What’s In A Name?

Mr. Todd and Mr. Lawrie are walking down the street. They see Mr. Fuchs and Mr. Renard coming toward them. If such a statement seems to invite the popular "So what?" let us put it in a different way. Mr. Fox and Mr. Fox are walking down the street. They see Mr. Fox and Mr. Fox coming toward them. Both statements say the same thing. The first, however, indicates that Mr. Todd's paternal ancestors probably lived in northern England several centuries ago, when surnames came into being; that Mr. Lawrie's people lived in Scotland; the forebears of Mr. Fuchs in Germany. Mr. Renard's forefathers were French. Let us not jump to conclusions. Today all Todds, Lawries, Fuchs and Renards are not necessarily of British, German, or French origin.

Todd, for instance, could also mean a Holland fishing boat. Also, people are sometimes dissatisfied with their own names and wish, legally to change them. Considering the word "surname" itself, the first part, sur, means upon, above, on top of. "Last" names were placed on top of "first" names about eight or nine centuries ago to distinguish the various Toms, Dicks, and Harrys of that day, one from the other. Surnames originated as the simple result of necessity. Population groups were increasing. Commerce was spreading. Rural areas were becoming villages. Villages were growing into towns. When Tom, Dick, and Harry moved from one place to another they needed some means of identifying themselves from resident Toms, Dicks, and Harrys. In England these family names did not become hereditary until after the Norman Conquest. Previously, they scarcely existed.

Once in a while some important person came down in history with a nickname, such as Edmund Ironside. This was exceptional. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries a change took place among all the more populated and civil' European societies. Man's new and distinguishing name became part of his property. It passed on to his direct descendants with his other possessions. There are various ways in which surnames originated. Sometimes they designated property owned. At other times they were assumed by, or applied to, an individual as the result of some local peculiarity or distinguishing feature marking his place of residence. Nature generously furnished sources for many of today's popular surnames. Not only geographic and topographic features, but, also, natural resources, trees, and plants came in for their share of name-giving. Birds and animals contributed to the nickname group. There are a few other classes. The occupative group includes those derived from occupations. And, since it is natural that young people be known as the children of their parents, patronymic surnames arose.

By: davidbunch

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