E-text prepared by Jon Richfield THE ROMANCE OF NAMES * * * * * Advertising material that appeared at the start of the book BY THE SAME AUTHOR THE ROMANCE OF WORDS "A book of extraordinary interest; those who do not yet realise how enthralling a subject word-history is could not do better than sample its flavour in Mr. Weekley's admirable book." --Spectator. Third Edition. 6s. net. SURNAMES "A study of the origin and significance of surnames, full of fascination for the general reader." --Truth. Second Edition. 6s. net. AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH "It is a very great pleasure to get a dictionary from Mr. Weekley. One knows from experience that Mr. Weekley would contrive to avoid unnecessary dullness, even if he were compiling a railway guide, but that he would also get the trains right." --Mr. J. C. SQUIRE in The Observer. Crown 4to. L 2 2s. net. * * * * * Third Edition, Revised THE ROMANCE OF NAMES by ERNEST WEEKLEY, M.A. Professor of French and Head of the Modern Language Department at University College, Nottingham; Sometime Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge London John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. 1922 First Edition January 1914 Second Edition March 1914 Third Edition May 1922 All Rights Reserved CONTENTS THE ROMANCE OF NAMES PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 1 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 2 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 3 CHAPTER I. OF SURNAMES IN GENERAL 7 PERSONAL NAMES 8 NICKNAMES 9 MYTHICAL ETYMOLOGIES 10 ALTERNATIVE ORIGINS 11 NAMES DESIRABLE OR UNDESIRABLE 13 CHAPTER II. A MEDIEVAL ROLL 15 LONDON JURYMEN 16 MIDDLESEX JURYMEN 23 STEEPLE CLAYDON COTTAGERS 25 CHAPTER III. SPELLING AND SOUND 29 VARIANT SPELLINGS 30 DIALECTIC VARIANTS 32 APHESIS 33 EPITHESIS AND ASSIMILATION 35 METATHESIS 36 BABY PHONETICS 37 CHAPTER IV. BROWN, JONES, AND ROBINSON 40 OCCUPATIVE NAMES 40 THE DISTRIBUTION OF NAMES 42 CHAPTER V. THE ABSORPTION OF FOREIGN NAMES 44 THE HUGUENOTS 44 PERVERSIONS OF FOREIGN NAMES 46