The Craft In A Surname |
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| By davidbunch |
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| A large number of our most common surnames ´today are
occupative܂ This is not surprising when we consider ´the fact
that ´the same craft often persisted in one family for
several generations܂ It is believed ´that occupative surnames
were probably ´the first ´to become hereditary܂ For example‚
let us suppose ´that ´three men‚ all named Tom‚ lived in one
community܂ One was a baker; another was a miller; ´the ´third
was a smith܂ To avoid confusion‚ people of ´the community
would speak of ´the first as Tom‚ ´the baker܂ The second would
be known as Tom‚ ´the miller; ´the ´third‚ Tom‚ ´the smith܂
Nothing could be more natural ´then‚ ´than for ´these men ´to
become Mr܂ Tom Baker‚ Mr܂ Tom Miller‚ and Mr܂ Tom Smith܂ Now
let us further suppose ´that ´two Toms‚ ´two Dicks‚ and ´two
Harrys left London at ´the same ´time for Liverpool܂ Both of
the Toms were bakers܂ Since ´there was already a Mr܂ Tom
Baker living in Liverpool— our hypothetical community of ´the
preceding paragraph may as well be Liverpool—the people of
Liverpool would now have ´the problem of distinguishing
between ´the ´three bakers‚ all named Tom܂ The first Liverpool Tom would continue ´to be known as Mr܂ Tom Baker܂ One of ´the ´two London Toms might easily become Mr܂ Tom London܂ If ´the other Tom-from-London was extremely tall and slim he might become known as Mr܂ Tom Long—or Longfellow܂ Long and Longfellow belong ´to ´the nickname group of surnames܂ One of ´the ´two Dicks from London might also be a baker܂ If his neighbors considered him extremely shrewd or cunning‚ he could easily become Mr܂ Dick Fox܂ If ´the other Dick-from-London were also a baker he could be named Mr܂ Dick Baker—provided ´that ´the Liverpool Dicks were not bakers‚ and ´the new name would not be confusing܂ These same things could happen ´to ´the Harrys܂ There could be still another baker in Liverpool܂ We shall call ´this one Matthew܂ If our second Harrv-from-London became associated with Matthew in ´the baking business he might become Mr܂ Harry Matthew܂ His surname would ´thus be derived from a personal name܂ On ´the other hand‚ ´this Harry might wish ´to be known as ´the son of his father who was called John‚ or Andrew perhaps܂ Harry could ´then be Mr܂ Harry Johns‚ Mr܂ Harrv Johnson‚ or Mr܂ Harry Andrews܂ In southern England ´the genitive -s was more common܂ In ´the northern part of ´the country -son was frequent܂ The Scandinavian countries contributed -sen܂ |
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