AND SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

1816.

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22

ENCYCLOPÆDIA PERTHENSIS.

SUR

(1.) * SURNAME. n. f. [furnom, Fr. 1. The name of the family; the name which one has over and above the Chriftian name.-Many which were mere English joined with the Irish against the king, taking on them Irish habits and cuftoms, of which fort be moft of the furnames that end in cs, as Herman, Shinan, and Mungan. Spenfer.He, made heir not only of his brother's kingdom, but of bis virtues and haughty thoughts, and of the furname also of Barbaroffa, began to afpire to the empire. Knolles.-The epithets of great men, monfieur Boileau is of opinion, were in the nature of furnames. Pope, 2. An appella. tion added to the original name.—

Witness may

My furname Coriolanus: the painful service, The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood Shed for my thanklefs country, are required But with that furname. Shak. (2.) SURNAME is that which is added to the proper name for diftinguishing perfons and families. It was originally diftinguifhed from SIRNAME, which denotes the name of the fire or progenitor; thus Macdonald and Robertfon, are firnames expreffing the fon of Donald, the fon of Robert. The word furname, again from fur, Fr. above or upon, and nom, name, fignified fome name fuperadded to the proper name to diftinguish the individual, as Artaxerxes Longimanus, Harold Harefoot, Malcolm Canmore. From this it is evident, that every firname was a furname, but every furname was not a firname. In modern times they are nearly confounded; and as there is now little occafion to preferve the diftinction, Dr Johnfon has rejected the word firname altogether; wherein he certainly did wrong, for he has retained words much more obfolete. See NAME. Surnames have been introduced among moft nations, but among many not at a very early period. They feem to have been formed at firft by adding the name of the father to that of the fon. Among the Hebrews,

VOL. XXII. PART I.

SUR

Caleb is denominated the son of Jephunneh, and
Jofhua the fun of Nun. But it is evident that
these were not used as furnames. Even fo late as
our Saviour's time the Jews had no regular fa-
mily furnames. Some had nicknames, or perfonal
epithets from accidental or characteristical cir-
cumftances, as Simon Peter, Judas Lebbæus, Jo-
But
Jeph Barfabas Juftus, Judas Iscariot, &c.
none of these were hereditary, as all furnames
properly are. Ifcariot is thought by fome com.
mentators to have been a name taken by Judas
from his landed property. We admit that in all
nations, while men had but one name, it was usual
to diftinguish them, by mentioning the name of
their fathers. That the ancient Greeks, as well as
the Jews did fo is evident from the very first line of
the Hliad : Αχιλλήος Πηληιάδες, “ Achilles the fon of
Peleus." This perhaps gave rife to furnames,
which at laft became common among most na-
tions. The old Normans used Fitz, which fignifies
Jon; as Fitzherbert, Fitzsimmons, the fon of Her-
The Irish ufed O, or
bert, the fon of Simon.
Oy, for grandfon, which is ftill used in many parts
of Scotland; the compiler's maternal great-grand-
mother boafted that the had 100 oyes: O'Neal,
O'Donnel, &c. therefore fignify the grandson of
Neal and of Donald. The Scottish Highlanders
employed Mac; as Macdonald, the fon of Donald.
The Saxons added the word fon to the end of the
father's name, as Williamfon. The Romans ge-
nerally had three names, often four or five. The
firft called prænomen anfwered to our Chriftian
name, and was intended to diftinguish the indivi-
duals of the family; the ad called nomen corre-
fponded to the word clan in Scotland, and was
given to all thofe who were fprung from the fame
ftock; the 3d called cognomen expreffed the par-
ticular branch of the tribe or clan from which an
individual was fprung. Thus Publius Cornelius
Scipio: Publius corresponded to our names John,
Robert, and William: Cornelius was the name of

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the