Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 271, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 November 1910 — FORBID TWO NAMES [ARTICLE]

FORBID TWO NAMES

OLD ENGLISH LAV, V3RY DEFINITE AS TO NAMING CHILDREN.

Practise Has Now Become Almost Universal Royal Personages Have Always Been Allowed More Than One.

Middle names, hard as it is to credit in this generation, were once illegal. The old English law was very definite as to the naming of children, and, according to Coke, “A man cannot have two names at baptism.” “It is requisite,” this law goes on, “that the purchaser be named by the name of his baptism and his surname, and that special heed be taken to the name of baptism.” Royal personages have always been allowed to have more than one given name, but as late as 1600, it is said, there were only four persons in all England who had two given names. In 1620 the Mayflower sailed for America, and there was not a man or woman upon it who had a middle name. Even a century and a half ago double names were very uncommon. The English used to dodge the law at times by ingeniously compounding names. Thus old parish registers in England there is occasionally seen such combinations as Fannasabilia, which is Fanny and Sybil joined together, and Annameriar, made up of Anna and Maria. Maris is one of the earliest middle names of record for boys. It was given in honor of the Virgin Mary. As much as they dared beginning along in the 18th century, parents evaded the “one-name law,”

But even as late as 100 years ago custom was against the middle name. If the names of the signers of the declaration of Independence be looked over it will be found that only three of them had middle names. The first five presidents of the United States had only one name each—George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Before Grant, 18th of the line, there were only three doublenamed executives John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison and James Knox Polk.

When middle names got going and became the fashion, the law having dropped into disuse, parents went to work combining names for their offspring enthusiastically. One custom was done away with in England in consequence of this, the plan of naming the eldest son for the estate, particularly when he succeeds to that estate through his mother. This old idea is still followed to some extent in this country by the mother’s maiden name being given to the eldest son. It identifies the boy when he grows to manhood, and so has a positive value. During the time of the civil war and just after hundreds of parents named sons simply Lincoln and Grant.

Such Instances have, however, been uncommon for the past 50 years. The middle name has become well-nigh universal. Sometimes the .Case arises of a man prominent in public life or literature leaving off Ms first name altogether and becoming known by bis middle name. Grover Cleveland, whose baptismal name was Stephen Grover Cleveland, has been the meat conspicuous example of this.—Harper’s Weekly.