What’s Yours?

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 386, 31 March 1932, Page 14

What’s Yours?

Have you ever wondered where your snrname came from ? The varieties and peculiarities of some names are well worth noting, for people get their names in many ways. For instance, a man named John had a son, who was distinguished from the father by being called John’s son: hence the surname Johnson. From Richard, James and William we have Richardson, Jameson and Williamson, and Williams. A man ■with a swarthy complexion would be called Brown; one with fair hair would be called White. It was necessary only

to add the suffix “ ing ” and then we got such names as Browning, Whiting. Many surnames are made by simply adding “ s ” to a Christian name. John Roberts, for instance—John Robert’s son. Ellis, Edwards, Richards, and others originated in the same way. The trades in which persons were engaged account for many familiar surnames. It must have been as natural to style a man the sen of a clerk as the son of Harry in a small community, where the father had established his profession. Hence, the son of a clerk became Clarkson, just as the son of Harry became Harrison.