Its ceiling had been a high-pointed arch, traces of which still remain. Immediately under the hall is an apartment of the same style, its arched ceiling formed of strong stone ribs, the spaces between which are linteled over with hewn flags, and most probably the arching over the great hall was in the same manner.

Of architectural details there are few left. Externally, everything has been plain, if we except the corbelling which supports the parapet, but from fragments of the bases and capitals of chimney jambs it is evident that great skill and taste have been displayed in the interior decorations. One capital still preserved is certainly very fine, and judging from its character we may assume that the castle was erected in the latter part of the thirteenth century.

There are a great number of masons' marks on the faces of the hewn stones, and it is worthy of notice that among them is one which is also found on the walls of Glasgow Cathedral.

The moat of the castle is still 10 feet deep, and 30 feet broad throughout its whole length. It is, however, much overgrown with brushwood. A drawbridge crossed near its west centre, where there are still some remains of the gateway towers.

The members afterwards inspected a monolith at Hippingstone, on the east side of the road leading to the Kennishead Railway Station. It measures 6 feet in height above the ground surface, and at least as many feet below, and in breadth is about 2 feet 6 inches in each direction at its centre. It bears, however, no inscription, and no tradition or record is known to indicate its age or object.

NO. XX.

ON SURNAMES, AND SEVERAL MATTERS RELATING THERETO.

BY

DAVID MACKINLAY, Esq.

[Read at a Meeting of the Society held at Glasgow on 2nd February, 1863.]

ROWLAND HILL on one occasion commenced a discourse by stating that he would first speak to the text, then round about the text, and lastly, away from the text. In this paper I mean to avail myself of the liberty of the preacher, as my subject requires a little freedom of

treatment.

Before entering on the subject, however, it may be well to say a few words about personal or Christian names. These have been used in all ages of the world, and, in early times, were usually chosen from their fancied appropriateness to the condition or prospects of the family, or in order to express some peculiarity in the personal appearance or disposition of the child. Many beautiful illustrations of this are to be found in the Bible.

An interesting inquiry here presents itself-Were personal names in early times liable to be changed during the life of the bearer? I think we must answer this in the affirmative; at least so far as to say that changes were occasionally effected: for when a man by his conduct belied the name he bore, it is reasonable to think that his neighbours would call him by another name more in keeping with his true character. A consideration of the names mentioned in the Landnámabók-the Domesday book of Iceland-is strongly confirmatory of this view. How otherwise can we explain the existence of such personal names as Bothmódr, weary of the fight; Drafli, = drawler; Gamli, the old; Gaukr, proud fool; and others of like kind, which could not have been imposed in infancy? The son of one of the first settlers in Iceland was called Smithr—most likely in consequence of his clever-handedness. He is the only one. of that name mentioned in the Landnámabók.

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The rich variety of the ancient personal names is very striking;

and, taking population into account, probably equalled that of our modern surnames. Thus, the Landnámabók exhibits a list of more than 800 male personal names among the first settlers of Iceland and their immediate descendants; and the number of these names increased with the increase of the population. Indeed, personal names had a tendency to increase indefinitely till the custom was introduced of bestowing upon children the names of other people. The poetry of name-giving then disappeared, and personal names not only ceased to increase, but became at once exposed to decay through the occasional disuse of particular names. In the western parts of Europe this decay was greatly accelerated by the introduction of Christianity, which cast discredit on the mythological and warlike names-a very numerous class—and substituted for them a few well-known scriptural names. Among the latter none took so high a place as the name of the beloved disciple of our Lord. In Iceland at the present day, nearly 6000 persons, out of a population of 32,000 males, bear the name of John, although there are 518 male personal names in use throughout the island. The census returns of Great Britain— if examined with this view-would probably shew that the name John is not less common here. In Iceland, where surnames are still very rare, personal names are more numerous than with us. The extreme poverty of these names among the people of Western Europe is mainly owing to the use of surnames.

So long as population was sparse, and the choice of a child's name was unrestricted by custom, a second name was not needed; but the increasing density of population, combined with the decay of personal names, at length rendered this desirable. If a dozen Johns lived in the same village it is plain that in speaking of them individually some descriptive epithet or appellation would be necessary in order to distinguish the one from the other. Surnames were scarcely known in this country before the Norman conquest, and it was several centuries after that event before their use became general. At first they were confined to the great families of the country, but in process of time they were adopted by, or imposed upon all classes of the community.

In all ages princes and other men of mark have occasionally been distinguished by some epithet added to their name. Thus we read of William the Lion, Henry Beauclerk, Hrolf the Ganger, and Charles Martel. But these to-names were not peculiar to the great: on the contrary, they were in frequent use among all classes of

society, and in later times became a fruitful source of surnames. Many of the persons mentioned in the Landnámabók have to-names attached to the personal names. Some of these to-names their bearers had no reason to be ashamed of-as Rammi,

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the strong;

the wise; Kneif, the fishing

rod. Others of them were far from flattering-as Skjálgi, squinteyed; Hynefr, hairy neb; Illíngr, the scoundrel; Gothlaus= the wicked; Nefja, = nosey; Ölfus, = ale bibber. Many of our surnames are merely to-names which have clung to the families of their first bearers, and which, in not a few instances, must have been very unwillingly adopted. Who, for instance, would choose to assume the name of Addlehead, Cowbrain, Gallows, or any of the thousand and one nicknames equally opprobrious which are now perpetuated as surnames?

Strictly speaking, surnames scarcely deserve to be so called until they become hereditary. In early times they were not so. A man might then be known by a particular name at one period of his life, and by a different name at a later period; and his children did not necessarily assume the name by which he himself was known. If he had half a dozen sons, each of these might have different surnames, none of which resembled his own. It was no uncommon thing for a man to be known by a local surname at one period and by a trade surname at another. By and by, however, surnames became more fixed, and a man fell heir to his father's name more regularly than to his estate. But, after all, it is doubtful if surnames have yet become definitely fixed among certain classes of the community.

The variableness of surnames in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, even among the nobility, is shown by a glance at the genealogical tree of the house of Stuart. Alan Fitz Flaald, who lived at the beginning of the twelfth century, and who was grandson by the father's side to Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, had two sons, Walter and William. Both of these took the surname Fitz Alan. Walter's son, Alan, assumed the name Fitz Walter; while Alan's son, Walter, became Walter Fitz Alan. Walter's son, Alexander, gave up the practice of assuming the father's Christian name, and took the surname Stuart from the office he held in the state, and in his descendants the name became hereditary. William, the other son of Alan Fitz Flaald, took, as before-mentioned, the surname

Fitz Alan, and in his descendants this became the family name. The family of the Duke of Norfolk, who is the lineal representative of William, still retain the surname Fitz Alan, with the Scandinavian personal name Howard added to it. It is worthy of note here, that while Walter Fitz Alan's descendants became hereditary Grand Stewards of Scotland, those of William Fitz Alan became hereditary Earls Marshal of England.

Surnames have been derived from many various sources, but the most prolific of these have been sirenames, local names, and trade names. Of the latter I do not mean to speak.

Sirenames are surnames taken from the Christian or personal name of the father or other progenitor. The personal name was often assumed without change or addition, and thus have originated such surnames as James, Henry, Giles, Oswald, and others. Names of this class are very numerous, but many of them do not readily indicate their origin, either because they have suffered corruption, or represent ancient personal names now extinct. There is less variety among the Celtic sirenames than among the Teutonic and Scandinavian. A careful survey of the names recorded in the Landnámabók -and these represent only a small part of the old Norse personal names-shows how much our surnames owe to our Scandinavian ancestors. Here are some sirenames under the letter A which represent old Norse personal names no longer in use: Airey, Aiston, Algar, Alley, Almond, Ann, And, Anketell, Arkell, Arney, Arnott, Ass, Atley, Atwool. Some of the old personal names have branched out into several surnames, in consequence of various slight changes of form or sound. Thus the old Norse personal name Sigurdr (pronounced almost like Sivurdr), is represented by the surnames Seaward, Saward, Seward, Sheward, and Sword,-the latter showing its parentage better when pronounced in the less polite but more correct way, as Swurd.

In assuming a father's personal name it was common, at least in later times, to add some word or particle to the name to show the relationship. To this custom we owe such names as Williamson, Robertson, Richardson. But as the contracted form of the name was often preferred, we have the same names under the form of Wilson, Robson, and Dickson. This was especially the case in some of the Border Districts where Robsons, Jacksons, Wilsons, and Dicksons abound. The sirenames ending in son, are, as a rule, more modern than those from personal names pure and simple, for while many of