Surname Origins, Their Source and Significations (1875)

such men as 'Saber de Quincy,'the famous old Earl of Winchester. The registrations of this as a personal name are very frequent. Such entries as 'John fil. Saer,' 'Saher Clerk,' 'Saher le King,' or 'Eudo fil.Sygar,' are common. Nor has 'Sigbiorn' been a1-lowed to become obsolete, as our 'Sibornes' and 'Seabornes' can testify. I cannot discover any in-stance of 'Sibbald' as a personal name after the Domesday Survey, but as a relic of 'Sigbald' it is still living in a surnominal form. Though apparently occupative, our registers clearly proclaim that'Seman' or 'Seaman' must be set here. As a personal name it is found in such designations as ' Seman de Champagne,' or 'Seaman de Baylif,' or 'Seaman Carpenter.'With the mention of 'Sebright' as a corruption of 'Sigbert' or 'Sebert,' I pass on; but this is sufficientto show that a name whose root-meaning implied heroism was popular with our forefathers.

The popular notion that 'Howard' is nothing but 'Hogward ' is not borne out by facts. We find no trace whatever of its gradual reduction into such a corrupt form. As we shall have occasion to show hereafter, it is our 'Hoggarts' who thus maintain the honours of our swine-tending ancestors. There can be little doubt, indeed, that 'Howard' is but another form of 'Harvard ' or 'Hereward: That it had early become so pronounced and spelt we can prove by an entry occurring in the Test. Ebor. (Suit. Soc.) where one 'John Fitz-howard' is registered. Our 'Herman's' and 'Harmans' represent 'Herman,' a name which, though in early use in England, we owe chiefly to immigration in later days. Such entries as 'Herman de Francia' or 'Herman de Alemannia' are occasionally

PATRONYMIC SURNAMES.

met with. The fuller patronymic attached itself to this name; hence such entries as 'Walter Herman-son,' and 'John Urmynson,' 'Harmer,' and 'Hermer,' seem to be somewhat of kin to the last. The personal form is found in 'Robert fil. Hermer,' and the surname in 'Hopkins Harmar.' Besides 'Hardwin,' 'Hadwin' is also met with as a relic of the same, while 'Harding' has remained unaltered from the day when registrars entered such names as 'Robert fil. Harding' and 'Maurice fil. Harding; ' but this, as 'Fitz-harding' reminds us, must be looked upon as of Norman introduction. Nor must 'Swain ' be for-gotten. We find in the Survey the wife of 'Edward filius Suani,' figuring among the tenants-in-chief of Essex. This is of course but our present 'Swainson' or 'Swanson;' and when we add all the 'Swains,' 'Swayns,' and 'Swaynes' of our directories we shall find that this name has a tolerably assured position in the nineteenth century. 'Swain' implied strength, specially the strength of youth; and as Samson's strength became utter weakness through his affection, so I suppose it has fared with 'Swain.' The country shepherd piping to his mistress, the lovesick bachelor, has monopolised the title. As a personal name it occurs in such registrations as 'Sweyn Colle,' 'Swanus le Riche,' or 'Adam fit. Swain.'

II. — Names introduced or confirmed by the Normans.

Of names specially introduced at the Conquest, or that received an impulse by that event, we may mention 'Serl' and 'Harvey.' 'Serl,' found in such names as 'Serle Morice' or 'Serle Gotokirke,' or