Surname Origins, Their Source and Significations (1875)

This surname, too, is now all but equally common with the other, being met with in the several shapes of 'Caesar,' ''Cayser,' 'Cayzer,' 'Kaiser,'and ' Keyser.'1 The name of 'Julius Caesar,' as that of one of our most esteemed professional cricketers, has only just disappeared from the annals of that noble game. The posterity of such enrolled burgesses as 'William le Kyng' or 'Thomas le Kyng' still flourish and abound in our midst. An imperious temperament would thus readily meet with good-humoured censure. 'Matilda le Quen' or 'Simon Quene' has not quite failed of issue; but had it been otherwise, it could not have been matter for any astonishment, as the sobriquet was doubtless anything but a complimentary affix. We must remember that, somewhat curiously, the old ' quen,' or, as the Scotch still term it, ' quean,'at once represents the highest rank to which a woman can reach and the lowest depth to which she can fall. So would it be once more with our endless 'Princes,'and 'Comtes' or 'Counts,' 'Viscuntes,' the heads of provincial government.2There is no reason, however, why our 'Dukes,' 'Dooks,' or 'Ducs,' as they are more generally found in our rolls ('Roger le Duc,' E.,' Adam le Duk.' M.),3 should not be what they represent, or rather then represented. A 'duke' was of course anything but what we now understand by the term,

1 Some of these forms may be but corruptions of 'Osier,' the old cheese-maker, found in the Writs of Parliament in such entries as 'Michael le Casiere,' or 'Benedict le Casiere.' 'Cayser' would require little variation to make it such.

2 Ellice Prynce' (Z.), 'John le Cunte' (E.), 'Peter le Counte' (G.), 'John le Viscounte' (B.).

3 William le Duck' (T.). Our 'Ducks' may thus be official rather than ornithological.

SURNAMES OF OFFICE.

being then, as it more literally signifies, a leader, or chieftain, or head. It is thus used in Scripture. Lang-land, to quote him again, says of Justice

A-drad was he nevere

Neither of duc ne of deeth.

Elsewhere, too, he describes 'Rex Gloria' as addressing Lucifer upon the brink of Hades, and saying

Dukes of this dymme place,

Anoon undo these yates,

That Crist may come in,

The kynges sone of hevene.

It is in this same category we must set, I doubt not, such old registrations as 'Robert le Baron' or ' Walterle Baron,' 'John le Lorde' or 'Walter le Loverd,' and

Walter le Theyn' or 'Nicholas le Then,' names now found as 'Baron,' 'Lord,' and 'Thain,' 'Thaine,' or Thane.' 'Even in the case of names of a more ecclesiastic character, we shall have to apply the same remark. We have still in our midst descendants of the ' le Cardinals' and ' le Bishops' of the thirteenth century, and there can be little doubt that these were, in the majority of cases, but nicknames given to particular individuals by way of ridiculing certain characteristics which seemed to tend in the direction the name suggested.

As I have already hinted, however, there is anotherand equally probable origin for many of the names I have mentioned. Pageantries and mock ceremonies

1 This word is found as a compound in 'William Burtheyn,' a Saxon title equivalent to the Norman 'Chamberlain.' The Prompt. Par, has ' burmayden,' i.e. ' chamber-maid.'