the founder of that family, and the Nangles that of Mac Costello; . . . a branch of the Butlers took the name of Mac Pierce, and the Powers or Poers that of Mac Shere." The Stapletons and a branch of the Burkes assumed the strange name of Gaul, which then signified Englishman,' though at an earlier date it had been a term applied by the Irish to foreigners of every country.

"On the other hand, the Irish families who lived within the English pale and in its vicinity, gradually conformed to the English customs and assumed English surnames, and their doing so was deemed to be of such political importance that it was thought worthy of the consideration of parliament." In 1465 (5 Edw. IV) an act passed intituled, "an Act, that the Irish men dwelling in the counties of Dublin, Myeth, Uriell and Kildare, shall goe apparelled like English men, and weare their beards after the English maner, sweare allegeance, and take English Surname."* This act directs every Irishman whom it concerns to "take to him an English Surname of one towne, as Sutton, Chester, Trym, Skryne, Corke, Kinsale; or colour, as White, Blacke, Browne; or arte or science, as Smith or Carpenter; or office, as Cooke, Butler; and that he and his issue shall use this name under payne of forfeyting of his goods yearely till the premises be done." compelled, the Mac and O'Gowans became Smiths; the Shanachs, Foxes; and the Geals,† Whites; the Mac Intires, Carpenters; the Mac Cogrys, L'Estranges; and Mac Killy, Cock. Other families resisted this persecuting mandate and clung as resolutely to their

*Rot. Parl., c. 16.

Thus

† Mr. O'Donovan denies that Geal (white) was ever used as an Irish It is, however, not unusual in England.

surname.

O's and Macs as they did to everything else that could express their feeling of nationality.

The process of anglicising Irish surnames has gradually continued down to our own times. After the battles of Aughrim and the Boyne, when the pride of the Irish was more thoroughly humbled than it had ever been before, numbers of families of all ranks assimilated their names to the English by the rejection of their two old characteristic prefixes and by an accommodated orthography. One Felim O'Neill, a gentleman, changed his name to Felix Neele, which drew down upon him a caustic Latin epigram, written by a patriotic poet and scholar, named Mac Conwy. Mr. O'Donovan gives us the following translation of it :

"All things has Felix changed, has changed his name;

Yea, in himself he is no more the same.

Scorning to spend his days where he was reared,

To drag out life among the vulgar herd,

Or trudge his way through bogs in bracks and brogues,
He changed his creed, and joined the Saxon rogues

By whom his sires were robbed; he laid aside

The arms they bore for centuries with pride,

The Ship, the Salmon, and the famed Red Hand,
And blushed when called O'Neill in his own land!
Poor paltry skulker from thy noble race,

Infelix Felix, weep for thy disgrace!"

Among plebeian families, the old Irish names have been so far anglicised that Mr. O'Donovan thinks that in the course of half a century it will be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish to which race many families belong, except indeed by the aid of history and physiognomical characteristics. The change is made either by 'paring down' a name, or by translating it. The antient name of O'Mulmoghery is now

always rendered Early, because moch-eirghe signifies 'early rising.' O'Marcachain is translated by some to Ryder anglicised by others to Markham; O'Hiomair is anglicised Howard among the peasantry, and Ivers among the gentry; O'Beirne has become, in some of its branches, Byron, and in others, Bruin. Mr. O'Donovan instances many other families who have thus changed their names, but those above given are sufficient for our purpose here.

Other families have gallicised their names, as O'Dorcy to D'Arcy; O'Malley to De Maillet; O'Mulaville to Lavelle; O'Dulainé to Delany, as if from De Lani; O'Dowling to Du Laing; there are even a few instances of hispanicism, as O'Malrony to O'Muruana! A desire to assimilate with their fellowsubjects, the English-call it cool prudence, imbecility, absence of patriotism, or what you will-offers some excuse for the adoption of our patronymics by the Irish; but this assumption of French and Spanish names looks like sheer vanity, and strongly reminds one of the story of Jack Anvil in the Spectator, who, to please an aspiring wife, styled himself Mr. John D'Enville!

All these changes are of course very unpalatable to Mr. O'Donovan, and he is by no means sparing of his censure thereupon. He looks however with a more lenient eye upon some contractions, such as M'Keogh, and Keogh from Mac Eochy; Ennis and Guinness from Mac-Gennis; Conry from O'Mulconry; Kilkenny from Mac Gillakenny; "especially when the changes are made for the purpose of rendering such names easy of pronunciation in the mouths of magistrates and lawyers, who could not, in many cases, bring their organs of speech to pronounce them in their original Irish form."

The practice of assimilation has likewise been extended to Christian names. Thus Cathell (the same with the Welsh Cadell-now, by the way, become an English surname) signifying 'warlike,' was changed to Charles in compliment to king Charles I. So Conor has been supplanted by Cornelius, Dermod by Jeremiah, Donogh by Denis, Moriertagh by Mortimer, Finghin by Florence, Donnell by Daniel, Ardgal by Arnold, Ferdoragh by Ferdinand, and Mogue by Moses. I cannot follow Mr. O'Donovan through his etymological objections to these alterations; but it may be as well to remark that the similarity of sound-often slight enough it must be confessed-is the only ground upon which they can be based, since the adopted name is generally quite at variance, as to meaning, with the original appellative.*

This cursory review of Mr. O'Donovan's essays, I venture to think, will prove very acceptable to English readers. For those who would desire to see the subject more fully treated, I cannot do better than advise them to procure his lucubrations at length in the interesting periodical before referred to, which is altogether highly valuable for its illustrations of Irish life, manners, feelings, and antiquities.

* In the Annals of the Four Masters, vol. i, pp. 41 and 42, is given a list of Irish personal names, with the English names which have usurped their places. Some of the former are highly expressive and poetical in their original signification; as

MALE.

Ardgal, exalted valour.

Cormac, son of a chariot.

Toirdhealbhach, a man of tower-like stature.

FEMALE.

Dervorgil, purely fair daughter.

Fionnghuala, fair-shouldered woman.

Feithfailge, honey-suckle of ringlets.

CHAPTER XXV.

OF NORMAN SURNAMES.

6

HOPE I shall not be charged with wandering from my subject by travelling out of England for the purpose of illustrating our Family Nomenclature. Having devoted two chapters to Scottish and Irish Surnames, it was my intention to have written a brief essay on those of France (and particularly of Normandy), when I met with the able and interesting Letters of Monsieur de Gerville, the veteran archæologist, on this topic, in the Memoirs of the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy,' On a careful perusal of these documents, I perceived that I had ready to my hand a far better view of the surnominal characteristics of that province than any original dissertation of my own could furnish. I have therefore undertaken a translation of M. de Gerville's third Letter, which relates wholly to Surnames (as the first and second do to names of localities), in the hope that my readers may derive the same pleasure from the perusal of it as it has afforded myself; and with a view to the fuller illustration of our main topic-the history and meaning of English Surnames.