Names: and Their Meaning

In Short

This comprehensive reference volume investigates the historical and linguistic origins of common proper names, everyday words, geographical locations, and cultural terms. Organized by thematic categories—ranging from geographic territories and religious movements to fabric types, street names, and colorful historical sobriquets—it uncovers the forgotten human stories behind modern vocabulary. The work explains how corruptions of foreign phrases, forgotten misers, regional trades, and historical events evolved into standard English terminology. It has endured as a classic reference because it transforms routine dictionary definitions into engaging historical narratives accessible to general readers.

The Story

The book opens with an investigation into geographic names across the globe, establishing how natural features, indigenous terms, and colonial encounters shaped modern maps. It explains how American territories acquired their names, detailing how Cortez derived California from Spanish words for a hot furnace, how Manitoba traces back to the Great Spirit, and how Florida was named for its Easter Sunday discovery. Moving into religious history, the text traces how theological disputes, schisms, and political protests generated lasting labels. It demonstrates how the term Catholic grew into specific designations like the Roman, Greek, and Anglican Churches, while detailing how German princes protesting an imperial decree gave rise to the label Protestant.

From religious movements, the narrative transitions into British political history and royal dynasties. It outlines the origins of monarchical surnames, from Alfred the Great's military and civic restorations to William Rufus's ruddy complexion and Henry Beauclerc's scholarly reputation. The work traces the evolution of factional labels during civil conflicts, showing how the cropped hair of Parliamentary supporters produced the nickname Roundheads, while the chivalric escort of Charles I yielded Cavaliers. It tracks Irish political groups through the centuries, detailing how dawn raids created the Peep o’ Day Boys, white smocks named the White Boys, and the 1880 land siege of Captain Boycott permanently introduced a new verb into the English language.

The work then shifts to geographic and urban topographies, exploring the naming of English counties and the dense streetscape of London. It details how county names preserve physical features and Roman encampments, as seen in Lancashire's origin as the camp-town on the River Lune. Across London's parishes and thoroughfares, the text unearths local histories: King's Cross taking its title from a demolished statue of George IV, Chalk Farm corrupting the older Chalcot Farm, and Maida Vale commemorating an 1806 battle against the French.

Finally, the text examines everyday items, social slang, and domestic culture. It maps textiles to their original manufacturing sites—damask to Damascus, muslin to Mosul, and calico to Calicut—before exploring London inns, theatrical sobriquets, and eccentric figures. It explains the origin of personal insults and colloquialisms, demonstrating how non compos mentis shrank into nincompoop, and how an untruthful Scottish landowner named Hume of the Bogue eventually produced the word humbug. The book concludes by cataloging cultural terms, calendar days, and beverage names, completing its survey of human language.

How It Unfolds

Mapping the World The opening section examines global geographic names, illustrating how natural landscapes, native languages, and historical explorers shaped national and colonial territories. It details how lower climate conditions led Cortez to name California, while Indian words yielded designations like Canada and Manitoba.

Faith and Faction The narrative examines religious schisms and political movements, tracing how theological conflicts generated specific church names and socio-political labels. It outlines how six princes protesting an imperial decree established the term Protestant, and how Irish land disputes turned Captain Boycott's surname into a universal term for social ostracization.

Crowns and Nicknames Focusing on British monarchs and public figures, this section breaks down royal epithets and popular sobriquets. It details how personal traits and physical characteristics yielded titles like William Rufus and Edmund Ironsides, while literary figures earned titles such as The Wizard of the North.

London's Urban Landscape The text walks through London's streets, parishes, and landmarks, revealing the localized history preserved in urban place-names. It shows how ancient streams, forgotten property owners, and former inns shaped modern street names from Marylebone to Hanway Street.

Everyday Commodities and Slang The final movement catalogs domestic items, fabrics, and colloquial language, linking ordinary vocabulary to historical manufacturing centers and eccentric historical figures. It traces textiles like damask and calico back to their original ports, while explaining how Latin legal terms and local eccentrics created words like nincompoop and humbug.

The People

Because this is a non-fiction study of nomenclature, the primary figures are the historical personages, authors, and colorful eccentrics whose actions, traits, or estates permanently entered the English vocabulary:

• Hernando Cortez: The Spanish explorer who discovered the peninsula of Lower California. Seeking a label for its intensely warm climate, he derived the name from two Spanish words meaning "hot furnace."
• Captain Boycott: A land agent of Lord Erne in County Mayo whose property was besieged and isolated during Irish agrarian troubles in 1880. His refusal to yield, combined with the complete isolation imposed by local laborers and tradesmen, transformed his surname into a universal verb for systematic exclusion.
• Alfred the Great: The Saxon monarch who earned his enduring surname by expelling Danish invaders, establishing a navy, founding schools, and restoring legal order during early British history.
• William Rufus: The Norman king who inherited his Latin-derived surname from his notably florid, ruddy complexion.
• "Hume of the Bogue": A Scottish landowner near the Mearns known for telling absurd falsehoods about his estate and affairs. His local reputation led neighbors to mock unbelievable stories, eventually coining the modern word humbug.
• Jonas Hanway: An eccentric Londoner who gained distinction in 1750 by becoming the first person to regularly carry an umbrella through the city streets, leaving his name attached to Hanway Street.

In Its Own Voice

"The title originally chosen has, therefore, been rejected in favour of one less pretentious and more matter-of-fact: if it is not sufficiently expressive, the fault must be attributed to the poverty of the English language."

An opening reflection on the difficulty of finding a plain title for a work of general reference without relying on pedantic foreign words.

"The distinction between a CONFESSOR and a MARTYR in the early days of Christianity was simply this: both made an open confession of their faith, and expressed their readiness to die for it; the former, however, was never called upon to do so, whereas the latter actually suffered martyrdom."

An explanation clarifying the exact historical boundaries between religious titles bestowed upon early Christian figures.

"Nincompoop is a corruption of the Latin phrase non compos [mentis], not in sound mind."

A direct linguistic breakdown showing how formal Latin legal terminology degraded into common street slang.

What It's Really About

The work argues that everyday language functions as a living archive of human history, trade, and culture. Rather than viewing words as abstract symbols, the text demonstrates that names are tangible artifacts left behind by real historical events, geographical encounters, and social eccentricities. It explores how major geopolitical shifts—such as Roman conquests, European religious schisms, and colonial expansion—leave permanent marks on global geography and national churches. Simultaneously, it highlights how low-level human quirks, local misers, short-lived taverns, and street vendors shape informal speech. Ultimately, the book reveals that language is inherently democratic, constantly transforming complex Latin phrases, foreign ports, and personal surnames into accessible, everyday vocabulary shared by all classes of society.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to word lovers, history enthusiasts, and curious readers who enjoy discovering the hidden origins of everyday speech. Reading through its thematic entries feels like embarking on a guided historical walking tour, where familiar terms—from calico and corduroy to boycott and humbug—suddenly reveal forgotten landscapes and forgotten people. The prose is clear, precise, and entirely free of academic posture, making it an easy book to dip into for quick discoveries or read straight through as a broad cultural history.

Readers should be aware of certain period attitudes inherent to late-nineteenth-century British reference works. The text reflects the colonial perspective and conventional religious assumptions of Victorian London, particularly in its categorization of foreign cultures, indigenous names, and regional groups. Additionally, some localized London street references may feel obscure to modern readers unfamiliar with Victorian geography. However, these period quirks do not diminish the book's charm. Its rich accumulation of etymological facts and human anecdotes ensures that anyone who opens it will look at everyday words with fresh eyes.