JohnState. | State,Stacey. | ||
Generally for Eustace, butsometimes perhaps for Anastasia, as we find Stacey used as afemale name (Chapter III). | |||
Richard leTeynturier. | Dyer,Dexter. | ||
Dexter representsMid. Eng. dighester, with the feminine agential suffix (ChapterXV). | |||
Henry leWaleys. | Wallis,Walsh, Welch. | ||
Literally the foreigner, butespecially applied by the English to the Western Celts.Quelch represents the: Welsh pronunciation. WithWallis cf. Cornwallis, Mid. Eng. lecornwaleis (Chapter X). | |||
John leBret. | Brett,Britton. | ||
An inhabitant of Brittany,perhaps resident in that Breton colony in London called LittleBritain. Bret The Old French nominative of Breton (ChapterVIII). | |||
HundredRolls | ModernForm | ||
Thomas leClerc. | Clark. | ||
One of our commonest names. Wenow spell the common noun clerk by etymological reaction,but educated people pronounce the word as it was generallywritten up to the eighteenth century (Chapter III). | |||
Stephen leHatter | Hatter | ||
The great rarity of this nameis a curious problem (Chapter XV). The name Capper exists,though it is not very common. | |||
Thomas leBatur. | Thresher. | ||
But, being a Londoner, he wasmore probably a gold-beater, or perhaps a beater of cloth. Thename Beater also survives. | |||
Alexander deLeycestre | Leicester,Lester. | ||
For the simpler spelling, onceusual and still adopted by those who chalk the names on themail-vans at St. Pancras, cf. such names as Worster,Wooster, Gloster, etc. (Chapter XI). | |||
Robert leNoreys. | Norris,Nurse. | ||
Old Fr. noreis, theNortherner (Chapter XI), or norice (nourrice), thenurse, foster-mother (Chapter XX). | |||