Introductory

Most people are interested in names. Articles and paragraphs on the subject appear from time to time in newspapers and periodicals and these are frequently followed by a correspondence of some length. True, the interest is often superficial, taking the form of collections of odd names, especially queer compounds with the christian name, such as Mr Original Bugg and Mr Ephraim Very Ott, both in reserved occupations during the last war, and surnames which appear particularly apt or amusing, Blight, a seller of fruit in Bournemouth, Cakebread, a baker in Chingford, Screech, an Exeter dentist and Tugwell, a hairdresser at St Leonards, or partners like Doolittle and Dalley or Waite and Waite, both house-agents. During the past few years my own correspondence has produced numerous enquiries as to the origin of particular surnames, some which have given me new and valuable information.