List: The first known people to acquire surnames were the Chinese. Legends suggest that the Emperor Fushi decreed the use of surnames, or family names about 2852 BC. The Chinese customarily have three names. The surname is placed first and comes from one of the 438 words in the sacred Chinese poem Po-Chia-Hsing. The family name is followed by a generation name, taken from a poem of 30 characters adopted by each family. The given name is then placed last. In early times, the Romans had only one name. However, they later changed to using three names. The given name stood firs and was called a "praenomen". This was followed by the "nomen" which designates the gens, or clan. The last name designates the family and is known as the "cognomen". Some Romans added a fourth name, the "agonomen", to commemorate an illustrious action, or remarkable event. As the Roman Empire began to decline, family names became confused and single names once again became customary. The modern hereditary use of surnames was a practice that originated among the Venetian aristocracy in Italy about the 10th or 11th Centuries. Crusaders returning from the Holy Land took note of this custom and soon spread its use throughout Europe. France, the British Isles, and then Germany and Spain began applying the practice as the need to distinguish individuals became more important. By the 1370's the word "surname" is found in documents, and has come to acquire some emotive and dynastic significance. Men sometimes sought to keep their surname alive by encouraging a collateral to adopt it when they had no direct descendants of their own in the male line. Although we can see that the handing on of a surname has become a matter of pride, we can only guess as to the reasons for adopting hereditary surnames in the first place. In nearly every case, surnames were first usedby the nobility and wealthy landowners, and the practice then trickled down to the merchants who derived their names from their manors and fiefs. These names became fixed through the hereditary nature of their lands. For the member of the working and middle classes seeking status, the practices of the nobility were imitated, leading to the widespread use of surnames. Family names have come down to us in various ways. They may have grown out of a person's surroundings or job, or the name of an ancestor. Most surnames evolved from four general sources: Occupation: The local house builder, food preparer, grain grinder, and suit maker, would be named respectively: John Carperter, John Cook, John Miller and John Taylor. Thus, every village had its share of Carpenters, Cooks, Millers and Taylors. And, those in one town weren't necessarily related to the Carpenters, etc. in the next. Location: The John who lived over the hill became known as John Overhill; the one who dwelled near a stream might be dubbed John Brook. Many locational surnames originated as placenames. You can tell that a surname is a locational placename if it ends with one of the regular placename elements, such as -hill, -ford, -wood, -brook, -well, and so on. Less easily recognized locational surnames end with -ton, -ham, -wick, -stead meaning a farm, or small settlement. Other common locational endings are -don, (a hill), -bury (a fortification) or -leigh, or -ley (a clearing). Patronymic (father's name): Many of these surnames can be recognized by the termination--son, such as Williamson, Jackson, etc. Some endings used by other countries to indicate "son" are: Armenians - ian, Danes and Norwegians - sen, Finns -nen, Greeks - poulos, Spaniards- ez, and Poles - wiecz. Prefixes denoting "son" are the Welch - Ap, the Scots and Irish- Mac, and the Normans - Fitz. So, John the son of Randolph became John Fitz-Randolph because "fitz" means "son of". In Wales, David the son of John tacked "Ap" in front of his father's name, and David ap John was soon being called David Upjohn. In Scotland, Gilleain's descendants were known as MacGilleain and later shortened to MacLeab, McClean, McLane, and all the other versions. Characteristic: An unusually small person might be labeled Small, Short, Little or Lytle. A large man might be named Longfellow, Large, Lang, or Long. Many persons having characteristics of a certain animal would be given the animal's name. Examples: a sly person might be named Fox; a good swimmer, Fish; a quiet man, Dove; etc. Many historians believe that surnames derived from places (locational) were the first to become hereditary. The surname KEGEL appears to be locational in origin. Research indicates it can be associated with the Germans, meaning, "dweller at the stumps or stubs". Although this interpretation is the result of onomastic research, you may find other meanings for the Cagle family name i.e., bowling pin (which is short and stubby). Many surnames have more than one origin. For instance, the English surname "Bell" may designate one who lived or worked at the sign of the bell, or it may refer to a bell- ringer, or bellmaker. It may be a nickname for "the handsome one", from the old French word "bel" which means beautiful. It could also indicate the descendant of "Bel", or pet form of Isabel. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose; by any other name would smell so sweet." William Shakespeare Or better put "It doesn't matter how you spell it, we are all Cagles." Tom at Toolcity. Cousin Lee Cagle Ben Franklin Cagle, 1819 Line. Moore, OK ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! 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