Reuters

[Charles Doyle]

Remember Matthew Arnold's essay on ugly English sunames, inspired by a news item that noted, regarding a murderess, "Wragg is in custody"?

And Milton's Sonnet 11, about the difficulty readers had with the title of his tract "Tetrachordon" (advocating the legalization of divorce): "Why is it harder, Sirs, than Gordon, / Colkitto, or Macdonnel, or Galasp? / Those rugged names to our like mouths grow sleek, / That would have made Quintillian stare and gasp." (The object there seem to be ridiculous Scottish names that English Presbyterians admired).

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:55:06 EDT
>From: RonButters at AOL.COM
>Subject: Reuters
>
>The article does not mention "Fagg," and a Google search turns up over 500,000 hits, including a page for Fagg geneology and the Fagg family crest--and the facebook for one of my former students. Apparently, the Faggs are prouder and braver than the Bottoms (though I was told yesterday that two of my student's relatives had changed their name from "Fagg" to "Bragg").
>

>In a message dated 3/26/09 5:20:35 PM, aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM writes:
>
>> A somewhat overstated piece on the evolution of surnames in the UK.
 http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE52O5IN20090325

>> Not a lot of research, but a couple of choice comments.

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