and any praenomen they pleased: L. Livius Andronicus, freedman
of M. Livius Salinator. In the time of Caesar, the freedman took the
praenomen of the patronus and the gentile name of one of the friends
of the latter; thus, Cicero calls his slave Dionysius M. Pomponius
Dionysius as a token of friendship for T. Pomponius Atticus.
(J. H. F.)
Law.—The Christian name, i.e. the name given to a person on admission to baptism into the Christian church, dates back to the early history of the Church. It has been said that the practice of giving a name on baptism was possibly imitated from the Jewish custom of giving a personal name at circumcision. In England individuals were for long distinguished by Christian names only, and the surname (see below) or family name is still totally ignored by the Church. As population increased and intercourse became general, it became necessary to employ some further name by which one man might be known from another, and in process of time the use of surnames became universal, the only exceptions in England being the members of the royal family, who sign by their baptismal names only.
Where the ecclesiastical law does not come into conflict with the common law or has not been changed by it, it still prevails, and therefore it may be said that the name given at baptism may be regarded as practically unalterable. But that a baptismal name is not altogether unalterable has been a matter of contention. A constitution of Archbishop Peckham (ob. 1292) directs that “ministers shall take care not to permit wanton names to be given to children baptized, and if otherwise it be done, the same shall be changed by the bishop at confirmation.” And before the Reformation the Office for Confirmation must have contemplated the possibility of such a change, as the bishop is directed therein to ask the child’s name before anointing him with the chrism, and afterwards, naming him, to sign him with the cross. But in the second and subsequent Prayer-books all mention of the name in the Office for Confirmation is omitted. Lord Coke was of opinion that such a change was permissible and gives examples (1 Inst. p. 3), but Dr Burn (Ecc. Law, i. 80) held a contrary opinion. Phillimore, however, gives several instances when such a change was made, one, in the diocese of Liverpool, on the 11th of June 1886 (see Phillimore, Ecc. Law, i. 517, 518; and also Notes and Queries, 4th ser. vol. vi. p. 17, 7th ser. vol. ii. p. 17). In the case of those who have not been baptized, but have a name (other than a surname) given them by their parents, such a name acquires force only by repute. The Registration of Births Act, which requires the registration of every birth, makes provision for the insertion of a name, but such provision is purely permissive, and the only object of entering a name on the register is to have an authoritative record of the commencement of repute.
A clergyman of the Church of England is compelled to perform the ceremony of baptism when required by a parishioner, and to give whatever name or names the godparents select, but although the rubrics do not expressly say so, he can object to any name on religious or moral grounds.
The freedom enjoyed in England and the United States as to the kind of Christian name which may be given to a child is somewhat limited in France and Germany. In France, by a decree of the 11 Germinal, an XI., the only names permitted to be recorded in the civil register as Christian names (prénoms) of children were those of saints in the calendar and the names of personages known in ancient history. Even at the present day an official list is issued (revised from time to time) containing a selection of forenames, and no name of a child will be registered unless it occurs in this list. A limitation more or less similar prevails in Germany and other European countries.
As regards the surname (Fr. surnom, name in addition), custom has universally decreed that a man shall be known by the name of his father. But in England and the United States, at least, this custom is not legally binding; there is no law preventing man from taking whatever name he has a fancy for, nor are there any particular formalities required to be observed on adopting a fresh surname; but, on the other hand, if a man has been known for a considerable time by the name of his father, or by a name of repute, and he changes it for another, he cannot compel others to address him or designate him by the new one. Neither does the English law recognize the absolute right of any person in any particular name to the extent of preventing another person from assuming it (Du Boulay v. Du Boulay, 1869, L.R. 2 P.C. 430). If, however, a person adopts a new name and wishes to have it publicly notified and recognized in official circles, the method of procedure usually adopted is that by royal licence. This is by petition, prepared and presented through the Heralds' Office. If granted, the royal licence is given under the sign manual and privy seal of the sovereign, countersigned by the home secretary. In wills and settlements a clause is often inserted whereby a testator or settler imposes upon the takers of the estate an obligation to assume his name and bear his arms. The stamp duty payable for a royal licence in this case is fifty pounds, but if the application is merely voluntary the stamp duty is ten pounds. Where there is a more formal adoption of a surname, it is usual, for purposes of publicity and evidence, to advertise the change of name in the newspapers and to execute a deed poll setting out the change, and enrol the same in the central office of the Supreme Court.
Both in France and Germany official authorization must be obtained for any change of name. By the German Code 1900 (s. 12) if the right to a new name is disputed by another or his interest is injured thereby, the person entitled can compel the abandonment of the new name.
In England, a wife on marriage adopts the surname of her husband, disregarding entirely her maiden surname; in Scotland the practice usually is for the wife to retain her maiden name for all legal purposes, adding the name of her husband as an alias. On remarriage the rule is for the wife to adopt the name of the new husband, but an exception to this is tacitly recognized in the case of a title acquired by marriage when the holder remarries a commoner. This exception was very fully discussed in Cowley v. Cowley, 1901, A.C. 450.
Peers of the United Kingdom when signing their names use only their surnames or peerage designations. It is merely a privileged custom, which does not go back further than the Stuart period. Peeresses sign by their Christian names or initials followed by their peerage designation. Bishops sign by their initials followed by the name of the see. In Scotland it is very usual for landowners to affix to their names the designation of their lands, and this was expressly sanctioned by an act of 1672.
See Ency. Eng. Law, tits. “Christian Name,” “Surname”; W. P. W. Phillimore, Law and Practice of Change of Name; Fox-Davies and Carlyon-Britton, Law concerning Names and Changes of Name. (T. A. I.)
NAMUR, one of the nine provinces of Belgium. It lies between
Hainaut on the one side and Liége and Luxemburg on the other,
and extends from Brabant up the Meuse valley to the French
frontier. Area, 1414 sq. m.; pop. (1904) 357,759. The part
north of the Meuse is very fertile, but the rest is covered with
forest and is little suited for agriculture. There are a few iron
and coal-mines between the Sambre and Meuse, and the quarries
are of great importance. Arboriculture, and especially fruit-tree
plantation, is on the increase. The province is divided into
the three arrondissements of Namur, Dinant and Philippeville,
and there are fifteen cantons for judicial purposes.
NAMUR (Flemish, Namen), a town of Belgium, capital of the province of Namur. Pop. (1904) 31,940. It is most picturesquely situated at the junction of the rivers Sambre and Meuse, the town lying on the left banks of the two rivers, while the rocky promontory forming the fork between them is crowned with the old citadel. This citadel is no longer used for military purposes, and the hill on which it stands has been converted into a public park, while the crest is occupied by an enormous hotel to which access is gained by a cogwheel railway. Namur is connected with the citadel by two bridges across the Sambre, and from the east side of the promontory there is a fine stone bridge to the suburb of Jambes. This bridge was constructed in the 11th century and rebuilt in the reign of Charles V. It is the only old bridge in existence over the Meuse in the Belgian portion of its course. The cathedral of St Aubain or Albin was built in the middle of the 18th century. The church of St Loup is a century older, and is noticeable for its columns of red marble from the quarry at St Rémy near Rochefort. There is a considerable local industry in cutlery, and there are numerous tanneries along the river-side.
The hill of the citadel is perhaps identical with Aduaticum, the fortified camp of the Aduatici captured and destroyed by Julius Caesar after the defeat of the Nervii, although many authorities incline to the plateau of Hastédon, north of the Sambre and of Namur itself, as the more probable site of the Belgic position. Many antiquities of the Roman-Gallic period have been discovered in the neighbourhood and are preserved in the local archaeological museum. Here also are deposited the human fossils of the Stone Age discovered at Furfooz on the Lesse. In the feudal period Namur was always a place of some importance, and long formed a marquisate in the Courtenay family. One institution of the medieval period came down to modern times, and was only discontinued in consequence of the fatalities with which it was generally accompanied. This was the annual encounter on the Place d’Armes of rival parties mounted on stilts. Galliot, the historian of Namur, says the origin of these jousts is lost in antiquity, but considers the use of stilts was due
