ANSTHRLD - "Marshall" name advice

Kathri@aol.com Kathri at aol.com
Wed Apr 18 07:08:25 PDT 2001


In a message dated 4/17/2001 9:13:11 PM Central Daylight Time, 
rayasmith at yahoo.com writes:

> I have a client who is interested in registering the
>  name "John Marshall Hayden".
>  I don't believe there is any problem with the
>  periodness of the name, but our concern is whether the
>  name "Marshall" might have problems or be disallowed
>  as being a title (such as Rex or Duke).
>  Any advice?

Go with it, except he may need to modify the spelling.

"Marshall" is an occupational name for a farrier.  Per Bardsley sn Marshall p 
516 "Like the smith, the marshal was a necessity in every centre of 
population.  Hence it is found in all counties."  Like some other 
occupations, it became a high title within royal households, but that didn't 
prevent people who were really doing the job from getting tagged with the 
epithet-that-became-an-inherited-surname.  (For example, the royal family of 
Stewart vs all those officials of all those manors.)   

Examples of Marshall:
(Bardsley p 516)  Johannes Mareschall, 1379.  Christopher Marshall and Eliz. 
Byrde: Marriage 1572. 
(Reaney & Wilson p 300 sn Marshall) Goisfridus Marescal 1084, William 
Marescald 1100-30, Henry le Marscal 1238, John Marschal 1296 (don't panic; 
being cited in R&W does *not* make one worthy of protection, and the proposed 
name is clear anyway) .

And as an extra blessing, "Hayden" is a locative.  One of the few 
justifications for double surnames in English is the addition of a locative 
to another type of surname, and here we have the registerable 
occupation-locative combination.  (With the extra ummph from the fact that 
there could well be several "John Marshall"s so we might *need* to specify 
the one from Hayden.)

Examples:  Reaney & Wilson p 222 sn Hayden:  Thomas de Haiden' 1200, William 
de Heydon 1303; Walter Haydon 1327.  Bardsley p 368 sn Haydon:  Richard de 
Haydon or Heydon 1273, Anges de Heydone 1273, Thomas de Heydon 20 Edw I (what 
was the 20th year of Edward I's reign?  in period, anyway), Philip de Haghdon 
I Edw. III, Benjamin Haiden 1586.

In order to get the spelling "Hayden" he could argue that the first syllable 
"Hay-" was combined with various spellings of the second syllable, and (so 
far) we have one late period example of the second syllable "-den" to combine 
with it.  

I think the name is fairly late period English anyway.  

Kathri
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