nder, corresponding to Fr. Legendre.
Fitch, usually an animal nickname (Chapter XXIII), is occasionally for
le fiz, the son, which also survives as Fitz. Goodson, from the
personal name Good (Chapter I), is sometimes registered as Fiz Deu.
Cf. Fr. Lefilleul, i.e. the godson.

ABSTRACTS

A possible derivative of the name May (Chapter XXI) is Ivimey. Holly
and Ivy were the names of characters in Christmas games, and an old
rime says

"Holy and his mery men, they dawnsyn and they syng,
Ivy and hur maydins, they wepen and they wryng."

If Ivimey is from this source, the same origin must sometimes be
allowed to Holliman (Chapter I). This conjecture [Footnote: Probably
a myth. See my Surnames, p. 197.] has in its favour the fact that
many of our surnames are undoubtedly derived from characters assumed
in dramatic performances and popular festivities. To this class
belong many surnames which have the form of abstract nouns, e.g.
Charity, Verity, Virtue, Vice. Of similar origin are perhaps Bliss,
Chance, Luck, and Goodluck; cf. Bonaventure. Love, Luff, occurs
generally as a personal name, hence the dim. Lufkins, but it is
sometimes a nickname. Lovell, Lovett, more often mean little wolf.
Both Louvet and Louveau are common French surnames. The name Lovell,
in the wolf sense, was often applied to a dog, as in the famous
couplet

"The ratte, the catte, and Lovell, our dogge
Rule all England under the hogge,"

for which William Collingborne was executed in 1484. Lowell is a
variant of Lovell.

But many apparent abstract names are due to folk-etymology, e.g.
Marriage is local, Old Fr. marage, marsh, and Wedlock is imitative for
Wedlake; cf. Mortlock for Mortlake and perhaps Diplock for deep-lake.
Creed is the Anglo-Saxon personal name Creda. Revel, a common French
surname, is a personal name of obscure origin. Want is the Mid. Eng.
wont, mole, whence Wontner, mole-catcher. It is difficult to see how
such names as Warr, Battle, and Conquest came into existence. The
former, found as de la warre, is no doubt sometimes local (Chapter
XIII), and Battle is a dim. of Bat (Chapter VI). But de la batayle is
also a common entry, and Laguerre and Labataille are common French
surnames.

COSTUME

A nickname was often conferred in connection with some external object
regularly associated with the individual. Names taken from shop-signs
really belong to this class. Corresponding to our Hood [Footnote:
Ho