# Did Puritans address each other by surname? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087 "2012-07-22T23:48:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/1 "2012-07-22T23:48:11Z")
Some Puritan groups had naming practices which by modern standards are [very unusual](http://gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/England-Medieval/Puritan.htm). Especially given the cumbersome length of the ‘slogan’ names, I’m curious as to whether Puritans were commonly addressed by their surnames. Unusual or difficult first names would seem to be justified in a situation where they were hardly ever used. I imagine teachers might address their students by surname, and adults would be addressed as Mr./Mrs. (or Miss) Surname. The one place where I might see an issue is address of one’s children and siblings. ---
**Author:** ![pspart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@pspart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pspart)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/2 "2012-10-10T21:31:42Z")
My English instructor did say that Puritans were formal and addressed each other as “Goodman” or “Goody” (which was short for “Goodwife”) and their last names. We have to read _The Crucible_ and a lot of people in the play were addressing each other that way. The children in the play were called by their first names-and so was Rev. Parris’ slave Tituba. paula ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/3 "2012-10-10T21:42:21Z")
That’s it–if I ever have me a son, I’m gonna name him “Humiliation.” And if I have a girl, well, “Forsaken” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/4 "2012-10-10T21:56:40Z")
I prefer Jesus-Christ-Came-Into-The-World-To-Save Smith. Or, for a more modern twist, Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By Johnson. Known as J.C. and Dewie, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/5 "2012-10-10T22:02:38Z")
My favorite Puritan name is Nicholas If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebon. He was an English economist (1640-1698) and his name was given to him by his strongly Puritan father. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Barbon) he always went by just Nicholas Barbon. And can you blame him? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/6 "2012-10-10T22:25:44Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > That’s it–if I ever have me a son, I’m gonna name him “Humiliation.” And if I have a girl, well, “Forsaken” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? :eek: I think I would go for “Wrestling” and “Fly-fornication,” respectively. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/7 "2012-10-10T22:27:19Z")
This was an eventual reveal in the last book/episode of Inspector Morse series. His mother was a Quaker and his father was a fan of a great English sailor/explorer. Thus he had a puritan style first name he kept hidden and never used for years Endeavour ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/8 "2012-10-11T01:07:19Z")
Jubilation T. Cornpone ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/9 "2012-10-11T01:51:13Z")
Most early colonists called men “Master (surname)” (if they were the head of a house) or “Goodman (surname)” and women “Goodwife” or “Goody”. “Mistress” was also used as a title for women coming from respected families or whose husbands held more esteemed roles in the community. Mr. and Ms. weren’t used in very early Colonial America (pre-1650), I’ve been told. Kids were called their first names. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/10 "2012-10-11T03:51:36Z")
There’s always Visit-The-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets and Smite-The-Unbeliever-With-Cunning-Arguments… ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/11 "2012-10-11T11:06:42Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > That’s it–if I ever have me a son, I’m gonna name him “Humiliation.” And if I have a girl, well, “Forsaken” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? :eek: “Humiliation Monkey” does. “Forsaken Monkey” just doesn’t sing to me. ---
**Author:** ![Freakenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b782af/32.png) [@Freakenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freakenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/12 "2012-10-11T16:52:30Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > “Humiliation Monkey” does. “Forsaken Monkey” just doesn’t sing to me. It will. A band is formed at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-puritans-address-each-other-by-surname/629087/13 "2012-10-11T21:29:03Z")
I read of a Puritan girl introducing herself as “Through Tribulation We Reach the Kingdom of Heaven, but my friends call me Tribby for short.”