Name, that is.
Cotton Mather.
Cotton?
The only other person I’ve ever heard of named “Cotton” was “Stymie’s” little brother on “The Little Rascals.”
And Cotton Mather’s father’s name?
Increase Mather.
Increase?
What was up with those 17th century names?
I don’t know, but there was a member of Parliament under Cromwell named Praise-God Barebones.
There are also a couple of Puritans in Ben Jonson’s comedies named Zeal-of-the-Land Busy and Tribulation Wholesome. They’re fictional characters, to be sure, but I assume Ben was making fun of a real trend in baby naming. Maybe Puritan parents were in the habit of just opening a Bible and picking a word at random?
“Don’t take life too serious, son – it ain’t nohow permanent.”
Major Major Major Major,
'nuff said
Butrous Butrous Ghali (sp?)
My $.02.
Don’t forget Picabo Street and that one fellow who changed his name to Trout Fishing in America.
Regards,
Tom
The Puritans had a thing for “virtuous” names. Some examples:
Virtue
Love (boy’s name!)
Wrestling
Patience
Hope
Chastity
And so forth.
– Sylence
And now, for my next trick, I will talk in spooky half-references.