The History of England from the
Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the Revolution of 1688

David Hume

Chapter 61, Footnote #07
Whence this name

It was usual for the pretended saints at that time to change their names from Henry, Edward, Anthony, William, which they regarded as heathenish, into others more sanctified and godly; even the New Testament names James, Andrew, John, Peter, were not held in such regard as those which were borrowed from the Old Testament---Hezekiah, Habakkuk, Joshua, Zerubbabel. Sometimes a whole godly sentence was adopted as a name. Here are the names of a jury said to be enclosed in the county of Sussex about that time:

Accepted, Trevor of Norsham.	Return, Spelman of Watling.
Redeemed, Compton of Battle.	Be Faithful, Joiner of Britling.
Faint Not, Hewit of Heathfield.	Fly Debate, Roberts of the same.
Make Peace, Heaton of Hare.	Fight the Good Fight of Faith, White of Emer.
God Reward, Smart of Fivehurst	More Fruit, Fowler of East Halley.
Standfast on High, Stringer of Cowhurst.	Hope For, Bending of the same,
Earth, Adams of Warbleton.	Graceful, Harding of Lewes.
Called, Lower of the same.	Weep Not, Billing of the same.
Kill Sin, Pimple of Witham.	Meek, Brewer of Okeham.

See Brome's Travels into England, p. 279. ``Cromwell'', says Cleveland, ``hath beat up his drums clean through the Old Testament. You may learn the genealogy of our Saviour by the names of his regiment. The muster-master has no other list than the first chapter of St. Matthew.'' The brother of this Praise-God Barebone had for name, If Christ had not died for you, you had been damned, Barehone. But the people, tired of this long name, retained only the last word, and commonly gave him the appellation of Damned Barebone.