Visitors to Peter Hilty's home should be prepared for a little name-calling.

The retired Southeast Missouri State University English professor has studied the history of surnames. He loves to talk about names and their origins.

Naturally, there is a name for the study of such words. It's called onomastics.

Seated at his kitchen table, Hilty runs his index finger down a page in the Cape Girardeau telephone book -- pointing out the origin of this or that name.

Stacked on the table are a number of reference books on surnames.

"Family names are not as old as we like to think," said Hilty.

Last names weren't used in Biblical times. People were identified largely by where they lived, he said.

Jesus, for example, was identified as Jesus of Nazareth.

Europeans began using surnames around 1100 A.D., in the Middle Ages.

Surnames developed as a way for village clerks to keep tax records showing who paid their taxes.

An individual was identified by where he lived, his occupation, a nickname or who his father was.

Many people took surnames from their father's given name, Hilty said.

Practically every language has a suffix or prefix meaning "son of."

John is the most common first name in Christian countries, he said.

Johnson and Jackson are English surnames that mean "Son of John." Johns and Jones mean the same thing in Welsh.

The "Mc" and "Mac" prefixes also mean "son of," as does "ovitch," which many Russian names end with.

Family names include those based on the names of all of the apostles, except for Judas, Hilty said.

Thompson, for example, means son of Thomas.

This nation's family names are mostly English, Irish and German names, although there are exceptions, such as in the Southwest where Hispanic names are widespread.

The most common English surname is Smith.

Smith refers to a blacksmith, which was a common occupation in the Middle Ages.

Other names that were derived from occupations include Cook, Miller, Carpenter and Taylor.

The name Cooper refers to a barrel maker, one of the chief specialty trades in earlier times, Hilty said.

Wright is a surname that refers to a millwright, wheelwright or other skilled worker who in the Middle Ages made wooden objects such as wheels.

Webster refers to a person who weaves on a loom.

Moore probably referred to a person who lived in the English moors, Hilty said.

Washington was a place where people did their washing.

Ford referred to a place where people crossed a stream. Ford also would have been a surname given to a person who lived near such a crossing, Hilty said.

If oxen crossed at that ford, a person living nearby might be called Oxford. Swinford would have designated an individual who lived near a pig crossing, while Hartford would have referred to a person who lived near a deer crossing.

Meade is a geographical surname, which refers to a meadow.

Lincoln refers to a "lake colony" area in England.

Nicknames described a person. Reid, Reed and Read are early spellings of "red" and refer to a man with red hair.

Gross and Groth are of German origin and indicate a large person.

The family name Young has its origins in the German word, which referred to a squire who was training to be a knight, Hilty said.

Leroy means the son of the king, after the French word, "roi."

In the early Middle Ages, trade unions would annually put on village plays. The plays typically featured a "king" character.

People began referring to a person who played the king as "the king," Hilty said.

The surname Hilty has its origins in old English and old German.

Hilty is a shortened form of Hildebrand, which was the name given to the boy who ran into battle carrying the battle torch.

"It's not the nicest of names," he said.

Still, Hilty will live with it. After all, he doesn't mind a little name-calling.