Where Do Names Come From?<br > From ancient times， parents from most language groups<br >were guided in choosing names by such things as birthtime<br >events， physical characteristics， hopes for future prosperity，<br >wealth， fame or martial prowess， references to higher pow-<br >ers and ordinary vocabulary words. Name givers simply<br >chose the word or.~，phrase that conveyed the idea， and a<br >name was created. This practice is the reason that mean-<br >ings of many of the ~dest names are still known to us， or<br >at least can be guessed at， when only fragments of the<br >original names remain.<br > A hundred or a thousand years from now， our descen-<br >dants undoubtedly will examine and draw conclusions<br >about our era from names like Dustin， Chevonne， Porsche，<br >Elvis and Madonna. It seems only fitting that we should<br > study our heritage to understand what we re now passing<br > on to future generations.<br >Our Heritage From the Past<br > The story of how names came down to our time is a<br >record that can be told in terms of people. In ancient days<br >almost all peoples gave each of their children only one<br >personal name， individually selected and tailored to fit a<br >particular child. As population groups increased in<br > 3<br ><br >