'Twas Ever Thus...

Here is an example from 1893 of the Victorian debate on whether a short name or multiple appellations was preferable. 

 

SOME one observed not very long ago that it would be most desirable if parents would give short names to those of their children who are destined for commercial pursuits. The multiplication of Christian names might be aristocratic, but it was held to be extremely inconvenient for the despatch of business. Such a name as Jay Gould, for instance, might, we presume, be regarded as typically suited for the hurry of commerce and the making of money. It is, however, when we come to Royal families that we find the practice of multiplying names in its most cumbrous form. An investigation has just shown that the system is carried further in the less important of the Royal families of Europe, and to the greatest extent of all in the off shoots of these minor branches. Thus, while the young King of Spain is Alphonse Leon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine, the eldest daughter of Don Carlos, who is married to the Austrian Archduke Leopold, rejoices in the possession of such a list as Blanche de Castille Marie de la Conception Therese Francois d'Assise Marguerite Jeanne Beatrice Charlotte Louise Fernande Aldegonde Elvire Ildephonse Regine Josephe Michelle Gabrielle Raphaelle. A child must be well into the years of understanding before it completely masters a name of that kind.    The Yorkshire Herald, and The York Herald  (York), Wednesday, January 04, 1893