A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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About this entry:
First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1679-1700+
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Name-father, n. [Mod. Eng. (1748), but common in Sc. use since the 17th c.] Const. to (the child): The man after whom the child is named. —1679 J. Somerville Mem. II. 128.
James, Lord Rosse … was complemented as name-father to the chylde a1721 Wodrow Hist. (1829) II. 62.
The poor honest people who were in raillery called Whigs … became name-fathers to all who espoused the interest of liberty
