LAMBE

LAMB LAMBE. Charles Lamb asks, " AMio first imposed thee, gentle name?" and jumps, or rather skips, to the conclusion that his ancestors were shepherds ; but there is little doubt that the surname was derived from a common sign of houses. The Second Person in the Trinity, in allusion to the passage of scripture, " Behold the Lamb of God, &c.," is often in medieval art pourtrayed as a lamb bearing a small banner ensigned with a cross. This device usually known as the ' Holy Lamb ' was frequently adopted as a sign, and, although its sacred origin is forgotten, many a country public-house is still known hj it. Lamb and Le Lamb. H.R.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.