If you know someone named Abigail or Andrew, you might want to think twice about whether to share this with them. Those names, you see, have in the past been used to mean different things.
Starting in the 1600s – or possibly earlier – an “abigail” was a maidservant. Nobody is quite sure how this happened. Possibly at one time the name “Abigail” was so common that lots of maidservants actually were “Abigails.” Or maybe it’s because there was once a legendary maid whose skills were so fabulous that she became the symbol for her peers everywhere. Regardless, what we do know is that William Cowper wrote Two Fruitful Treatise in 1616 and included this: “Through his grace yee haue beene an Abigail to that house…”
Although Cowper’s is the earliest surviving mention of “Abigail”, the term was evidently quite common back in the day, because there’s no shortage of other citations available. From 1664: “And ugly, her Abigail, she had her say too?” From 1693: “Thou art some forsaken Abigail, we have dallied with heretofore.” And on into the late 1700s: “To an Abigail’s room did the old Bard repair?” And the following century as well (1864): “Her house remained full of dons and pages, ladies and abigails.”
After the 1800s there seems to have been a steep decline in the personal maidservant industry. This may well be due to the industrial revolution making it easier for everyone — even the wealthy — to actually put on their own clothing (think zippers, stretch fabrics, velcro…). But even so the term “abigail” survived into 1932: “He asked warily whether her abigail was outside, with her baggage.” It’s even been seen as recently as 1987’s Goodbye, Nanny Gray: “One door recess had been widened to allow one solid, oak, polished chair, in consideration for the abigail or footman who waited a life away..for the bell within.” In actual everyday usage, though, “abigail” is by now a thing of the past. Well, except for still being an actual name, that is. In California just recently, “Abigail” was the tenth most common name for baby girls. I suspect we know something those parents might not.
As for “Andrew,” while it too is still in current use as a name, it’s been used in a number of alternative ways over the centuries. In 1618 an “andrew” was a broadsword, as in “Here’s old tough Andrew.” William Congreve’s 1700 Way of the World pointed out that an “andrew” was a servant — the male equivalent of an “abigail”. He referred to “…Abigails and Andrews…”
Beginning with Shakespeare in 1596, and continuing at least through the late 1800s, an “andrew” was another word for a ship — particularly a warship. In Merchant of Venice someone remarks “And see my wealthy Andrew dockt …” Growing out of that usage, sailors in the Royal Navy of England apparently use (or used) the word as well: “That’s ‘ow it is in the Andrew… That’s what we call the navy.” Gillian Freeman attempted to explain it in 1955: “A press man called Andrew Miller..forced so many blokes to join, that it got known as Andrew’s navy. Then they shortened it to the Andrew.”
The most long-lived usage of “andrew”, though, has been in “merry-Andrew”, which since the 1600s has meant “a person who entertains people with antics and buffoonery; a clown; a mountebank’s assistant.” The term seems to still be current in United Kingdom countries, although the Google ngram viewer shows a steady decline in usage since the 1800s.
Even if the term is in decline, though, people are still doing the same job. George Borrow’s 1851 Levengro described them this way: “Listening to the jokes of the merry-andrews from the platforms in front of the temporary theatres.” So it seems like“merry-andrews” might now be known as opening acts.
It doesn’t happen often, but if the opening act happens to be a magic show, particularly presented by a not-too-successful thaumaturge, they might employ their own version of “merry-andrews” as explained in 1867 in “Playing Card Terms:” “Andrews, Merry Andrews, playing-cards of the fourth or lowest class or quality.”
Like “Abigail”, “Andrew” remains a popular name for babies — at least it was recently in California, where “Andrew” ranked #30 in most popular boy’s names. Not quite as popular as “Abigail” though — and speaking of names, “Abigail” and “Andrew” both have some odd nicknames. Some Andrews in the tech industry are called “Android.” And while most “Abigails” are either “Abby” or “Gail,” apparently there are some called “Sallie” and even “Barbie.” Don’t ask me; I just look this stuff up.
