Letter: Early name fame

Sir: Perhaps the earliest person still remembered in a country's name (Letters, 19 September) is Ashur (Genesis 10 xi) whose name gave us ancient Assyria and modern Syria. Whilst not perhaps the oldest known example - Canaan and Nimrud might perhaps claim that distinction - Ashur's name not only survives in our atlases to this day, but also predates Tarik and Israel (Letters, 21 September) and exists in the names of at least two languages and three peoples as well, ancient and modern.

STEPHEN BAX

Canterbury