Designatio Personae

The persons described in a contract as being parties to it.

In all contracts under seal, there must be some designatio personae. In general, the names of the parties appear in the body of the deed, 'between A B of, etc., of the one part, and C D of, etc., of the other part,' being the common formula. But there is a sufficient designation and description of the party to be charged if his name is written at the foot of the instrument.

A deed alleged to have been made between plaintiff and defendant began as follows: 'Tis agreed that a gray nag bought of A B by C D shall run twenty five miles in two hours for X, In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals.' The plaintiff and defendant subscribed their names at the bottom of the writing, and afterwards sealed and delivered the document as their deed. Held, that the omission to state the names of the contracting parties in the body of the instrument was supplied by the signatures at the bottom, and it sufficiently appeared whose deed it was.

When a person is described in the body of the instrument by the name of James and he signs the name of John, on being sued by the latter name he cannot deny it.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.