|
Greetings,
Here is the information we found on "Etienne du Lac."
"Etienne" is a French form of Stephen. The earliest citation we have for it is from the 13th century. During the period you are interested in, we found the following forms (all taken from Morlet, "Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de L'Ancienne Gaule du VI au XII Siecle.")
All of these are from Latin records, but even Latin records sometimes recorded changes in French pronunciation. Because every example preserves the "t" and "f" sounds, we think that the development of "Etienne" took place after the year 1000.
We didn't find an example of "du Lac," (meaning, "from the lake,") but it fits the pattern of names such as "du Mont," (from the mountain), and "du Bois," (from the forest). These names, which describes the person as living at or near some place which is identified only by characteristic, rather than by placename, are called local bynames.
"Etienne du Lac" would be an excellent choice if your persona were later in French history; it is certainly correct for any time from the mid-13th century onward. We are not sure whether it is correct for the preceding couple centuries, but we believe that it would not be correct for the early part of our period. Since you specified that your persona is set before the year 1000, we suggest you choose a different form of "Stephanus" for your given name. "Estefan du Lac", for example, is probably correct for your period.
We hope we have been of assistance. If we can give you any other help, please let us know.
Arval D'Espas Nord researched your name.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel