ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1024
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1024
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From: 
13 Jun 1998


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked us about the name <Marc de la Lame Argente`e>, meaning "Marc of
the silver blade" for a 16th century orphaned Frenchman. 

<Marc> is fine; we can even place it in the right part of France at the
right time [1].  However, your choice of byname presents a problem. 

There is, of course, no way to know how orphans were named (records of
orphans abandoned by their families are remarkably rare), but by the 16th
century, nearly all Frenchmen used inherited surnames.  The use of
individual bynames based on physical attributes and deeds was never common
in France, and by your period had not been practiced for hundreds of
years. 

The best we can suggest is that an orphan might have been known by the
place where he grew up.  <Marc de Rouen> would be fine if your persona is
living traveling in another part of France or Europe.  Otherwise, you
might consider some smaller place in or near Rouen and use that for your
byname.  The reference we have listed below contains a list of surnames
used in Normandy in your period, and may provide additional ideas. 

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. 
Arval Benicouer researched this letter.  Daniel de Lincolia, Evan da
Collaureo, Felix MacAvady, Raphael van Antwerpen, and Margaret Makafee
provided additional discussion. 

In service,
--Walraven van Nijmegen
Academy of S. Gabriel

[1] Cateline de la Mor, _Sixteenth Century Norman Names_ (WWW: 1996)
    http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html
    (This article was also published in the Trimaris Known World Heraldic
    Symposium, AS XXIX)