ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1065
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1065
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From: 
2 Jul 1998


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You wrote to us about the Lowland Scottish masculine name <Sigurd Kerr of
Roxburghshire>, inquiring about the proper form for the period 1350 to
1450. 

The name <Sigurd>, or <Sigurdhr>, is a variant of <Sigvardhr>, found in
Norway and Iceland throughout the medieval period [1].  While many Old
Norse names were introduced into Scotland, those names such as <Sigurdhr>
did not remain in use in the Scottish Lowlands or northern England much
after the 10th or 11th century. 

The similar <Sigvardhr> developed into <Siward> by the 13th century. 
<Sigulfr> became <Siwulf> and <Sigmundr> became <Simund> [1].  Since
<Sigurdhr> is a variant of <Sigvardhr>, its 13th century descendent would
also have been <Siward> (11th C) or <Syward> (1275) [2,3].  However, we do
not find any example of <Siward> used as a first name in England or
Scotland after c.1300, and we think it is unlikely to have been used as
late as 1350.

We found the following forms of <Kerr> roughly in your period [2]:

 <Ker>    1296, 1467 
 <Kerre>  1296, 1357
 <Keor>   1432

It is perfectly fine to be <Siward Kerr> who lives in Roxburghshire, but
it would be rare for someone to be known or recorded as <Siward Kerr of
Roxburghshire>; your name would simply have been <Siward Kerr> and that
is how you would be introduced.  

However, you might have been identified in an official document with a
locative added to your name.  A locative is a phrase indicating place of
residence or origin, and is usually much more specific than a shire.
Shires are large areas, and so are not specific enough to indicate where a
person is from.  In fact, we have not seen any examples in period Scottish
documents that use shires to construct locatives, though there are a few
examples using names of towns [4].  Therefore, you could be <Siward Kerr
de Roxburgh> or <Siward Kerr de Jedburgh> in an official document [5],
though you would not likely be known by such a name in informal speech. 

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. 
Talan Gwynek, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Arval Benicouer, and Lindorm Eriksson
contributed to this letter.

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

[1] Gillian Fellows-Jensen, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire
    and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968)

[2] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
    History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986)

[3] Bo Selte/n, _The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal
    Names_, 2 vols. (Lund, Sweden: Royal Society of Letters at Lund, 1979)

[4] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
    History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986)
    (p.xxiv)  ca. 1431 has three 3-element names:  They are <Jhon Mour de
    Sanchar>, <John Chamer de Gadyard>, and <Robert Mour de Skeldowy>.
    These suggest that <Siward Kerr de Jedburgh> might be an acceptable
    documentary form. 

[5] James R. Johnston, _Place Names of Scotland_ (London: John Murray,
    1934)