ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1075 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1075 ************************************ From: 27 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us about the name , as a post-1000 name. We assume that you intend this to be a feminine name in the British Isles. If you haven't already, you may wish to read our Problem Names article "Concerning the Names Bethany, Beathag, Betha/n, and Bethia" at: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/problemnames/bethany.html The main problem with your name is the combination of [1], which is a masculine Gaelic name [2], and , which is an Anglo- Scandinavian locative byname [4]. Names in your period were recorded either in a fully Gaelic form or in an English form, never in a combination of the two. Also, Gaelic masculine names were not given to women, so would not be an appropriate choice for a woman's name. We do have examples of similar-sounding feminine names: * , an English pet-name for , recorded in 1176-79 [3] * , an Old Testament name recorded in Scotland in 1593, possibly associated with Gaelic name [5] * , a Welsh name recorded in the 16th century [6] We could not find any evidence that existed as a surname or place name in our period. We did find the very similar modern place , which is recorded in these forms [7]: Bergebi 1086, 1202 Beruby 1242 Berghebi 1086 Bergeby 1236 Though the modern form could reasonably have existed by 1600, your form with the '-s-' could not be a simple spelling variation of any of these names. It could be justified as a hypothetical derivation from an Anglo-Scandinavian root, but it would be better re-creation to use a name that actually existed. If you would like us to send you the details of the justification of as a late-period English place name and surname, please write us again. To summarize, is a fine 16th century English woman's name. or is an excellent choice for the 12th or 13th century. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Arval Benicouer contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] The '/' represents an accent over the preceeding 'a'. [2] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986) s.n. Bean [3] An Anglo-Scandinavian locative byname is: A descriptive name phrase (byname) indicating where a person comes from or lives (locative). The "Anglo-Scandinavian" part means that it would have originally been a name used by Scandinavians, such as settled Vikings, that was later modified to an English (Anglo-) spelling. Because such modifications in spelling often take a long time, such a byname would only be found very late in period. [4] Talan Gwynek, _Feminine Given Names in "A Dictionary of English Surnames"_ (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994) s.n. Elizabeth http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/reaney/ is a pet form of found only in the 12th century. [5] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986) s.n. . [6] Heather Rose Jones, _Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales_, (Y Camamseriad, vol.4, 1996) [7] Eilert Ekwall, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names_ 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University PRess, 1991) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Aryanhwy, 7 May 2003: Corrected the footnote numbering.