ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1089 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1089 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 19 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You were interested in the origin of the feminine name , other than that of the computer game. Here is the information we have found. We have never seen used as a given name, either masculine or feminine, before we got your letter. We assume that you know where you got it: You heard it used somewhere as a name, or thought the common English word would make a good name, or simply put together a sequence of sound that appealed to you. We can't guess which is the truth. The only source we found that might have inspired the use of as a given name is the surname , which is recorded as 1560, 1671, and 1683. This surname derives from Scottish placename , which is itself of obscure origin [1]. Quite a number of Scottish surnames were used as masculine given names in the 18th and 19th centuries. We can't find an real example of as a given name, but in the 19th century, Gilbert and Sullivan used it as the name of their main character in their operetta _Ruddigore_. [2] While the name is spelled , it is pronounced . [3] In the 20th century, particularly in the United States, quite a number of masculine given names or surnames have been used as feminine given names: Kelly, Brooke, Astor. It is certainly possible that came into use in the same way; but we have no evidence that it did. This theory is just an informed guess, of course. Since we have no evidence that anyone other than you ever used as a girl's name, we can't possibly say how you came to use it. We're sorry that we could not be more useful to you, and hope that you will not hesitate to write again if any part of this letter was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Gretchen Beck, Andrea Habura, Heather Rose Jones, Brenda Klein, Sharon Krossa, Josh Mittleman, Dave Montuori, Christer Romson, Brian R. Speer, and Emil Stecher. For the Academy, --Sara L. Friedemann July 19, 1998 -------------------------------------- References: [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n. Ruthven [2] _Asimov's Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan_ (New York: Doubleday, 1988) The play texts are by W.S.Gilbert, annotations by Isaac Asimov. [3] Private correspondence with Dave Montuori.