ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1096 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1096 ************************************ From: 25 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You inquired about the English feminine names and . You found on our website, and wanted assistance choosing a surname. There is a record of , i.e. "Theda mother of Herluin", dated to 1207 [1,2]. This name is a shortened form of an earlier Old English name, so it would be more appropriate for an early period name. We could not find , but can offer dated 1242/43 [3]. Since both and are dated to about 1200, we would recommend using that time to set your persona and name. You could use or with any of several byname forms. A byname is like a surname; it is a second name used to identify you further, but unlike a surname, it was generally not inherited. Inherited family surnames didn't become common in England until the 14th century. The simplest and most common type of byname was one that identified you as your father's daughter, e.g. or . The first example is English; the second is Latin and would only have been used in writing. Both mean "Theda, daughter of Martin". If you need help with the grammar or the proper spelling of a particular name in your period, write us again and we'll be happy to help. Another common style of byname named the place where you live, where you were born, or where your family originated; for example, or [4]. We could not find the surname , but we did find some names that sound much like it [2]: 1296 1210 1218 1230 Our members noted that both and come from Old French, and it's hard to imagine an early 13th century Anglo-French family giving their child an obscure Old English given name like . However, women were sometimes recorded with their husbands' bynames, and there are certainly examples of Anglo-Norman marriages, so and are justifiable, and you could use any of the bynames listed above. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicouer, and Barak Raz contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Talan Gwynek, _Feminine Given Names in "A Dictionary of English Surnames" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/reaney/ [2] P.H. Reaney & R.M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) s.n. Thede, Mail, Malley, Mallet [3] Assize Roll 223, 27 Henry III (1242-43) [personal communication from Talan Gwynek] [4] Eilert Ekwall, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names_ 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991) s.n. Malton, dated c.1150