ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1119 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1119 ************************************ 31 Jul 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the surname and about other surnames containing the word that are appropriate for a late 15th or 16th century Italian name. Here is what we have found. You told us that you modeled "rain flower" after "thorn flower". We cannot find in any Italian dictionary, nor can we find a "rain flower" in English. Did you invent the word or did you find it somewhere? If you invented it, then we have to advise you to choose a different surname. If you found it somewhere, then it might be possibly be a reasonable choice for your period, but it would still be more authentic to choose a name that we know was used in your period. If you can send us more information about , we may be able to provide a more detailed opinion. We found the modern Italian surname , the plural form of [1]. It was probably originally a nickname, so the singular form is also a reasonable surname for your period. If you want to choose a similar-sounding surname, one good choice is "Florentine, the woman from Florence". We've seen the masculine form used in the 15th century [2]. Another possibility would be to pick one of the many Italian given names that begin with and use a form of it as a surname. The majority people in period Italy were known as their father's children. For example, if your name is and your father is called , then you would be called or even . If your family were descended from Fioretto, then you might be called or [3]. Other given names you could use in these ways include [4]: Fiore, Fiorenzo, Fiorente, Fioramente, Fioramonte, Fioravente, Fiordalisa, Fiorello, Fiorillo, Fiorangelo, Fiormaria, Fiorino I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talano Guiniccho, Gualrano Fiammingo, Giulietta da Venezia, Zanobia Nafatali, and Chialino Andretti. For the Academy, Arvaldo Buonocuore 31 Jul 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Fucilla, Joseph G., _Our Italian Surnames_ (Evanston, IL: Chandlers' Inc., 1949), p.75. [2] There is a painting in the civic museum in San Gimignano, a short drive south of Florence, which is signed by the painter with the byname . [3] The names used in this example are taken from the following source, but are probably appropriate for most of Italy in your period. Herlihy, David and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, "Census and Property Survey of Florentine Domains in the Province of Tuscany, 1427-1480", Machine readable data file. Online Catasto of 1427 Version 1.1. Online Florentine Renaissance Resources: Brown University, Providence, R.I., 1996 http://swansong.stg.brown.edu/projects/catasto/overview.html [4] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -