ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1166 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1166 ************************************ 13 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about , which you were considering using as a Dutch name some time later than 1000. Here is what we have found. We find examples of the Dutch name in its Latin form around 1000, around 1050, in the 12th century, and in the early 13th century [1]. derives originally from an Old Frankish name, and our research suggests that most such names dropped out of use in the 13th century. Therefore, if you want to use this given name, we recommend you set your persona no later than 1200. If you want a later-period persona, you might consider the similar-sounding name (the same name as the Anglo-Norman and Old French ), which we find used in Dutch between 1350 and 1400 [2]. The House of Orange (more precisely, the House of Orange-Nassau) gets its name from a region of the same name in southern France. The name had no association with the Netherlands until 1544, when the Dutchman William I, the Silent, inherited the principality of Orange along with the county of Nassau [3]. We don't know of anyone else in the Netherlands in period who was called , and we think it is quite unlikely that there was anyone: There would have been no reason for someone to use that name. For that reason and because your given name, , did not remain in use in 16th century Dutch, we strongly recommend against this combination of names. We should also point out that in Dutch history, William of Orange is considered the father of his country. Using his surname is likely to raise eyebrows, much as if you were to call yourself . Through most of our period, the Dutch didn't use inherited surnames in the modern style. If you want a name for that period, you should use a byname (individual, descriptive surname) based on your father's name, the place where you lived, or your occupation. If you'd like help choosing a byname, please write us again and let us know what kind of name you'd like. If you'd like to do some research on your own, you can find lists of bynames from your period in reference [1] and in R. E. Kunzel, D. P. Blok, & J. M. Verhoeff, _Lexicon van Nederlandse Toponiemen tot 1200_ (Amsterdam: P. J. Meerten, 1989). 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 Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Caelin of Andred. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 13 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Tavernier-Vereecken, C., _Gentse Naamkunde van ca. 1000 tot 1253: een bijdrage tot de kennis van het oudste middelnederlands_ (Belguim: 1968). [2] Beele, Wilfried, _Studie van de Ieperse Persoonsnamen uit de Stads- en Baljuwsrekeningen 1250-1400_ (Handzame, 1975). [3] "Orange, HOUSE OF" Britannica Online. [Accessed 12 July 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/440/6.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -