ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1195 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1195 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 28 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a feminine Welsh name that fits the period 1100 to 1300, with as your given name and incorporated into your surname. Here is the information we have found. is the standard modern spelling of a name that would have been spelled in your period. It is recorded in a 13th century Latin text as [1]. Any of these spellings is pronounced \GWAIR-ith\, with the \th\ pronounced as in . However, from the examples that we found, we are unsure if this is a masculine or feminine name; there is evidence that it is either, or both. When Tangwystyl wrote the article that you found the name in, she had never encountered the name before and thought it might be feminine due to the similarity to the word meaning "virgin." However, since that time, she has found an example of as a variant of , a masculine name. [2] This makes the original guess that was feminine much weaker. You may want to consider another name, one that we know was feminine in your period. One similar-sounding possibility is , pronounced \GWAIR-vul\, which appears in the 13th century as , , , , and . [1] There are two ways that you can incorporate the element into your name. The first would be to name your father . "Gwervyl daughter of Bran" would be an fine name. [1] The second approach is to use as a nickname meaning "raven." means "Gweryd the Raven". The change from to in is required by Welsh grammar.) We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Tangwystyl verch Morgant, Talan Gwynek, and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael --------------------------------------- References: [1] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasfryn, "Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3", in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1991 (SCA: Laurel, Maryland, 1991). [2] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966).