ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1224 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1224 ************************************ 19 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name . Here's what we've found. The Academy tries to help people to choose names to suit a particular time and place in history. Since you didn't tell us what language or culture you want your name to fit, we can't do that for you. We can give you some general information about the name, and point you to some sources where you can learn more about names from that period. was an English-Jewish name in our period, recorded in England before the 14th century [3]. It was probably an English spelling of the Old Testament name or [1]. Very few Old Testament names were used by Christian in our period. The modern popularity of the name probably derives from its use by Shakespeare in 'The Merchant of Venice', where is the name of a Jewish woman, Shylock's daughter [2]. Unless you want to adopt a Jewish persona, we recommend that you avoid or . If you are interested in a Jewish persona, then we recommend reference [3] as a guide to Jewish names in medieval England. I hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 20 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [2] "Merchant of Venice, The" Britannica Online. [Accessed 13 August 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/731/95.html [3] Eleazar ha-Levi, "Jewish Naming Convention in Angevin England" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/jewish.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -