ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1238
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1238
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18 Aug 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked if <William Ashcroft> is an appropriate name for England between
1350 and 1450.  This letter is a brief answer to your question.

You've chosen a fine name.  <William> was a very common name in your period
[1].  The place name <Ashcroft> appears in the name <Margar' de Asecroft>
1275 [2] and in the spelling <Ashcroft> in the later 16th century [3].  The
spelling <Ashcroft> is certainly possible in your period -- we find <de
Ashley> 1281, <de Ashtone> 1323.  Other spellings like <de Aschecroft> <de
Aschcroft>, <de Asshcroft>, or <de Asshecroft> were probably more common in
the early part of your period.  Late in your period, <Ashcroft> and
<Ashecroft> were probably typical [2].


I hope this brief letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions or would like more information on medieval Irish names.
I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek and
Aryanhwy Prytydes.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  18 Aug 1998


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References

[1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_,
3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). 

[2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), under various
names beginning <Ash->.

[3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_
(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). 

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