ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1254 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1254 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 14 Oct 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a feminine Arabic name that would have been used in the 15th century, with as your given name and with the rest of your name meaning "wife of Rachid Ibn Alkir Azul." Here is the information we have found. We found on one list of Arabic feminine names from the 10th century. [1] Arabic names changed very little over the years, so it is reasonable to believe that would still be in use in the 15th century. In Arabic culture, women did not (and still do not) take marital names. Before or after marriage, they were known as their fathers' daughters. They might later be known as the mothers of their eldest sons. For example, the daughter of would be called "Safwah daughter of Hasan". If she married and had a son named , she could be known as "Haroun's mother Safwah" [2]. This second type of naming was also used by men sometimes, so her husband Rashid might be called "Haroun's father Rashid" [3]. 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 Sion Andreas, Da'ud ibn Auda, Arval Benicoeur, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, --Arianwy ferch Cadfael Caermyrddin October 14, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Da'ud ibn Auda, "A List of Arabic Women's Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996) . [2] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Arabic Naming Practices and Names List," _Compleat Anachronist_ #51, "The Islamic World" (Milpitas: SCA, Inc, Autumn 1990; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998) [3] You will note that we used rather than . The normal transliteration of the name would be with the "sh" sound. It is possible that your husband found in French; we have seen it spelled thus in that language.