ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1337
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1337
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26 Oct 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for information about the Arabic feminine name <Dananir> and
about choosing an appropriate last name for a 13th century woman whose
mother was English and whose father was Arabic.  This letter is an answer
to your question.

You found the name <Dananir> on the web, in Master Da'ud ibn Auda's article
"A List of Arabic Women's Names" [1].  That's a fine source, and you can
trust that any name listed there is a period Arabic name.

If your persona lives in an Arabic culture, then she would have been known
by a normal Arabic name.  If she lives in English culture, then she would
have been known by a normal English name.  

Women in Arabic society were almost always known as their father's
daughters or as their son's mothers.  For example, Dananir, daughter of
Hassan and mother of Suleyman could have been called <Dananir bint Hassan>
or <Umm Suleyman Dananir>.  You can find lists of Arabic masculine names on
the web.  Go to 

  http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/other.html#arabic

and choose the appropriate links.

Since you've already chosen an Arabic first name, we assume you want to set
your persona in Arabic culture.  If that's wrong, please write us again and
we'll be happy to give you advice on choosing an English name suitable for
your period.


I hope this brief letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions. 

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  26 Oct 1998


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References

[1] Da'ud ibn Auda, "A List of Arabic Women's Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint
Gabriel, 1996).
http://www.us.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/docs/arabicwomen.html