ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1345 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1345 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 11 Nov 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the masculine name would have been used in Normandy in the late 16th century. Here is the information that we have found. We find as a Norman name in the 16th century. [1] The surname is not grammatically correct; in 16th century French, the contracts to . We believe that your source actually shows the surname as , not [1]. We suspect that this surname may have originally been a nickname for a smith or fireman. would be a fine name for your period. We also found evidence of the surname , meaning "from a place called 'Le Feu'" [2]. There is a village in eastern Brittany, near the city of Rennes [3]. So and would also be good choices. 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 Talan Gwynek and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael November 11, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [2] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). [3] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Dictionnaire E/tymologique des Noms de Famille_ (Librairie Acade/mique Perrin, 1997), s.n. Dufeu.