ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1444
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1444
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24 Feb 1999
From: Alan Terlep 

Greetings,

Here is the information on <Porthos>, which you wanted to use as a French
name.

Unfortunately, we didn't find any evidence that <Porthos> was ever the
name of any person at any point in history.

The only use of the name <Porthos> we found was in "The Three
Musketeers."  _The Three Musketeers_ was written in 1844, well
after the period of the SCA.  In any case, even in the book 
<Porthos> is described not as a name but a "designation," that
is, a psuedonym.  The novel makes it clear that the musketeers
assumed their "names" so that their true identities wouldn't be
known (although Athos is the only one who reveals his true name
in the course of the book).  Thus, even in the context of the
novel itself "Porthos" is not a name.

Given that the only use of <Porthos> we found comes from a
19th-century novel, and that even in that novel it is not a real name,
there is no reason to believe that <Porthos> is a historically accurate
French name for any period.  If you would like to consider a different
name that's appropriate for 16th-century France, we have a short list
of late-period French names on the Web at

http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html

Margaret Makafee, Aryanhwy verch Catmael Caermyrddin, Teceangl Bach,
Jehan fitz Gilbert, Naitan de Yerdeburc, Arval Benicoeur, Talan
Gwynek, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Zenobia Naphtali
contributed to this letter.

If you are interested in another name, either from this list or
elsewhere, we would be happy to tell you what we can find out about it.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel