ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1454
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1454
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2 Feb 1999
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Andre Sisson> is an appropriate name for a Norman living
between 1050 and 1400.  Here is what we have found.

We have found examples of <Andre/> in the 14th century and later [1, 2, 4].
Before that, the name seems to have been most often spelled <Andri> and
<Andriu> [3].  <Andre/> is a fine name for a 14th century Norman.

You wrote that you can prove that your family was in France in your period.
Do you have evidence that the surname <Sisson> was used then?  If so, we'd
be interested to know the details.  We did not find evidence of the name
<Sisson> being used in French.  There is an English surname <Sisson>
derived from <Ciss>, a pet form of <Cecily>.  The spelling <Sisson> occurs
as early as 1379 [5].  The feminine name <Cecily> was common in England
from the 12th century onward, but was rare in French.  We believe it is
unlikely that <Sisson> could have derived from this source in French [6, 7,
8].

You may want to consider the similar-sounding surname <de Soissons>.
<Soissons> is a town in Picardy, not far from Normandy.  <Andre/ de
Soissons> would be a very typical late-medieval French name.


We hope this letter has been useful.  Please write us again if any part of
it has been unclear or if you have other questions.  I was assisted in
preparing this letter by Talan Gwynek.


For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  2 Feb 1999


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References

[1] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de
personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee
de Picardie, 1967).

[2] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de
Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963).
 
[3] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris",
Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery,
Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997).
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html

[4] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS
Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997).
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html

[5] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Sisson.

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

[7] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et
Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Cecile.

[8] Morlet,  Marie-Therese, _Dictionnaire E/tymologique des Noms de
Famille_ (Librairie Acade/mique Perrin, 1997), s.n. Cecile.