ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1515 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1515 ************************************ 26 May 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! Here is the information we found on the names and , which you wanted to use as a Welsh name from between 1200 and 1600. As far as we can tell, is not a medieval given name. However, is a fairly common Welsh name that could have been used, in some form, at any point in your period. (1) We didn't find any examples of either. However, it is not an unlikely name. In several other English placenames, derives from the Old English which means, among other things, "a narrow valley." The placename element <-bourne> comes from Old English , meaning stream. (2) could be an Old English name for a town near a stream in a valley, and is a reasonable spelling for the later part of your time period. In the 1200's and 1300's, it would more likely have been spelled . Even though is Welsh and is English, it is not impossible to combine these two names. However, because English and Welsh have different spelling rules, the spelling of your name would change depending on the language and period it was written in. Basically, there are two scenarios that could have produced a name that meant . Early in your period (1200-1400), most people in England and Wales did not have fixed surnames. In Welsh, men were usually known as their father's sons--for example, "Cadwgan son of Ifor." In English, people were identified in a number of different ways, including by their place of residence or birth. Because Welsh- and English-speaking communities were mixed together in medieval Wales, it would have been possible for a Welshman named to live near a village called . English-speakers might then have identified him as , "from Halburn." They would also have recorded his given name with an English spelling, probably . Thus, is a reasonable English name for a Welshman during this period. Speakers of Welsh would probably have identified him according to Welsh custom as his father's son. During the 1400's, inherited family names were adopted by both Welsh and English speakers in the border area of Wales and England. It would have been possible for a Welsh family to adopt the surname and to name one of their children . We found a number of late-period spellings of : (1) Kadegan (1586) Kydogan (1602) Kydwgan (1575) (as surname) Codoken (1533) (as surname) Codogan (1556) These examples can be used as evidence for a number of other variants. Thus, , or the spelling variants we mentioned, is a possible name for a late-period Welshman. In this period, we've seen examples of names which mix Welsh and English spellings, so or are also possible toward the end of your period. (3) To summarize, we can recommend the name as a plausible English name for a man of Welsh birth between 1200 and 1400, and as a name for a Welsh man after 1400. We hope this letter has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. We were assisted in preparing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Margaret Makafee. In service, Alan Fairfax & Arval Benicoeur Academy of S. Gabriel 26 May 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References (1) Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985), s.n. Cadwgan (2) Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1956), s.vv. halh, burna. (3) Morgan op. cit., passim.