ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1782 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1782 ************************************ 3 Nov 1999 From: Alan Terlep Greetings,You asked about using the name with a surname that had a connection to "dragon" or "fencer" in Italy between 1450 and 1600. Your reference to the painter Artemesia Gentileschi (1593-1653) shows that was used in Italy. (1) It is probably not appropriate for other countries--it was fashionable to name your children after obscure classical characters in 16th-century Italy, but these names didn't spread outside of Italy for some time. By the late 16th century, most Italians used inherited surnames that were passed from one generation to the next. So it's probable that your surname would have been inherited and not directly related to your personal traits. We didn't find any surnames related to fencing for this reason--by the time rapiers were invented, people's surnames were already inherited. We did find some modern Italian surnames with the element in them. (2) These names come from a variety of sources. Some derive from the nickname , meaning "dragon," but others come from the names of people or places. The original meanings of some of these names have gotten confused, and so we've just included the entire list. Although we don't have evidence that they were used in the 16th century, it is likely that they were. These names include Drago Draghi Draghetto Draghetti Dragotti Dragotta Dragone Dragoni Dragonetto Dragonetti Any of them would probably be suitable for your persona. is the only one that we've actually found in a period source--it appears in a tax record from Florence in 1427 (3)--but it's very likely that all of these names were used in your period. Maridonna Benvenuti, Effric neyn Kenyeoch, Walraven van Nijmegen, Aryanhwy verch Catmael, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter. We hope that this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Your servant, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel November 3, 1999 (1) Corbell, Rebecca and Samantha Guy. "The Life Biography of Artemesia Gentileschi." (WWW: Australian National Univ., 1998) Accessed October 22, 1999. [URL:http://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/artemisia/Lifebio.html] (2) De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978), s.n. Drago (3) Ferrante laVolpe, _Men's names from Florence, 1427_ (WWW: Self- published, 1996). Accessed October 22, 1999. [URL:http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto]