ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1807 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1807 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 3 Dec 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the English feminine name was used in the late 14th century, and if the surnames or were appropriate for the same time. You also wanted to know if a girl would be given her father's surname at birth and if she would take her husband's surname when marrying. Here is the information we have found. The name is a rare spelling of the English adaptation of the Gaelic name ; the only instance that we found of it is in a surname from 1273. [1] The more common form, and the only spelling that we found in your period, is , found from the end of the 11th century on. [2] Examples of that we found are 1221, 1327, and 1327. [3,4] This is a fine choice for your surname. We did not find a surname based on , a place found in Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, and Lincolnshire, but we believe or could have become an inherited surname, but it is was more likely purely a descriptive byname. However, it is certainly possible that you would have used your father's byname (nickname), or have it applied to you in official records. Women in your period did sometimes take their husbands' surnames; however, this differed greatly by region and social class. Around 1300 in Oxfordshire, for example, we see that women of the aristocracy beginning to use the same surnames as their husbands. By the early 15th century the practice seems to have become an established custom in most communities, though even then it was not universally observed. [5] 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 Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael December 3, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/]. [2] Unpublished research of Talan Gwynek. [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Westcott [4] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). s.n. Westcott [5]McKinley, Richard. The Surnames of Oxfordshire. English Surnames Series 3 (London: Leopard's Head Press Limited, 1977). [6]Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_, 4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). s.n. Sapperton.