ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1818 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1818 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 12 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of St Gabriel! You wrote to us expressing an interest in Welsh or English female names after the year 1000, in particular the name , but not names beginning with a 'B' or an 'M'! Welsh and English are different languages, and have quite different naming practices. After the Norman conquest, there was a gradual and progressive introduction of English (i.e., Anglo-Norman) names into Welsh culture. The rate and extent of this differed considerably within Wales, depending on a number of factors: when the region came under English political control, whether the region was rural or urban, and the number of ethnically English people who had immigrated into the region. Around 1300, for example, urban communitites with high numbers of English immigrants might have more the 90% of the people bearing English-origin names, while rural communities of ethnically Welsh people might have 10% or fewer people bearing English-origin names. Over time, English names tended to increase in popularity among the Welsh. By the 15th century an average of perhaps half of the Welsh bore English-origin names, while by the 16th century, the rate tended to be more in the 80-90% range, particularly among the upper classes. It was much less common for Welsh names to be borrowed into English usage. The earliest surviving example we have found for is from the 11th century and it used through the 16th century, but it is probable that the name was in use significantly earlier - perhaps as early as the 8th century. There is relatively little data on Welsh women's names from before the 13th century, so it can be hard to say anything certain about that time. Not surprisingly for such a long period of use, there were several spelling variants. Your spelling is consistent with the Welsh language in the 13th and 14th centuries. Before that time the "w" is more likely to be a "u", and after that the "y" in the last syllable is not as likely to be spelled out. If you would like a form of the name that fits another period, please write us again and we'll supply it. [1,2] In Welsh in our period, a woman was most often known as her father's daughter. A 13th century woman Tangwystyl daughter of David would have been called . For more information on the construction of name in late medieval Welsh, including a list of men's names that you can use in your surname, we recommend this article: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html If you want an English name instead, then we recommend that you visit the Academy of St Gabriel Library, which has several extensive articles on English names. We hope that this letter has been helpful. Please write to us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Arval d'Espas Nord and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, who was understandably interested in your choice of name. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 12/ Nov /99 _____________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966). [2] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996) http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html