ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1878 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1878 ************************************ 1 Dec 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a period Englishwoman, specifically for a costumer. This letter is a brief answer to your question. is one of many spellings of a Middle English name that derived from the Old English name . The particular spelling is recorded in 1205, and is most appropriate for the period 1200 to 1350. Other spellings we've found around that period include [1]: Luuedei 1209 Louedai 1228 Luueday 1228 Loveday 1258, 1273, 1381 Lovedaia 1302 Lovedaya 1303 Loueday 1327 Louedey 1332 In some of these examples, you'll notice that was used to represent the \v\ sound; that wasn't unusual in medieval English. The two forms ending in <-a> are latinized; Latin case endings were often added to English names in official documents. One form of this name is recorded much later: 1578 [1]. We aren't sure whether the name remained in use from the 14th century to the 16th, or whether it dropped out of fashion and was later revived. Your surname is a good match for , since it was also used in the 14th century: 1332. However, this name didn't mean what you think; it meant "Tyer's servant", where was a given name [2]. The word "theatrical costume master, tailor" isn't recorded in English until 1599 [3]. By that time, the English had long since been using inherited family names in the modern style: Sixteenth century Englishwomen did not adopt surnames to describe their occupations. The word or was used to mean "attire, clothing" as early as 1350 [3], so it is not impossible that a woman of the late 14th century could have been known as "the clothing merchant or seamstress", but since we find no evidence of this usage, we can't recommend it as good re-creation. We strongly doubt that the compound in its costuming sense could have been used early enough to be compatible with . The bottom line is that is a fine early 14th century name, but the surname doesn't have anything to do with costumes. If you want to use a surname that says you are a costumer, you may want to look at this article: 12th & 13th Century English Textile Surnames http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/textile.html If none of those names appeals to you, there are longer lists in these two books: Bertil Thuresson, _Middle English Occupational Terms_, Lund Studies in English XIX (Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1950; Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint, 1968). Gustav Fransson, _Middle English Surnames of Occupation, 1100-1350_ (Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup, 1935). Quite a few Society heralds own copies. If you can't find them, write us again and we'll send you a list of names that might fit your interests. We hope this brief 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 researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 1 Dec 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/ [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Tyerman. [3] _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.v. tire (sb.1).