ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1950 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1950 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 26 Feb 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You wrote to us asking for our assistance in forming an authentic English masculine name, for the period 1300 to 1500. In particular you were interested in the name , which you found in _Celtic Names For Children_ by Loreto Todd. is an Anglicized form of the Welsh surname , which literally means "son of Evan." We found that name used as early as , circa 1300 [1]. English and Welsh are two separate and distinct languages, each with its own naming practices. The contracted form normally appears in English documents, while the two-word form appears in Welsh-context documents. We first find as one word appearing in the mid 16th century, after your period; for example 1543 and 1551 [2]. You should note that all of these records are English and show used only as a surname and not a given name. We have found a record of used as a given name only once in 1579 [3]. However, it appears to be the result of a error by an English scribe who misunderstood the Welsh name that he was recording. We don't advise that you use as a given name. If you prefer a name appropriate to the 14th or 15th century and you like the sound of the surname , then we suggest you consider a Welsh name. To go with the patronymic you could choose a Welsh given name from our library. We have a source that is from just before your period, however much of it is also applicable to your time. If you find a name that you like please contact us again so that we can confirm that it fits your period well, and is grammatically correct. Have a look at: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names. http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html Note that there is another Welsh form of in this list; . We are familiar with the book where you found , and while it and many like it are excellent sources for modern people to find interesting names, they are not strong academic historical sources. These books often do not give dates for their name references, and they include names which were known historically only as surnames or foreign names. This is the case here, where a modern English speaker may very well have the given name . However, nobody during your period would use as a given name, and the only pre-1600 usage we could find was as a surname for someone who was either an Englishman of Welsh extraction, or a Welshman whose name was incorrectly recorded by an Englishman. We hope this letter has been useful. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval d'Espas Nord, Talan Gwynek and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 26 / Feb / 2000 __________________________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995); s.n. Bevan. [2] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985); s.n. Ieuan. [3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980); s.n. Davie.