ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1962 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1962 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 1 Mar 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the masculine Italian name would have been used by a man with a German mother and Italian father living in Germany between 1200 and 1400. Here is the information we have found. comes from the Latin gens name . [1,2] Though the name was rare in the south of Italy, it was revived at the end of the Middle Ages in the northern and central parts. It would therefore be a plausible Italian name for the later end of your period. You asked about a name for a man with a German mother and an Italian father. Our research suggests that medieval names did not reflect parentage in the way that many Societyfolk like to think. Instead, a person was named in the language of the country where he lived. It may help to think of a name as the way people identify you rather than as a fixed, unchanging label given to you by your parents. A man from medieval Italy who moved to Germany would be known to the local German population by a German name, perhaps based on his Italian name. For example, a Florentine named who moved to Mainz would probably have been called by his new neighbors. Similarly, a child living in Mainz, of whatever parentage, would have been known locally by a German name, not by a mixture of Italian and German name elements. While is a fine Italian name, we haven't found it in use in period Germany, and we cannot guess how it might have been adapted into German. If you would like your name to reflect your German heritage, we suggest that you consider a German name, not an Italian name. 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, Adelaide de Beaumont, Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, and Barak Raz. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 01Mar00 --------------------------------------- References & Notes: [1] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978). s.n. Fabrizio [2] The Roman was a sort of 'clan' or extended family whose members were not necessarily related by blood.