ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1998 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1998 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 16 Apr 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St Gabriel! You wrote to us asking about the history of the masculine name , and whether it was used in Germany in the period 1350-1550. Here is what we found. became popular in the 15th century and very soon gave rise to a number of variants and pet forms: 1516, 1564, 1471, 1519, 1526, and 1519, 1526. The Latin genitive (possessive) case of the name turns up even earlier in such names as 1420 and 1427. In these names means '(son) of Erasmus', so we can safely conclude that was in use as a given name by the early 15th century. Thus, it is a fine choice for most of your period. Saint Erasmus was a martyr and patron of woodturners, navigators and seamen. The cult of Saint Erasmus was very popular in the North of Germany. Not surprisingly, the strongest concentration of the name is in regions bordering the North and Baltic Seas. 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. We was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook & Aryanhwy merch Catmael. 16/APR/2000 __________________________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Bahlow, Hans, _Deutsches Namenlexikon : Familien- und Vornamen nach Ursprung und Sinn erklaert_ (Frankfurt am Main : Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Verlag, 1985, 1990); s.n. Erasmus. [2] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960); s.n. Erasmus, Asmus and A{sz}mann.