ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2004
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2004
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From: "Brian M. Scott" 
6 Apr 2000

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked whether the name <Jesmond Black> was suitable for a
late-period female English persona.  In particular, you asked whether
Withycombe is correct in suggesting that <Jesmond> may be a
late-period form of <Ismena> and whether <Black> would be an
appropriate surname.  You mentioned that you were also considering
the surnames <Smith> and <Hunt>.


Although we have not actually found period examples of <Jesmond>, we 
have no reason to doubt Withycombe's statement that it occurred in 
North Lancashire in the 16th - 18th centuries. [1]  Our sources for 
late-period English names are far from complete, and none of them 
covers that region.  Whether the name is actually a form of <Ismena> 
is another question altogether.  Withycombe's suggestion is very 
tentative, and the required sound changes are so extensive that we 
are inclined to suspect that <Jesmond> has some other origin.


The surname <Black> has to be discussed in connection with the
surname <Blake>.  In Middle English there were two words spelled
<blake>; one meant 'black', and the other meant 'pale, wan'.  Often
these words can be distinguished only by context, and sometimes not
even then. [2]  Both gave rise to nicknames that later became the
hereditary surnames <Black> and <Blake>, but it seems likely that in
most cases the modern surnames go back to the word for 'black'. [3]

Both spellings (or minor variants) are found in the Middle Ages
(e.g., <Reyner le Blake> 1273 and <Edericke le Blacke> 1273), but
<Blake> was much the more common medieval spelling. [4]  This 
disparity continued well beyond the end of our period.  In 1601 the 
surname <Black> was recorded in only one English parish register, 
while <Blake> was recorded in eight, and a fairly comprehensive 
survey of 17th century records found 467 instance of <Blake> to only 
88 of <Black>. [5, 6]

Though we have no doubt that it was then in use, we were unable to
find a 16th century citation for the exact form <Black>.  We did
find the form in 1601, and we found the minor variant <Blacke> in
1577. [5, 7]  On that basis we think that <Jesmond Blacke> or <Black>
is an uncommon but authentic late-period name, at least in North
Lancashire; <Jesmond Blake> appears to be a somewhat likelier
variant of the same name.


Forms of the surnames <Smith> and <Hunt> were common in the 16th
century.  In 1601 the surname <Smith> was recorded in the registers
of 52 English parishes, <Smyth> in 32, <Smythe> in 24, and <Smithe>
in 22.  The spelling <Smythe> was especially frequent in Lancashire 
and Yorkshire and would therefore go well with the North Lancashire 
name <Jesmond>.  <Hunt> and <Hunte> were recorded in 14 and nine 
parishes, respectively. [8]  Any of these forms would be suitable 
surnames.


Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Maridonna Benvenuti also contributed to
this letter.  We hope that it has been helpful; if you have any
further questions, please don't hesitate to write again.

For the Academy,

Talan Gwynek
6 April 2000

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References and Notes:

[1] Withycombe, E.G.  The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian
Names, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988); s.n. 
Ismen(i)a.

[2] The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1973); s.vv. black, blake.

[3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson.  A Dictionary of English Surnames
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995); s.n.
Black.

[4] Bardsley, Charles W.  A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames
(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980); s.n. Black.

[5] Hitching, F.K. & S. Hitching.  References to English Surnames in
1601 (Walton-on-Thames: Chas. A. Bernau, 1910); p. xxiii.

[6] Rogers, Colin D.  The Surname Detective (Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1995); p. 138.

[7] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien).  'Name Distribution 
in King's Stanley Marriages: 1573-1600' (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999).
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/mari/kingsstanley/

[8] Hitching & Hitching, op. cit., pp. lxi, xliv.