ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2115 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2115 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 23 Oct 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would have been used as an Englishwoman's name between 1000 and 1600. Here is the information we have found. As far as we can tell, is a modern name formed as a feminine of , or perhaps as a variant of . [1,2] We were unable to find it, or anything similar, in any of our medieval English name sources. If you would like to consider other possibilities for your given name, we recommend you browse the articles listed here: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/english.shtml Depending on when you decide to set your persona, some of the articles may be more or less useful. There were two towns that could have given rise to your choice for surname, in Yorkshire, and in Sussex. We find surnames based on the former city spelled as in c.1200 and 1304, while we find the Sussex city spelled as in 1279. [3,4] We doubt that the modern spelling was used before the 16th century, and even then would be a more likely spelling. In the earlier part of your period, a surname based on a place name would have included the preposition , meaning "of," like . Toward the end of your period, the preposition would not have been used, as in . 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Maridonna Benvenuti, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicouer, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, and Dietmar von Straubing. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 23Oct00 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges, _A Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988, 1990). s.n. Kyla [2] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983). s.n. Kyla [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Eastburne [4] Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_, 4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). s.n. Eastbourne