ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2245 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2245 ************************************ 10 Mar 2001 From: Judith Phillips Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us to help you find the appropriate form of the name or for a German woman living between 1300 and 1450. Here is the information we found. We found a single example of the name in the 14th century as a pet form of some undetermined feminine name (presumably derived from the Germanic root ) [1]. It was probably pronounced \EH-meh-leh\. is thus a rare but attested name for your period. You might also consider the similar name , found in the early 15th century [1]. is a byname meaning "wholesale merchant, trader" (as opposed to a retail merchant). We found the following spellings (with dates): 1135 [2] 1268, 1272 [3] 1287 [2] 1289 [3] 1291 [3] 1296 [3] 1298 [3] 1362 [4] 1378 [4] 1387 [5] appears to be a Latinized genitive (possessive) form. The notation represents an with a small written over it and represented roughly the same sound as . would be an excellent byname for you, with one small adjustment. In your period, an occupational byname (byname derived from one's job) for a woman would have been feminized. We found the following two feminine forms (circa 1300): [3] [3] was pronounced \KOUF-mah-nen\, where the notation \OU\ represents the sound in . was pronounced \KOWF-mah-nin\, where \ow\ represents the sound in (pronounced with lips strongly rounded so that it almost ends in an \oo\ sound). The modern surname has at least two possible sources. The first, and probably the more common, is the Middle High German word or , meaning "student." (The letters in curly brackets represent ligatures; the symbol <"> indicates an umlaut over the preceding letter.) This word was often used of a teacher or cleric as well. We found the byname ("called Scholar") in 1270. [6] The feminine form would most likely be , pronounced \SHOO-@-leh-rin\, where the notation \@\ represents the sound of in or [7]. There is also , derived from , an occupational term meaning "shoemaker". We found the bynames in 1339 and in 1404. [8] The most likely feminine form for your period would be , pronounced \SHU"-@-leh-rin\, where \u"\ represents the sound in German or the sound of in French . [7]. , , and could all have been used in a number of ways. They could have been literal occupational bynames, e.g. for a female merchant. They could also have been derived from the name of a woman's husband or father; for example, might have been the wife or daughter of a scholar rather than having been a scholar herself. We think that derivation from a husband's name was probably the most common source of feminized occupational bynames. Finally, they could have been inherited surnames; the family of might not have made any shoes for a few generations. In summary, , , and would all be appropriate names for your period. We hope that this letter has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have any further questions. I was assisted in writing this letter by Dietmar von Straubing, Hartmann Rogge, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Gotfrid von Schwaben, Juliana de Luna, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Adeliza de Saviniaco 10 March 2001 ------------------------------------------ References: [1] Seibicke, Wilfried, _Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch_ (de Gruyter, series, various dates). s.n. [2] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.n.Kaufmann. [3] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). pp. 518 [4] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung. I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ (Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949). s.n. Kaufmann. [5] Bahlow, Hans, _Deutsches Namenlexikon : Familien- und Vornamen nach Ursprung und Sinn erklaert_ (Frankfurt am Main : Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Verlag, 1985, 1990) s.n. Kauf(f)mann. [6] Brechenmacher, op. cit., s.n. Schuler [7] There is a general pattern of forming feminine bynames by adding the suffix to the masculine name. For example, from Socin, op. cit., we have from (p. 538) and from (p. 542). [8] Brechenmacher, op. cit., s.n. Schu"hler