ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2268 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2268 ************************************ 28 Mar 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 6th to 10th century Welshman. Here is what we have found. Unfortunately, your name does not appear to be historically plausible; we'll explain the problems in detail later in this letter. We would be happy to help you choose a more appropriate name for your period. A good starting point is this article: The First Thousand Years of British Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/british1000/ It discusses the changes in the languages of Wales up to the year 1000 and gives some lists of names recorded in that period. You'll find some other articles on Welsh names in our Medieval Names Archive, in this index: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/pceltic.shtml We found no evidence of as a Welsh given name. Our best guess is that it is a Welsh or English surname used in modern times as a given name. There is a Welsh common noun "traitor" which is occasionally used in medieval records as a personal epithet, e.g. [1]. There is also a modern English surname , derived from a phrase that meant "broad oak" and described the place where someone lived [2]. If you can tell us more about the pamphlet where you found , we may be able to use it as a starting point to find more information. The name appears not to have been adopted into Welsh in our period. The earliest example we've found in Welsh records is from the early 17th century [3]. In fact, the name didn't come into use in England until the Reformation (16th century) [4], so it isn't surprising that the Welsh adopted it quite late. If you're more interested in having a name similar to than in having an early medieval Welsh name, then there are some other, non-Welsh possibilities we can suggest. Please write us again if you'd like to consider those alternatives. I'm sorry we could give you a more positive answer, but we hope this letter has been useful anyway. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 28 Mar 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966), p.15. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Braddock. Period examples include 1275, 1282, 1341. [3] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, unpublished research. [4] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Timothy.