ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2294 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2294 ************************************ 23 Apr 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether anything similar to is an appropriate name for a late 15th century Frenchman. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Your given name appears in 13th-15th century French sources as , , , and [1, 2]. Any of those would be a fine choice for France in your period. English forms of the name included , , and [4, 5, 6, 7]. The English surname originated from an Old French word that meant "foreign". Some other late-period English examples of names of this origin are 1546-7, 1379, and 1578 [3]. We haven't found a period example of the equivalent name in French, but the existence of the modern surname suggests that was used in your period [8]. We did find period examples of a similar name based on the noun form of that adjective, 1438 [9]. is a fine choice for 15th century France. is not quite as well documented, but we're confident it is also appropriate for your period. was pronounced \roo-law~`n\, with a nasal vowel in the second syllable [10]. was pronounced \lay-trah-nyay\ and was \lay-traw~zh\. In both forms of the surname, the is silent; in the latter, the vowel in the last syllable is nasalized. If you decide to keep your late-period English persona, then would be an exemplary name. This surname was pronounced roughly \ROW-lahnd l@-STROUNDJ\. \OW\ here is pronounced like the word , while \OU\ stands for the vowel in . \@\ represents the sound of the in and . We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 23 Apr 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Talan Gwynek, "Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux, 1470-1520" (WWW: privately published, 2000). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/bordeaux.html [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967), p.19. [3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.nn. Strange, L'Estrange. [4] Talan Gwynek, unpublished research in 16th century London baptismal records. [5] Julian Goodwyn, "English Names from pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/brasses/ [6] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Given Names in Chesham, 1538-1600/1" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/chesham/ [7] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Roland. [8] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Lestrange. [9] Morlet, pp. 76, 417. [10] A nasal vowel is one pronounced through the nose. In the French of your period, the \r\ sound was trilled with the tip of the tongue, not at the back of the mouth as in modern French.