ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2309 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2309 ************************************ 28 Jun 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wrote asking whether or would be an appropriate name for a Frenchwoman living between 1200-1450. You also asked for the correct spelling for your period, where the name was most likely to have been used, and its origin and meaning. As you noted, is found in the 1292 Census of Paris [1]. This is itself a short form of , a name ultimately derived from the Greek word for "pearl" [2]. Although we only have a few examples of in period, it was probably available for most of the period of time in which you are interested. It may not have been at all common, but our sources are spotty enough that we really can't tell. was pronounced the same way it is now for most of your period, \mar-go\, but may have been pronounced \mar-GOHT\ in the earliest part of it. The modern surname derives from a place name, probably in Alsace-Lorraine or Picardy. The letter 'W' is rare in modern French. It is most common in these regions which had the strongest Germanic influence in the Middle Ages. The place name derived from the Old Continental Germanic masculine name and Latin <-cortis> 'estate' [3]. We found the following period examples of the name [4]: 1058-1129 1104 1149 ca.1150 1237. Throughout your period, surnames like were quite common. Toward the end of your period, in much of France, it was not uncommon to drop the preposition [5]. If you want a name suited for c.1400-1450, then would be just as appropriate as ; in some regions it would have been more likely. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Maridonna Benvenuti contributed research and/or comments to this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum 28 June 2001 ____________________________ References: [1] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_, 116 (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). [3] The in the place-name comes from the old possessive form of ; the name meant roughly 'Walo's estate'. [4] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, III:459b - III:460b (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). [5] Dauzat, Albert, _Les Noms de Famille de France_ (Paris: Librairie Guenegaud, 1988), 136ff.