ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2366 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2366 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 8 Oct 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate name for an Italian woman living in the 15th century. You also wanted to know if patronymic names applied to both men and women. Here is the information we have found. In your period, there was no single Italian language. Rather, there was a set of related dialects, some of which were quite different from one another. As a result, there are many names whose spellings varied from one region of Italy to another, as well as some that may be found in one region, but not in another. is a diminutive form of the name , which derives from the Latin . [5] Many forms of were used in Italy, including the variant or : [1,3,4] Orsola Venice, c1400 Orsula Venice, c1400 Orsa Florence, 1492 Orsina Florence, 1492 Orsilia Palermo, 16th C The surname is found in 14th century Venice. [2] While we did not find explicit evidence for in Venice, the diminutive form <-ina> was not uncommon. [2] Since both and are found in Venice in the early 15th century, would most likely be an appropriate name for that time period. We also have some evidence that the masculine name was used in northern Italy, lending further support to the possibility that the feminine form could have been used. [5] would be a reasonable choice for a Venetian woman living in the Italian Renaissance. You asked about patronymic surnames for women; it was common in your period for both men and women to be identified as their father's children [4]. For example, Orsina, the daughter of Blasio dalla Stava might have been known as or as well as . 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 were provided by Arval Benicoeur, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Ursula Georges, and Juliana la Caminante de Navarra. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 08Oct01 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Arval Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto [2] Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek, "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/ [3] Lyneya Fairbowe, unpublished research based on 16th century baptismal records from Palermo, obtained from the Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. [4] McKee, Sally, _Wills from Late Medieval Venetian Crete 1312-1420_, 3 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1998, ISBN 0884022455). [5] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei nomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992). s.n. Orso