ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2486 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2486 ************************************ 12 Apr 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether and are appropriate names for a man and his daughter in Cornwall around 1340. Here is what we have found. is an excellent name for 14th century Cornwall. brought a lawsuit in 1343 in Lanherne [1]. was a tax collector in Cornwall in 1377 [2]. Accounts from late 13th century Cornwall include many examples of the name [3]. and were originally pet forms of . The full name is quite appropriate for your period -- it was used in England in 1346 [4] -- but the short form apparently didn't appear until the last half of the 16th century, and spellings with an 'a' in the first syllable were rare until after our period. The name appears in 16th century English records in a large variety of forms: Thomeson 1538 [4] Thomasyn 1545, 1547, 1560, 1564, 1566 [5], 1556 [6] married 1600 [7] Tomasyn 1557 [8] Tomazin married 1565 [9] Thomasyne 1565, 1566 [6] Tomasyne 1565, 1566 [6] Tamson 1573 [8] Tomasin 1574, 1597 [8] Thomasin 1574, 1597 [5] Thomassen 1576 [5] Thomassin 1577 [8] Thomazine 1577 [5], 1581-95 [10] Thomasyne 1579 [8] Thomaseen married 1580, married 1583 [7] Thomasina 1581-95 [10] Thomps[in?] married 1589 [7] Tomason 1591 [11] Thomason 1592 [11] Thomas 1598 [5] Other 16th century spellings include [12]: Thomasine Thomyson Thomison Thomazin Thomzye Tomysyne Tomysen Tomisine Thomazina Tomison Timosin Tomlinson Thomazena is a reasonable choice for 14th century Cornwall, but we can't recommend the spelling for any time in our period [13]. is plausible for the 16th century -- though it would have been an unusual spelling -- but not for the 14th. The Gloucestershire spellings , , and are probably the best choices for 16th century Cornwall. As we wrote earlier, middle names (second given names) were not used in medieval Britain and only a handful of examples exist before 1600 at all. We therefore recommend that you drop the second name . We can't tell you how your modern surname came about, but we have found an modern English surname based on a place name in Lancashire. Period examples include: de Cliderhou 1176 [14] de Cliderhow 1316 [15] de Cliderhou, de Clyderhou 1332 [15] de Clyderowe 1379 [15] Cledrow 1379 [15] Clyderoe 14th C [16] Cletherowe 1439 [14] Cludre, Clydero 1526, 1541 [14] Clithero 1545 [15] It's not unlikely that the modern spelling was influenced by the more common modern name . However, that spelling doesn't appear to be appropriate for our period. Given the evidence we've found, we can't recommend this surname at all for a native of Cornwall. In some parts of England, inherited surnames had become the norm in the 14th century. In other areas, surnames were still used literally, and so a man and his daughter would typical not have shared a surname. Inherited surnames came into use first in the counties around London and spread slowly to the further parts of the country. Thus, we'd expect inherited surnames to be in the minority in both Cornwall and Yorkshire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, inherited surnames were the rule throughout England. Thus is a fine name for a man from 14th century Yorkshire, and is a fine name for his daughter; but she probably wouldn't have shared his surname. 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. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Avraham haRofeh, Adelaide de Beaumont, Mari neyn Brian, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 12 Apr 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Fox, H.S.A. & O.J. Padel, eds. _The Cornish Lands of the Arundells of Lanherne, Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries_, Devin & Cornwall Record Society, new series, volume 41 (Exeter: 2000), p.1. [2] Fenwick, Carolyn C. ed., _The Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379, and 1381, Part I: Bedfordshire-Leicestershire_, Series: Records of Social and Economic History, new series 27 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1998, ISBN: 0-197-26186-8), p.85. [3] L. Margaret Midgley, ed. Ministers' Accounts of the Earldom of Cornwall 1296-1297. Vol. I. Camden Third Series, Vol. LXVI (London: The Royal Historical Society, 1942). There are examples on pages 1 and 2; and at the other end of the book, on 144: , , , and . The final <-us>, <-i>, and <-o> are Latin grammatical endings. [4] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [5] Brooke, J.M.S., and A.W.C. Hallen, _The Transcript of the Registers of the United Parishes of S. Mary Woolnoth and S. Mary Woolchurch Haw, in the City of London, from their Commencement 1538 to 1760_ (London: Bowles & Sons, 1886). [6] The Parish Registers of St. Michael, Cornhill, London, Containing the Marriages, Baptisms, and Burials from 1546 to 1754. Partly edited by Joseph Lemuel Chester. The Publications of the Harleian Society: Registers, Vol. VII (London: 1882). [7] Aryanhwy merch Catmael, "16th Century Gloucestershire Names" (WWW: privately published, 2001) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/late16.html [8] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.nn. Tamplin, Inkley, Genet, Flowerday. [9] Friedemann, Sara L., "16th Century Names from Ormskirk Parish Registers" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/ormskirk.html [10] Talan Gwynek, "Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng16/ [11] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Names and Naming Practices in the Registers of the Church of St. Mary's, Dymock" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/dymock/ [12] "Durham Genealogy", ed. Paul R. Joiner (WWW: GEN UKI, 2002) http://website.lineone.net/~pjoiner/genuki/DUR/index.html [13] Some sources suggest that and were standard medieval spellings, but we doubt those statements. See Bice, Christopher, _Names for the Cornish_ (Padstow, Cornwall: Lodenek Press, 1975), s.n. Tamsyn; and Middle Kingdom Letter of Acceptances and Returns, July 2001 (WWW: Middle Kingdom College of Heralds, accessed 1 Apr 2002), entry 10; http://www.geocities.com/Esctherald/ILOAR/0107loar.html. It cites 16th century instances of , , etc., but its sources are personal genealogy webpages, which commonly use modernized spellings. [14] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Clitheroe. [15] Bardsley s.n. Clithero. [16] --, "Assessment Roll of the Poll-Tax for Howdenshire, Etc., in the Second Year of the Reign of King Richard II. (1379)", Exchequer Lay Subsidy Rolls, No. 202/69. Originally printed in the "Yorkshire Archaeological Journal", vol. IX, 1886.