ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2539 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2539 ************************************ 14 May 2002 From: Marianne Perdomo Machin Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if the name was appropriate for an Italian man living between 1250 and 1450. You were interested in the meaning 'Donation from the Garden'. We have found examples of the given name throughout Italy: In 14th century Venice, in 13th to 16th century Florence, and in 12th century Sicily [1, 2, 3]. It is a fine choice. It derives from a Latin name which in turn came from a Latin word that meant "given [as a gift]" [1]. That origin was probably apparent to medieval Italians and the name was probably often given to children with the intent of meaning "a gift [of God]". The surname you had chosen, isn't quite right. The word is feminine, while is a masculine form. We haven't found in our sources, but we did find the modern Italian word "gardener". may be a dialect form. If so, may be a correct name for some parts of Italy. For example, in 14th century Venice, we find the analogous surname , apparently a Venetian form of the modern word "courier" [3]. We can therefore recommend as a plausible Venetian name. In the early part of your period, it would have been used literally for a man who was a gardener. By the end of your period, it would have been an inherited family name without literal meaning. If you want a name that means "Donato from the garden", we recommend or . We've found a woman in Sicily in 1322 [1]. We haven't found an example of in period, but it is a modern surname [4] and probably existed in period. The word was apparently feminine in some dialects of Italian, masculine in others. In the 14th century or earlier, an Italian man was often identified as his father's son. A Venetian named Donato, son of Pero Giardiner, would often have been identified as . 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Leonor Martin 14 May 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Girolamo Caracausi, _Dizionario Onomastico della Sicilia_ (Palermo, 1994), s.n. (p. 545), (p. 717), [2] Herlihy, David, R. Burr Litchfield, and Anthony Molho, "Florentine Renaissance Resources: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (WWW: Brown University, Providence, RI, 2000) http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/. [3] Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek, "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/. [4] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978), s.n. Giardino