ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2542 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2542 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 12 Jul 2002 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our opinion of and as 15th century Italian surnames. Here is what we found. has been used as a surname in Italy from Republican Roman times through to the modern day. Variants in your period include , and . Another form often found in Tuscany, the region of Florence, was . [1,2] By your period, most central and northern Italians had inherited family names. So while your surname recognizably means "tailor", it would not necessarily have meant that any of your immediate family were themselves tailors. is a fine locative surname, and again in your period was more likely to be inherited rather than descriptive. However we have found that it was rare for people to be described as being from a place when they lived there. There is no advantage naming someone when everyone else is, too. A person called is most likely to be a Florentine living somewhere else in Italy, or their descendant. In addition the use of two surnames is very rare for Italians of your period. We suggest the pattern is much more appropriate. If you are searching for a given name then we can suggest these web sites which will be ideal for your persona and era: Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427 http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto/ Italian Renaissance Women's Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/rhian/italian.html To sum up we suggest that is a fine surname for your needs, or you might like to consider as being particularly appropriate for Tuscany. For instance, if you selected the given name , then and would be excellent names; would be a fine name as well, though perhaps less typically Florentine. I 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, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval d'Espas Nord, Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook 12/7/02 ------------------------------------ References [1] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978), page 225, s.n. . [2] Web Gallery of Art http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/a/andrea/sarto/ Andrea Del Sarto, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. 1486, Firenze, d. 1530, Firenze) _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com