ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2553 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2553 ************************************ 7 May 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate given name for an Arabic woman in our period. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Although is a modern Arabic name [1], we have found no evidence of it as a name before modern times. As you noted, the masculine form was used [2], but not all masculine names were feminized in our period. We can't recommend as good re-creation. You might be interested in the similar-sounding name , recorded in medieval Cairo [3]. You can find more Arabic names and information on the general construction of Arabic names in articles in our library: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/islamic.shtml Particularly these articles: Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/ Arabic Naming Practices and Period Names List http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming/ We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana la Navarra, Juliana de Luna, Raquel Buenaventura, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 7 May 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] A search at google.com turned up several examples, including the queen of Myanmar. There is a 10th century palace in Cordoba called , but that only tells us that the word was in use, not that it was used as a name. In general, common words were rarely adopted as given names. [2] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Arabic Naming Practices and Names List," _Compleat Anachronist_ #51, "The Islamic World" (Milpitas: SCA, Inc, Autumn 1990; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming/ [3] Goitien, Solomon D, _A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza: Volume III: The Family_ (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978).