ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2603 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2603 ************************************ 01 Dec 2002 From: SARA LIANA FRIEDEMANN Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate name for a 14th century Spanish gentleman. Here is the information we have found. We have found only two possible examples of as a given name, one in the late 15th century and one in 1510 as the name of an Amerindian slave. It is not certain from our sources whether was the person's given name or his surname; though is at root a locative surname (surname based on the bearer's location), in the context of both examples we found, it appears to be functioning as a given name. [1,6] Given this uncertainty, though, we are hesitant to recommend this as good recreation for the 15th century; a century earlier, it is even less likely. If you would like to consider other given names that would be more appropriate for your period, we cannot recommend any sources just yet, but one of the Academy members is currently working on an article on 14th century Spanish names. When it is complete, it will be linked from the following URL: Medieval Names Archive: Iberian Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/iberian.shtml We also have an article with given names from just before your period that would also be a good source: "Medieval Spanish Names from the Monastery of Sahagun" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/miguel/sahagun/ The names in the third group of this article would be most appropriate. If you wish to keep the element in your name, then we recommend using it as a locative surname. There are a number of different places named in Castille, Leon, and Sahagun. is a fine surname for any part of your period. [5] was a short form of the placename in Galicia, near Portugal. 'of Santiago' wasn't a common surname, but we have found a couple 13th century examples and believe it would be a fine choice for the 14th century as well. [2,3] However, if you decide to use as a surname, we recommend that you do not also use : Two locative surnames in the same name is extremely unlikely. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Talan Gwynek, Blaise de Cormeilles, Juliana de Luna, Adelaide de Beaumont, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Pedro de Alcazar, Leonor Martin, Talan Gwynek, and Galiana de Baiona. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 1Dec02 -- References: [1] Juliana de Luna, "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999-2000) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/. [2] Jos{e'} A. Fern{a'}ndez Fl{o'}rez, _Colecci{o'}n diplom{a'}tica del monasterio de Sahag{u'}n (857-1300): Volume V (1200-1300)_, Centro de estudios e investigaci{o'}n San Isidoro, Caja Espa{n~}a de inversiones, Caja de ahorros y Monte de Piedad, 1994. [3] While we don't have an explicit example from your period, there is a fourteenth century record referring to the archbishop of Santiago, and as it was a fairly substantial town, it seems likely that the locative byname remained in use. [4] [4] Unpublished research of Juliana de Luna. [5] "La Historia de los Apellidos", s.n. Escobar (WWW: Editora Panama/ Ame/rica, S.A.-EPASA, 1995-2001) http://www.epasa.com/apellidos/ This website lists a in 1253. [6] Real Academia Espan~ola - Corpus Diacro/nico del Espan~ol(CORDE), s.n. escobar http://www.rae.es/