ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2622 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2622 ************************************ From: Sara L Friedemann 08 Jan 2003 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a Spanish woman living between 1450 and 1600. Here is the information we have found. In your period, there were several languages spoken in Iberia. The major ones were Portuguese in the west and northwest, Castilian in the north and center, Catalan in the east, Basque in some part of the northeast, and Arabic in the south. Catalan was quite closely related to Spanish and Portuguese to the south and to Occitan and Gascon to the north, though different from all of them. Names often took different forms in each language. is not a likely Castilian name; in this language, the name was spelled . In one late-15th century source, is found 45 times, making it the third most popular feminine name. [1] In another source from the 16th century, is found 69 times, and is the second most popular name. [2] We didn't find in Catalan either, but a census from Barcelona in 1389 has both and , so we believe is a possible form in Catalan. [3] is the modern name of a place in Catalonia. We find it recorded as in the same census from Barcelona. [3] is possible as a Castilian form of the place name, but even in that language we would expect to be the more common form. In conclusion, is a possible Castilian name, though we have not explicitly found the form in Castilian records. is a better choice. is a reasonable Catalan name, though or are better re-creation because they are actually found in medieval documents. We hope that this brief letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Juliana de Luna, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Pedro de Alcazar, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 08Jan03 -- 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] Elsbeth Anne Roth, _16th-century Spanish Women's Names_ (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1998). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/spanish.html [3] Marsa/, Francisco, et al. _Onoma/stica Barcelonesa del Siglo XIV_ (Barcelona: University of Barcelona, 1977). p. 242, 274 --