ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2638 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2638 ************************************ From: Sara L Friedemann 08 Jan 2003 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know what forms of the surname were in use in England and Scotland between 1100 and 1600, and asked for help creating a name using one of these forms as your surname. Here is the information we have found. As we noted in previous correspondence, the English surname derives from a French place name. It was introduced to England by the Normans, and from there carried to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland when the Anglo-Normans settled those countries in the 12th century and later. [1,3,5] We found many different forms of this surname recorded in England: de Montgomeri 1086 [3] de Montgumeri 1086 [3] de Mungumeri 1159 [3] de Mongomery 1273 [4] de Montgomery 1273 [4] Mungumbery 1530 [4] Munckgummary 1585 [2] Munckgummery 1589 [2] While we did not find the specific spelling in Scotland, we found the following forms: [5,6] de Mundegumri c.1165 Mundgumri 1170 Montegoumeri c.1180 de Mongombro 1354 Montegomorry 1437 Mowngumry 1482 Mungumbry 1500 Montgumry 1501 Montgumrye 1509 Mundgumbry 1519 Mungumre 1521 Montgumre 1529 Monthgumry 1548 Monthtgumry 1548 Montgomry 1557 Montgumery 1559 Mungumry 1559 Mwngwmry 1562 Mongumrie 1574 Mongumre 1592 A few notes on these spellings: This byname was originally a literal byname meaning "from Montgomery" referring to the place in France, but very early on it developed into an inherited byname, used by Anglo- and Scoto-Norman families who wanted to retain a connection to their family's French estates. A woman living in the 14th century or later whose surname was would simply be the daughter of someone whose surname was . We can recommend a number of sources for appropriate given names for English and Scots cultures of this time period. You can find assorted articles online in the following places: "Medieval Names Archive: English, Old English, & Anglo-Norman Names" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/english.shtml "Medieval Names Archive: Scottish Names" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottish.shtml Of the links on the latter page, the articles listed under the heading "Scoto-Norman, Scots-Language, and Lowland Names" are appropriate. 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 Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont, Julie Stampnitzky, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 08Jan03 -- References & Notes: [1] MacLysaght s.n. Montgomery, [2] Julie Stampnitzky, "Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521- 1615" (WWW: privately published, 2001). http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames.html [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Montgomerie [4] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). s.n. Montgomery [5] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n. Montgomery [6] In source [5] we also find the name recorded as and in 1512. The former is specially noted as appearing in a Gaelic document, and we believe it is simply a phonetic rendering of into Gaelic. The latter is apparently either an attempt to Gaelicize or a re-rendering of a Gaelic adaptation of the name into Scots spelling. We not believe that the people mentioned were Gaelic-speakers, nor would we recommend combining any form of with a native Gaelic given name. --