ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2693 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2693 ************************************ 24 Mar 2003 From: Sara L Friedemann Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for an Englishman living between 1100 and 1150. Here is the information we have found. The masculine name was never common in England until modern times, but it was used from the late 12th century onward. [1] In records from 1182-1272, the name is found in the Latin form twice. [2] We can only recommend this given name for the end of your period; it is unlikely in the beginning of the 12th century. The surname was originally a literal byname meaning "Margery's son" or "Marget's son." We have not found this form as early as your period, but we can recommend other bynames that all originally derived from bynames indicating that the bearer's mother's name was or [3]: Margerie 1195 Magge 1200 Margaret' 1275 Megge 1275, 1279 Maggote 1279 Maggard 1327 Maggessone 1327 Magot 1327 Maggesone 1332 Meggesone 1332 Mariorison 1379 Meggotson 1379 Margretson 1381 Margetson 1425 As you can see, most of these are from quite a bit later than your desired period. In general, until about 1300 or so, most patronymic bynames were just the father's or mother's given name unchanged. The use of or did not come in to use until later. Thus, the only two that we can recommend for the late 12th century are and , and we do not know if these were in use in the early 12th century. or is a fine name for a man living between 1150 and 1200; prior to that, we are not sure how appropriate this name is. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter were provided by Maria filia Brian, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 24Mar03 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Basil [2] Nicolaa de Bracton, "A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272", Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings 1995 (SCA Inc.; WWW: privately published, 1997). http://members.tripod.com/nicolaa5/articles/names.html [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.nn. Madge, Madgett, Magson, Maggot, Margary, Margerison, Margetson, Margetts, Meggs, Megson