ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2694 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2694 ************************************ 8 Jun 2003 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for information on naming conventions from 14th century Switzerland, and wanted to know if would be an appropriate masculine name. You also wanted to know how and were used in Swiss bynames. Here is the information we have found. is a fine choice for a Swiss man's name. In Breisach, which is on the Rhine river west of Freiburg and not far north of the Swiss border, we find recorded in 1290, in 1294, and c. 1300. [1] (Here, represents a with a small directly above it.) This area falls into the same regional dialect as Switzerland. Locative bynames (bynames based on the bearer's place of residence) using prepositions were quite common in Switzerland. [1,2] In the late 13th century, most records that we find are in Latin, and use the Latin preposition 'of' rather than the German , but we do find 1293, 1297, and 1299. [1] (Again, the notation [o] represents a small over the previous letter). In the 14th century we also find 'called ' in 1360. [3] However, the combination is unlikely. It is only found in bynames of the form 'of the X' where X is a plural noun, instead of an actual place name. But itself is not particularly common in generic topographical bynames, which more often use the prepositions and 'near, by'. Furthermore, nouns in the plural are less common than nouns in the singular, which makes doubly rare. Some examples of Swiss bynames that use and are c. 1300 'at the bridge' and 1302 'in the alley'. [1] 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, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 08Jun03 -- References: [1] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). pp. 74, 310-11, 313, 372, 376 [2] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung. I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ (Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949). I:104f [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke- Verlag, 1957-1960). s.n. Basel(er)