ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2703 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2703 ************************************ 31 Mar 2003 From: Sara L Friedemann Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a Spanishman living between 1450 and 1550. Here is the information we have found. All elements of your name are found in Spain in the late 15th century, though the spelling is more common than . [1] These particular names were more common in Aragon, though they are fine for Castile as well. The widespread use of middle names in Spanish is an 18th century phenomenon. In your period, only a small percentage of the highest nobility had a middle name, and so we would like to advise you against using a second given name. [2] There is another way that you could include the element in your name, if you wish. Many bynames in Spanish derived originally from given names, and we have found examples of and , both from used as bynames in the 15th century. [1] In Aragon, we find used as a byname once in 1495 [6], so this would also be appropriate, though it would indicate that your father's name was , and not that was your second given name. While most Spanish men in your period had just a single byname, we found some men recorded with two bynames. [3] is a fine name for a Spanish man in your period. is less likely, but possible. Either would have been understood to mean "Jayme son of Domingo del Valle". is pronounced \ZHEY-meh doh-MEENG-gehz del BHAH-l~eh\, though by 1550, may have been pronounced \SHEY-meh\ by some speakers. [4] In these pronunciations, \ey\ rhymes with , \l~\ is a palatalized , the sound of in the French word 'million' and Italian 'of the'. \zh\ is a voiced \sh\, the sound of the in , and \BH\ is the sound of or in Spanish 'wolf' or 'grape.' [5] was pronounced \doh-MEENG-goh\. 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, Maridonna Benvenuti, Adelaide de Beaumont, Leonor Martin, Juliana de Luna, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, and Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 31Mar03 -- References & Notes: [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] In one study of the titled nobility in the 16th century, less than 3% of the people had double given names. In most lists of names, less than 1% of people have double given names (Juliana de Luna, publication pending). [3] In source [1] we find, among others, the following men recorded with more than one byname: Jose/ Ramo/n Folch de Cardona Juan Ximenes Cerdan Juan Alvarez de Almorojoz Juan Arias de la Garrivillas Juan Carrillo de Guadalupe Juan Duque de Estrada Juan Fernandes Alegre Juan Fernandes de Ramaga In all cases except two, these men had a patronymic byname and then a locative byname. [4] We would like to note that the modern pronunciation of is incorrect for your period. [5] This sound is made by putting the lips together as if to say \p\ or \b\, and then relax them slightly so that air can escape between them. The resulting sound is \bh\ if you simultaneously hum (i.e., vibrate your vocal cords).