ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2722 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2722 ************************************ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTE: This report was originally sent as a direct reply, and therefore is not as reliable as regular Academy reports. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! The article in which you found the name <Ageric> is based on a medieval book that recounts the early -- 5th to 7th century -- history of the Franks. The names, therefore, are not really German in any real sense: Although Frankish was a Germanic language, the Franks lived mostly in areas now part of France. I'm not sure whether the name would have been used in Bremen. Further, the language of the 5th-7th century Franks was quite different from that of the 11th century French and Germans; and although some names remained in use through both periods, they often changes substantially in form and pronunciation. In short: The article "Early Germanic Names from Primary Sources" is not a good source for 11th century names and may not be a good source at all for names from Bremen. In France, the name <Ageric> remained in use until the early 12th century, but it changed considerably over the centuries. It is recorded as <Agiricus> in the 9th and 10th centuries, <Agericus> in the 9th and 10th C, <Airicus> in several examples form the 730s to the mid-10th century, <Ayricus> a.1070, <Ayaricus> a.970, <Aiericus> t.Pip.II, <Echarigus> a.670, <Ecricus> a.796, <Egirich> a.822, <Ekkirich> a.765, and <Eiricus> 9th to early 12th C [1]. These are almost all Latinized forms, of course. The data suggests that the <g> in the early name was pronounced like the <ch> in the modern German word <Bach> rather than like the <g> in <get>; and it softened to a \y\ as in <yet> by the 9th century (and possibly earlier). In the 11th century, the name was probably pronounced \EYE-ric\. If you want to use the name, I recommend you choose one of the spellings from your period, <Ayric>, <Airic>, or <Eiric>. Arval for the Academy 05 Aug 2002 [1] Marie-Therese Morlet, Les NOms de Presonne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle (three volumes), Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1968; I:21d.