ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2729 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2729 ************************************ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a woman from the British Isles at any time before 1600. As a general rule, we're rarely able to answer so broad a question: The languages of the British Isles changed enormously in the millenium before 1600, and there is no comprehensive source we can consult for names used in all those cultures and their languages. We do not recognize as a name we've encountered in our research. We did find evidence on the WWW that it is a rare modern given name, but that unfortunately doesn't tell us anything about its history. Is it possible that you were thinking of the Welsh name ? This is a modern name derived from a Welsh word that means "snowdrop" or "snow herb", and our source tells us that it was invented in modern times [1]. Consequently, we can't recommend this as a good choice for pre-1600 re-creation. We have some good articles on names in the various languages of pre-1600 Britain. You can find them in our Medieval Names Archive, http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/. In particular, we think you'll be particularly interested in these articles: For Welsh names: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html For Scottish names: Scottish Names 101 http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/scotnames101.shtml Quick and Easy Gaelic Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml For English names, we have many articles that you can find from http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/english.shtml. Please write again if you have further questions. Arval for the Academy 14 Dec 2001 [1] Gruffudd, Heini, _Enwau i'r Cymry/Welsh Personal Names_ (Talybont: Y Lolfa, 1984), s.n. Eirlys. ---------- Action: Comments from Tangwystyl, 14 Dec 2001 17:57 Just a further comment on the form -- when I Googled it, I got three distinct hits: an and an both of whom show even more hits under the spelling (suggesting that < Erilys> is a typo in these cases), and a canine who does not show up under the spelling and who may well have simply been named with a typo. My opinion is that there is essentially no Google evidence for as a modern given name, but only as an occasional typo for . Tangwystyl 10 Feb 2002 From: Subject: Academy of Saint Gabriel Question gender: Feminine SCA: on language: Pick One For Me begin: 600 end: 1600 I have found the name Elinae as a swedish feminine name around the period of 1400 I was wondering whether there were any other cultures that used this name or if there would be a suitable version of the name around the area of Northern Britain, and what sort of surnames would be suitable for the name Elinae ---------- Action: Comments from Aryanhwy, 10 Feb 2002 10:46 is found in my SMP article, dated to 1387, 1401, 1423, and 1476. It's a form of . I'm sure there'l be a version of it in 15th C northern Britain - in fact, we could probably just send her to Talan's DES article, and the general medieval bynames article for information on English surnames. This can probably be a direct reply. ---------- Action: Comments from Aryanhwy, 10 Feb 2002 11:26 She originally wrote us about two months ago asking about . ---------- Action: Reply by Arval, 10 Feb 2002 11:43 Subject: Academy of Saint Gabriel Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked about the Swedish name , which you found in our Medieval Names Archive in the article Swedish Feminine Given Names from SMP, at http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/smp/. The article reports that this is a variant spelling of , the Swedish form of , and notes four examples between 1287 and 1476. It's unlikely that this particular name, in this spelling, was used anywhere outside Scandinavia. However, forms of were used in England in the 14th-16th centuries and in the Lowlands of Scots in the 15th and 16th centuries. See: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ If you want to construct a late-period English name, you can find several lists of appropriate surnames in the index at: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/eng1450to1600.shtml If you want a 15th or 16th century Lowland Scottish name, you can find some appropriate surnames at: http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/surnamesinstances. shtml If you want to doublecheck your choices or if you have further questions, please write again. Arval for the Academy 10 Feb 2002