ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2735 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2735 ************************************ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTE: This report was originally sent as a private reply, and therefore is not as reliable as regular Academy reports. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Reply by Talan. I have five examples, in fact. The parish register of S. Mary Woolnoth in London shows a 1549 baptism of a girl named . [1] Bardsley has four more examples: a girl baptized in Cornwall in 1549, a buried in 1592 at Canterbury, a girl baptized in 1596 in Cornwall, and a girl baptized in 1599 in Sussex. [2] Unfortunately, there *is* a problem with , and a bigger one with the combination . It appears from the OED that came into use as a description of human temperament in the late 14th century. While this is certainly well within the SCA period, it is later than the period when the vast majority of surnames were formed. By 1400 many Englishmen -- probably a majority, in fact -- had inherited surnames. Some still bore literal, descriptive bynames, but very few of these nicknames seem to have been new creations. Thus, there is essentially no chance that word newly borrowed from French in the later 14th century, especially a learned word like , would have been used as a byname at all. In the combination the problem is even worse. The given name wasn't used until very late in the SCA period. By the time it appears in the 16th century, practically all Englishmen had inherited surnames; bynames of the medieval type simply don't appear in the records. In fact, 16th century English naming is very much like modern naming in its main outlines. Thus, for all practical purposes the chance that is a historically authentic re-creation is zero. That said, I don't know whether the name is registerable with the CoA. I haven't been involved with the CoA for several years now and have only a very general idea of how its standards have changed in that period. I would have returned it when I was Pelican King of Arms, but it's possible that the current administration would reluctantly register it. Probably the only way to find out for sure is to submit it. If you want to give the same general impression with an authentic name, you could substitute for an attested 16th century surname originating in a byname with a similar meaning. Exactly what that might be would depend on just what sense of 'impetuous' you wanted to emphasize: quickness, daring, rashness, etc. Given that information I could probably offer a suggestion or two, but the Academy of S. Gabriel as a whole could do a better job, since more of us would be thinking about the problem. Admittedly that would also take longer, but you might well get more choices. Still, I'll be happy to try to come up with an idea or two if you want. Talan ===== References: [1] Brooke, J.M.S., and A.W.C. Hallen. The Transcript of the Registers of the United Parishes of S. Mary Woolnoth and S. Mary Woolchurch Haw, in the City of London, from their Commencement 1538 to 1760 (London: Bowles & Sons, 1886). [2] Bardsley, Charles Wareing. Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1970; facsimile of the 1897 edition published in London by Chatto and Windus); pp. 139, 147.