ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2760 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2760 ************************************ 5 Oct 2003 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a wealthy French woman born in the 1520s, whether she would have had a middle name, and whether is an appropriate nickname. Here is what we've found. Middle names were extremely rare in France until the 17th century, and are much more typical of French naming customs after our period [1]. We recommend that you use just one given name. is an excellent choice: It appears in many of our studies of French names from the 13th century onward [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. appears as a pet form of in 13th and 15th century Paris and 15th-16th century Provence [2, 3, 7]; it was probably used in much of France in your period, too. Your surname is also excellent, though we haven't found a specific example in period records. We have examples of several other surnames of the same form, such as the 15th century surnames recorded in Paris , , , [3]; and others recorded in Picardy 1438, 1410, 1438 [10]. There are modern places in Picardy, Lorraine, and Oise (just north of Paris) [8] and several more based on the name of the masculine , several of which existed in your period [9]. Dropping the preposition was increasingly common in the 16th century, especially outside the nobility where the literal meaning of the surname had been lost a century or more before. In short, is a fine choice for the 16th century anywhere in north or northwestern France; and is probably a fine nickname. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 4 Oct 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Perouas, L., B. Barrie\re, B., J. Boutier; J.-C. Peyronnet, & J. Tricard, _Le/onard, Marie, Jean et les Autres: Les Pre/noms en Limousin depuis un Mille/naire (Paris: E/ditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1984), p.12 and following. The authors mention a handful of isolated examples in 16th century Limousin, but quote an author from 1695 saying that double given names or middle names were an innovation around 1600. [2] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [3] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names from Paris, 1423 & 1438" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.htm [4] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names from 1601" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.htm [5] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/cateline/norman16.html [6] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "Names from a 1587 Tax Roll from Provins" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/provins1587.htm [7] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/latefrenchfem/ [8] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Dictionnaire E/tymologique des Noms de Famille_ (Librairie Acade/mique Perrin, 1997), s.n. Saint. [9] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.n. St-Clair. [10] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967), p.346.