ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2782 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2782 ************************************ 15 Nov 2003 From: Femke de Roas Greetings from the Academy! You asked us whether would be appropriate for a woman in the lowlands of Scotland in the 14th-16th centuries. Here is what we found: There are a number of forms of used in Scotland and Enlgand between 1300 and 1600. [1,2,3] We did not find an example of the spelling . Catarine 1360 Kaithren 1623 Katerina 1477 Katheryne 1509 Kathren 1632 Kathrine 1589 Katrina 1548 Katrine 1499 Katryne 1509-1528 Catharine 1459 Catrina 1551 Katherine 1550-1557 Katerine 1464 Catering 1521 Catte 1531-1548 Katering 1521 Katherene 1543 Katherin 1502-1543 Katring 1521-1523 Katte 1521 Katty 1513 Kitte 1520-1531 Kytte 1543 Katheryne 1604 Katheryn 1583 Katryne 1455-1532 The byname is likely to be derived from the Old English word , meaning "happy, blessed." Examples include ca. 1200 (Lincolnshire), 1205 (Herefordshire), 1255 (Shropshire), , 1275 (Worcestershire) [6]. All of these are English examples of the name. The Scottish examples 1371, and ca. 1300 derive from the same root [7, 8]. The symbol {ae} represents the Old English character 'ash,' which is not found in modern English and is pronounced like the 'a' in 'hat.' With these examples in mind, we consider to be a fine choice. We hope this letter has been useful to you. Please don't hesitate to write to us again if any part of this letter was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter were provided by Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, Maridonna Benvenuti, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Margaret Makafee, Julie Stampnitsky, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy Femke de Roas ______________________________________________________________________ References [1] Gwynek, Talan, (Brian M. Scott), "A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records," parts 2 and 3. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [2] Krossa, Sharon L., "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names," 2001. http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ [3] Friedemann, Sara L., "Names of women mentioned in the Perth Guildry Book 1464-1598," (WWW: Self-published, 2003). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/perth.html [4] Pears, Brian, "Marriages from the Durham St. Oswald Registers (1538-1734)" (WWW: GENUKI, 1996). http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/Transcriptions/DUR/BOL.html http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/Transcriptions/DUR/SED.html [5] "16th and Late 15th Century Feminine Given Names from the Orkney Islands" [6] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. , [7] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). s.n. [8] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n.