ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2788 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2788 ************************************ 15 Nov 2003 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing a name appropriate for a late 16th century French woman who is now living in England, using as your given name and a byname that sounds like . Here is the information we have found. is a fine name for a French woman in your period. In 1601 we find the name recorded twice as , [1] and in 16th century Normandy, we find both and . [2] In Brittany, we found a number of forms: [3] Isabele 1531 Izabelle 1529, 1529 Y(s)abelle 1548 Ysabeau 1537 Ysabelle 1509, 1521 Yssabelle 1515 Yzabelle 1527, 1527, 1528, 1541, 1544, 1550 In a survey of foreigners living in London in 1571, we find one French woman recorded as , and one as . [4] The first example suggests that forms ending in <-elle> were likely simply identified with English forms ending in <-el> or <-ell>. The second example, on the other hand, may be an attempt to record or phonetically. Some French dialects had forms closer to , which would have been \ee-s@-byow\ (where \@\ is the sound of in or , and the \y\ in \byow\ is consonantal, and not a vowel). could either be a representation of this name, or an attempt at Latinizing or . You also asked if women used middle names in your period. They did not, so we recommend that you do not either. A surname based on a placename is a fine idea, particularly for a noblewoman. Although most people in France used inherited family names by your period, the nobility often continued to use surnames based on the lands they ruled. We found three place names that sound somewhat similar to , which you said you made up. The modern place was recorded in 966 as . We believe that the modern form of the name was used by the 16th century; this was pronounced \lor-ZHEE\, where \zh\ is the sound of in . The modern place name is recorded as in 1478; we believe that is also the appropriate spelling for the 16th century. It was pronounced \lor-EG\. Lastly, the city is recorded as in 1326. [5] (Here, the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter.) The acute accent was used intermittently in the 16th century, so either or would be fine for your period. It was pronounced roughly \loh-ree-N~AY\, where \N~\ is the sound of in . Any of these could be used with the preposition 'of' to construct a locative byname, e.g. . We also found the surname , and its variants , , and . [6] This is not a place name, but rather a descriptive byname that derives from Old French , , 'oriole'. [7] Though we have not found explicit examples of this byname used in the 16th century, we believe that and would both be fine choices. They are pronounced roughly \lor-ee-OHL\ and \lor-ee-OH\, respectively. We have not found any explicit examples of the above surnames recorded in English-language documents, so we can only speculate on how they might have been recorded based on other examples. In some 17th century English records of people from the French Church in London and the Walloon Church in Canterbury, we have examples of French and Dutch surnames recorded in English. In most cases, the surnames were recorded in their French or Dutch form with minimal changes. [8] Based on these examples, we would not be surprised to find the French recorded in English as , or to find French recorded in English as , merely losing the accent. In conclusion, or (or any other combination of elements suggestion above) is a fine name for a French woman from your period. In England, she might have been known as or . We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, and Richenda de Jardin. For the Academy, -Argantguia filia Catmaili, 15Nov03 -- References: [1] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names from 1601" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.html [2] 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 [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Given Names from Brittany, 1384-1600" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/latebreton/ [4] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "Names of Aliens in London, 1571" draft updated 08Sep03 (WWW: privately published, 2003). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/drafts/aliens.html [5] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963). s.nn. Lorges, Lorgues, Loriges [6] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). s.n. Loriol, Loriaux [7] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_ (Paris: Larousse, 1997). s.v. oriol [8] Hitching, F. K., and S. Hitching, _References to English Surnames in 1601 and 1602_. (Walton-on-Thames, 1910-11; Baltimore: republished for the Clearfield Company, Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1998, ISBN 0-8603-0181-3). pp. xxxi-xxxii, xlvii