ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2866 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2866 ************************************ 11 May 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a lower-class German woman born around 1500. Here is what we have found. As you know, either given name is an excellent choice for your period: was recorded in southern German in 1495, and appears 3 times in a document from 15th century Arnsburg [1, 2]. Middle names were still rare in German in your period; they were occasionally used in the upper classes but were probably all but unknown in the lower classes. You explained that you are a member of a Society household called the House of the Black Cat and you wondered if something similar were possible in German. It is, though it might not have had quite the meaning you intend. In medieval and renaissance German towns and cities, it was reasonably common for large houses to be decorated with a distinct symbol (a ship, a lion, a cross, etc.), which came to be used in the same way we use street addresses. A person who lived or worked in or near such a house was sometimes identified as being "from the Ship" or "at the Lion". There is a modern family whose surname probably derives from a similar symbol [3]. These house-names, as they are called, were generally very simple; but we have found examples of house-names that consisted of a color-word plus an animal name, e.g. "at the red lion" in 14th century Mainz, or "Ulrich from the house known as the gold bird" 1368 in Heidelberg. In Freiburg in 1460, there was a house "at the black cross" [4]. A surname like "at the [house of the] black cat" fits well into this pattern, but notice that all the examples we've used are considerably earlier than your period. That's not an accident: By the 16th century, literal house-names of this sort had fallen out of use. A 14th or 15th century surname might have survived in the 16th century in a simpler form like ; but by then it would have been an inherited family name, not a literal description of the bearer's place of residence. The preposition was generally not used with house names, so is not a likely combination. In summary, and are fine 14th or 15th century names; and and are very plausible 16th century names. We don't recommend using both given names if you want a name suitable for a lower-class woman. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Juliana de Luna, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, and Mor inghean Chathail. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 11 May 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Friedemann), "German Given Names from 1495" (WWW: privately published, 2003) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/german1495.htm [2] Talan Gwynek, "15th-Century German Women's Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/german15f.html [3] J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Ge/ne/ral, Vol. I, s.n. Katzen ff. (Clearfield Company, 1998). [4] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.nn. Rotenlo"wen, Goldvogel, Rotenkreuz.