ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2893 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2893 ************************************ 18 May 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked if was used as a given name by women in Europe before 1600, and wanted to know if it was related to . As you know from the message you've received, the Academy is on vacation and not currently accepting new clients. However, a few of our members were able to find some information which might be of interest to you. is not related to . The root of is the Continental Germanic name , which is found in Latin records from France as a. 965 and a. 984. [2] These names gave rise to the Old French or , which is recorded in England as in 1190 and in 1221. [1] is the spelling that would be expected in later- period and modern French if the name remained in use; however, we have no evidence that it did. [3] 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 you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, and Kolozsvari Arpadne Julia. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 18May2004 -- References: [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). s.n. Elissendis [3] We found two instances of the name in the 20th and 21st centuries, but we cannot know whether this represents a continuation of the name or a modern revival or coinage. See http://www.eso.org/iaucomm29/listmembers.html http://www.univ-orleans.fr/SCIENCES/IUP-CHIMIE/JURTITRE00.html