ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2927 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2927 ************************************ 20 Sep 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing an appropriate English name for an early 15th century Greek woman, known at home as , who moved to England and married an Englishman named . Here is what we have found. We do not have specific evidence of how Greek immigrant women were identified under these circumstances, but we do have quite a large body of evidence of names of immigrants in their new homes. We've found a common pattern that we believe is a good guide to accurate re-creation in your case. In most cases, a traveller or immigrant is identified in her new home with a local equivalent of her given name plus a surname that fits one of three patterns: * A phonetic rendering of her original surname, adapted to local naming customs; * A translation of her original surname, adapted to local naming customs; or * A new surname created according to one of the patterns of surnaming in the local culture. As we explained earlier, we don't think we can make a reliable guess at how would have been translated or adapted into English, so we recommended the third option; and you told us you'd like to use as an equivalent of and you'd like to be identified as your husband's wife. is a fine choice: We have examples in England from 1437 and 1450 [1]. In your period it was pronounced \KAHT-uh-rin\ [2]. Your husband's name is an excellent one for your period, by the way: We have examples of in 1428 and in 1524; and an example of in 1424 [3, 5]. The letters and were commonly exchanged in late-period English. In your period, the custom of wives taking their husband's surnames was pretty well established, particularly in the urban centers [4]. Therefore, we recommend that you use the name . 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Maridonna Benvenuti, Juliana de Luna, Ursula Georges, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 20 Sep 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [2] More precisely, \KAHT-@-rin\, where the middle syllable is pronounced like the in . [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Griffith, FitzWilliam. [4] McKinley, Richard. _The Surnames of Oxfordshire_, English Surnames Series III (London: Leopard's Head Press, 1977), p.191. [5] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Griffin.