ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2963 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2963 ************************************ 12 Dec 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know when and where the feminine name was used before 1600. Here is the information we have found. The classical Greek name is better transliterated , where the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter. We find this name in western and central Greece. [1] In classical Greek, it was pronounced roughly \ksay-NEE-ah\. We found modern references to a 5th century woman from Rome who was canonized by the Russian orthodox church named ; this is the latest clear example of this spelling that we have found prior to modern times. [6] We found medieval examples of a name derived from in Russian and Polish. , a Russian feminine name, is found in 1279, along with the variants 1356 and 1356. [2] We found a Polish woman named in 1497. [7] A related name, , where represents the Greek letter eta, was used at a later date. While we have not found this name in classical Greece, we find it in use among the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century [3], as well as in Thessaloniki, Strymon, and Macedonia in the 14th century. [4,5] This name was pronounced roughly \KSAY-nee\ in the 14th century. If you would like our help in constructing a byname appropriate for any of these names, please write us again and we'll be happy to help. 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Bronwyn ferch Gwyn ap Rhys, Gunnvor silfraharr, Juliana de Luna, and Kolosvari Arpadne Julia. For the Academy, -Arianuia filia Catmaili, 12 December 2004 -- References: [1] Fraser, P.M., and E. Matthews, "The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names" (WWW: Oxford University, 1998), vols. IIIa & IIIb http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/ [2] Paul Wickenden of Thanet, "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names", 2nd edition (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1996) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/ [3] Bardas Xiphias, "Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html [4] Maridonna Benvenuti, "14th Century Names of Lay Proprietors in the Themes of Thessaloniki and Strymon" (WWW: Self-published, 2001) http://www.maridonna.com/onomastics/lay.htm [5] Maridonna Benvenuti, "Early 14th C. Byzantine Names of Macedonia" (WWW: Self-published, 2001) http://www.maridonna.com/onomastics/macedonia.htm [6] "Our Holy Mother: Xenia of Rome" (WWW: Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church, no date) http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/saints/xenia_rome.htm [7] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _Sl/ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_, vols. I-VII (Wrocl/aw: Zakl/ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n'}skich, Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987). s.n. Ksienia