ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3010 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3010 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 26 Feb 2005 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Italian woman in the second half of the 15th century. Here is what we have found. is the Italian form of ; it is identical to the Italian name for the flower [1, 2]. It was pronounced \jah-TCHEEN-tah\. We have not found clear evidence that was in use before 1600 [9, 10, 11]. [ed. But see below.] The best-known bearer of the name was Saint Giacinta Marescotti, 1585-1640; but she adopted the name after she joined the Franciscan order in her twenties. Her original name was [3]. We did find one possible example of a woman using the name before the end of our period: , who married an Italian nobleman born in 1589 [4]. We don't know whether the woman herself was born before 1600, though: She could easily have been more than eleven years younger than her husband. This is the closest we've come to a period example of . We also found a couple early 17th century examples in another Italian noble family [5]. It appears that this name came into use right around 1600, possibly a few years before. If you want a name suitable for the late 15th century, then we recommend you choose a different given name. The name was moderately common in renaissance Italy [8]. Double given names (or middle names) were used by at least some people in your period; we don't have a clear picture of how common they were, but we believe that only a relatively small number of people used them in the 15th century. In the cases we've seen, the middle name is most often a saint's name, which makes a good choice. It was pronounced \mah-REE-ah\. We haven't found a period example of either, but we are quite confident that it is a fine family name for your period. is one of many modern Italian surnames, common in Tuscany and Emilia, that derive from a given name [6]. The diminutive suffix <-etto> was added to many given names to create pet forms; and it was very common for <-o> to be replaced by <-i> in family names: essentially means "the family descended from Cocchetto". Although we don't have examples of from your period, we do have examples of ; and we also have several pairs of family names with and without the <-etti> suffix: and , and , and , and [7]. is simply one more instance of this pattern. It was pronounced \koh-KET-tee\. In conclusion, we believe that is a mildly speculative choice for a woman born in the last decade of the 16th century, but not a good choice for the 15th century. If you want a name suited for the late 15th century, we recommend you choose a different given name. You can find some suitable lists in the Italian section of our Medieval Names Archive: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/italian.shtml 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 Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Ursula Georges, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, Gunnvor sifraharr, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 26 Feb 2005 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.nn. Hyacinth, Jacinth. [2] Rebora, Piero, Francis M. Guerico and Arthur L. Hayward, eds., _Cassell's Italian Dictionary: Italian-English; English-Italian_ (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1967), s.v. giacinta. [3] St. Hyacintha Mariscotti, Catholic Encyclopedia (WWW: New Advent, 2003). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07591c.htm [4] Davide Shama\ and Andrea Dominici Battelli, "Ghilini: Marchesi di Maranzana, Sezze/ e Gamalero" in "Genealogie delle Dinastie Italiane" (WWW: privately published, accessed Feb 2005). (The slashes represent accents over the preceding letters.) http://www.sardimpex.com/Ghilini/GHILINI3.htm [5] Shama\ and Battelli, "Pallavicino: Linea di Tabiano" http://www.sardimpex.com/pallavicini/Pallavicino-Tabiano.htm [6] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978), s.n. Cocco. [7] Herlihy, David, R. Burr Litchfield, and Anthony Molho, "Florentine Renaissance Resources: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (WWW: Brown University, Providence, RI, 2000). http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/ [8] Arval Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1998). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto/ [9] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei nomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992), s.n. Giacinto. De Felice says that the modern name is a survival of Late Latin and . That can be read to imply that the name was in use continuously through our period, but we think that is not De Felice's intent. We found no evidence to support it. [10] There was a 3rd century Saint Hyacinthus, but his relics were not discovered until 1845 so it is unlikely that he had much of a cult in our period. Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983), s.n. Jacinth. [11] There was also a 12th century Polish Saint Hyacinth. St. Hyacinth, The Catholic Encyclopedia (WWW: New Advent, 2003). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07591b.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, Arval, 9 Mar 2005: Ary turned up an example of 999 and another of masculine 1028 in southern Italy. Of course, these examples don't really make it any more likely that the name was used in the 15th century. Skinner, Patricia, _Health and Medicine in Early Medieval Southern Italy_ (Brill: Leiden, New York, Ko"ln, 1997), pp. 113, 115.