ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3024 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3024 ************************************ 27 Mar 2005 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether , , or is an appropriate name for a woman in southern Scotland or northern England between 1150 and 1300. Here is what we have found. The name appears in English sources as early as the late 12th century, but did not become common until the 16th century [1, 1a]. It was recorded in Suffolk as in 1194 and in Berkshire in 1206. An example was recorded in Yorkshire as in 1298. All of these are Latinized written forms; the <-a> ending was not used in spoken English. A better indication of the English form of name can be found in a couple surnames: 1279 in Oxfordshire, where the apostrophe probably indicates a missing final letter, very likely an <-e>; and 1326 in Suffolk [2]. The earliest Scottish example we have is in 1584 [3]. It was definitely a rare name in your period, but it was used at least as far north as Yorkshire. In spoken English, the name was probably and probably pronounced \soo-ZAHN-n@\. The first of the surnames you asked about, , is a fine choice, though perhaps not in this spelling. Spellings used in your period included [4]: de Brus 12th century Bruwes 1240 Bruys 1240 Bruze 1251 Brywes 1254 Brues 1255 Most of these spellings imply a two-syllable pronunciation with a final \s\ sound, \BROO-uhss\. The final <-e> in your spelling is not typical. Your second choice, , is also a good choice, though again not in exactly this form. In Scotland, the name derived from a place in Renfrewshire; the earliest example we have there is 1342 [5]. An English place with the same name gave rise to the same surname there; it was Latinized in 1195 [6]. Either or is a fine written form of this surname for your period; in spoken English it was probably (where was pronounced \ohf\ rather than \uv\, with \oh\ being the vowel in the word ). Your third surname, , isn't as clearly a good choice for your period. It appears to derive from a Gaelic phrase that meant "mouth of [the river] Roe". This placename was apparently transferred to somewhere in Scotland: Early examples of the surname in Scotland take the form "from Monro". The earliest examples we have found are from the 14th century: It's possible the surname didn't exist in your period. If it did, we would expect it to be written [7, 8, 9]. In summary, or are fine 12th-13th century names for a woman from Yorkshire and perhaps further north. may be a good choice, but is not as well documented. 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, Gunnvor Silfraharr, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 27 Mar 2005 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Susan. [1a] Talan Gwynek, unpublished research based on 16th century London parish registers. In this data, various forms of together are the 7th most common feminine name, accounting for about 5% of baptisms. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Gowthorpe, Susan. [3] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Bruce. [5] Black s.n. Caldwell. [6] Reaney and Wilson s.n. Caldwell. [7] Black s.n. Munro. [8] Reaney and Wilson s.n. Munro. [9] Histories of the Munro clan claim descent from a who died in 1126; and mention other chiefs of the clan in the 13th century [10, 11, 12]. These claims are not well-substantiated: They are apparently based either on undocumented oral history or documents that mentioned ancestors of the Munros without using a form of the name . The name itself does not appear before the 14th century, as far as we have discovered. [10] Bain, Robert, "The Clans and Tartans of Scotland", 5th ed. (Glasgow & London: Fontana/Collins, 1985), s.n. Munro. [11] The same dates can be found on many Clan Munro websites.