ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3104 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3104 ************************************ 5 Sep 2005 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for an Italian woman living in Florence between 1300 and 1550. Here is a brief letter with the information we have found. is a fine choice for your name; we found 5 examples of it in Florence in 1427. [1] The surname , found in Liguria and western Tuscany, means 'stocky, broad-shouldered'. [2] We're not sure when this surname first came into use, but we believe it is appropriate for your period. We also found a few related surnames, including sometime after 1283, deriving from a place with the same name [2,3]. One source of names from Florence in 1427 also has an example of ; this source removed the spaces from the surnames and also truncated everything at 10 characters. We believe that represents , but we are not sure. [4] In sum, is a fine choice for a renaissance Florentine woman. and are also possible choices. We hope that this brief 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 Arval Benicoeur, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 05 September 2005 -- References: [1] 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/ [2] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978). s.n. Traverso [3] Caracausi, Girolamo, _Dizionario Onomastico della Sicilia_ (Palermo, 1994). s.n. Traversa [4] Ferrante laVolpe, _Men's names from Florence, 1427_ (WWW: Self-published, 1996; Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto/