ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3205 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3205 ************************************ 22 Nov 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for a woman living anywhere in Italy between 1300 and 1550. Here is what we have found. As you noted, both and were used by Jewish women living in Rome in the 1550's. [1] While we have found used by non-Jewish woman in Florence in the 15th century [2], we have not found any examples of used outside of Jewish communities. Unless your persona is Jewish, we recommend that you do not use . Compound given names (double given names, middle names) were common in some parts of Italy in your period and later. The most common pattern was for one of the names to be a saint's name, so if you wish to use two given names, we recommend that you pick a saint's name for your second name. [3] The three bynames you asked about , , and , are all from Latinized documents dating to 1447. [4] These Latinized forms are appropriate for written contexts, but in spoken contexts the Italian forms would be used instead. (We will discuss vernacular forms shortly, after we've discussed the overall construction of your name). We don't have any examples of Italian names using three surnames one right after another, and so we cannot recommend the construction of your name as suitable. However, with some minor changes, we can recommend something similar. is the Latin genitive (possessive) form of the given name . took on various forms in Italian, depending on region and dialect. For example, in Ferrara in 1473 we find both and [5], while in Arezzo in 1393, 1398, 1425, 1472, 1495, and 1512 we find it spelled . [6] Arezzo is in Tuscany, near Florence, and so is the best choice to use in conjunction with . A woman who was named who was the daughter of a man named could have been known as . In Florence between 1417 and 1436, we find a number of women recorded with fairly complicated names: [7] Katerine et Bartolomee filiis Antonii Berti de Asciano (Latin) Chaterina e Bartolomea d'Antonio di Berto d'Asciano (Italian) Iuliane uxori olim Christofori Iohannis Benivierii (Latin) Lisa di Miniato di Chanbiuzo da Strata (Italian) Margherite Iohannis Pieri Bandini (Latin) Veronice olim Pieri Lencionis (Latin) To take one of these as an example, is 'Lisa [daughter] of Miniato [son] of Chanbiuzo of Strata'. A construction similar to this is a fine choice. is a Latinization of , which is an augmentive form of the given name . [8] (An augmentive form is the opposite of a diminutive form, e.g. is 'little Marco' and is 'big Marco'.) We find examples of both and during your period, so it's a fine choice for your father's name. [7] In central and northern Italian dialects, the standard preposition 'of' in locative bynames (ones based on placenames) is ; is the standard Latin preposition. We therefore recommend as the vernacular form of . Based on this, is an excellent choice for your name. 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 furhter questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Maridonna Benvenuti, Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, Eleyne de Comnocke, Ursula Georges, and Sibilia. For the Academy, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 22 November 2006 -- References: [1] Yehoshua ben Haim haYerushalmi, "Names of Jews in Rome In the 1550's" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2002-2003) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/yehoshua/rome_article.html [2] Herlihy, David and Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane. Census and property survey of Florentine domains and the city of Verona in fifteenth century Italy [machine- readable data file] / principal investigators, David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber. --Darcy ed. / reformatted by Robert Darcy -- Madison, Wis. : Data and Program Library Service [distributor], 1981 and 1996. [3] Academy of S. Gabriel Report #3061 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3061 [4] Faraglia, N.F. "1800 Surnames Recorded in 1447" (WWW: Abruzzoheritage.com, 2002) http://www.abruzzoheritage.com/magazine/2002_06/d.htm [5] Talan Gwynek, "15th Century Italian Men's Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1998). http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/italian15m.html [6] Friedemann, Sara L., "Names from Arezzo, Italy, 1386-1528" (WWW: Self-published, 2003) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/arezzo.html [7] Haines, Margaret, ed. _Gli Anni della Cupola. Archivio digitale delle fonti dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, 1417-1436_ (WWW: Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, 2004) http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/cupola [8] Caracausi, Girolamo, _Dizionario Onomastico della Sicilia_ (Palermo, 1994), p. 959, s.n. Marcone