ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3246 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3246 ************************************ 28 Dec 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing an authentic 16th-century English feminine name using as your given name and something which sounds like "Well-see" or "Will-see" as your surname, thinking perhaps . Here is what we have found. After the Reformation, or was adopted as a given name in England for both men and women. [1] Examples that we found of the name used by women include 1539, 1583, 1553, 1614, and 1598. [2,3,4] is hence a fine choice for your given name. The place [5] that you found doesn't appear to have been known by this name during our period. [9] It therefore isn't plausible to suppose that someone from this place could have been known as . Unfortunately, we're not aware of any English surname which sounds like "Well-sea", nor have we been able to come up with any plausible constructions which would have this sound. Your other choice, of something which sounds like "Will-sea" is more probable. We found a number of place names those modern names begin ; this element originally developed from either Old English , the possessive form of either the given name or the word 'beetle', or Old Norse , the possessive form of the given name . (The slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter.) [6] The Old English word 'island' (where the colon is an editorial indication that the vowel was long; in printed sources this is usually indicated by a macron over the letter) was often combined with given names, and place names containing the element were often spelled <-ey> in later period. [7,8] Based on this, a hypothetical 'Wifel's island' could easily have developed into by the 16th century. In sum, is a fine 16th-century English name, but we cannot recommend either or anything which sounds the same. 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, Talan Gwynek, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 28 December 2006 -- References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Honor(i)(a) [2] Julian Goodwyn, "English Names from pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/brasses/ [3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Rodwell. [4] Bardsley, Charles Wareing, _Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature_ (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1970), pp. 139, 145 [5] Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_, 4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), s.n. Wells Next the Sea [6] _Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society_, Edited by Victor Watts, Edited in association with John Insley, Margaret Gelling (Cambridge University Press: January 2004), s.nn. Wilden, Wilsford, Wilsill, Wilson, Wilstone [7] Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1956), s.v. e:g [8] Watts, op. cit., s.nn. Bardsey, Maxey, (East) Molsey, Nailsea, Olney, Torksey, Witney [9] ibid. s.n. Wells-next-the-Sea indicates that the affix isn't much older than the early 19th century.