ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3254 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3254 ************************************ 15 Feb 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for a French Knight Templar living between 1200 and 1350. You also asked for information on names suitable for a woman whose father is a French Templar and whose mother is a Muslim Arab. Here is what we have found. We found examples of various forms of in France in the 9th and 10th centuries: [1] Jonatan 834 Jonathan 9th/10th c. Jonathas 9th/10th c. Yonathas 845 After the 10th century, the name appears to have fallen out of use in France. We therefore cannot recommend as good re-creation for someone living in the 13th or early 14th century. The given name is a feminine form of the name or , which in turn is a diminutive of the name or . In records from late 13th-century Paris, we find a man called , where means 'son of Guiet'. In the same records are men named and . [2] While we have not found used as a byname in the 13th century, we can confidently recommend all of , , , and as authentic choices. If your significant other is interested in chosing a given name more suitable than , we recommend that he pick a name from source [2]. In particular , the French form of , may appeal to him. Concerning your name, although it is very common in the Society to try to indicate mixed parentage in one's name, this simply wasn't done in period. When two people from different cultures had children, their children were named according to the naming practices of the culture where they lived. Therefore, we would expect you to have either a wholly French name, if you were living with your father, or a wholly Arabic name, if you were being raised by your mother. If you'd like to develop a 13th century French feminine name, we again recommend source [2] as a good place to start. If on the other hand you'd prefer an Arabic name, then we recommend this article: "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices" http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that if any part was unclear or you have further questions, you won't hesitate to write us again. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Talan Gwynek and Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 15 February 2007 -- References: [1] Morlet, Marie-The/re\se, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Sie\cle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1968, 1972, 1985) II:66b. [2] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html