ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3284 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3284 ************************************ 15 Mar 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for an Italian man living in the late 15th century. Here is what we have found. is a fine choice for your given name. We found 9 examples of the name in Florence in 1427, and in the same city during the period 1282 to 1532, we find a total of 69 instances. [1,2] The reason you were able to find only a few examples of bynames using is that the standard Italian article is , with being used only before plus a consonant or before a vowel. In some dialects, however, was more widely used; for example, we find a recorded in Venice sometime between 1312 and 1420. [3] The standard Italian word for 'green' is ; this word derives from the Latin , so it would not be surprising to find Italian examples of either or at an early period. However, for the late 15th century, we'd expect to see the word spelled . A byname based on is a fine choice. In particular, the form is found in Neapolitan dialects (and may be what is represented by the Latin example recorded around 1188). [4,5] However, we're not sure whether the combination of (which we find in central Italy) with (which is appropriate for southern Italy) is authentic. 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 and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 15 March 2007 -- References: [1] 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/ [2] Friedemann, Sara L., "Italian Given Names from the Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (WWW: Self-published, 2001-2002) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/florence1282-1532.html [3] Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek, "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/ [4] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978), s.n. Verde. [5] Caracausi, Girolamo, _Dizionario Onomastico della Sicilia_ (Palermo, 1994), s.n. Lo Verde.