ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3293 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3293 ************************************ 2 Apr 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help documenting as a French name. Here is what we have found. is the name of a town in Normandy and one in Lorraine. We found a number of references to the town in Lorraine, where it was spelled in the following ways: [1,5] Vallemont 1433 Walmen 1433 (this is the German name of the city). Valmen 1459 Wulmont 1599 The town in Normandy appears to be fairly old, but we haven't found any information on medieval spellings of the town name. If you'd like to use a form of in your byname, we recommend you place your persona in the 15th or 16th century. In the early 15th century, French bynames referring to place names still tended to retain the preposition [2], but by the end of the 16th century, it was not uncommon for the preposition to no longer be used. [6] A form of is a fine choice for the 15th and 16th centuries. In one study of names from early 15th-century Paris, is the third most common feminine name. [2] We also find in Lyon in 1446 [3], and both and in Choisy (about 25 km from Paris) between 1475 and 1478. [4] In the 16th century, we have an example of from Provins in 1587, and records of in Ambleny from 1588 on. [7] In Brittany, we find various forms of the name, all beginning with . [8] Kateline 1570 Katerine 1522 Katharine 1537 Katherine 1516, 1519, 1520, 1522, 1528, 1530, 1536, 1537, 1551, 1561, 1564, 1570, 1580 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, Mari neyn Brian, Ursula Georges, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 02 April 2007 -- References: [1] Dauzat, Albert and Rostaing, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France, 2nd ed. Librairie Guenegaud, s.n. Val. [2] Friedemann, Sara L., "French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423 & 1438" (WWW: privately published, 2002-2003). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/paris1423.html [3] De/niau, Jean, Les Nomme/es des Habitants de Lyon en 1446 (Lyon: A. Rey, 1930). [4] Uckelman, Sara L., "Names from Choisy, France, 1475-1478" (WWW: Self-published, 2005) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/choisy.html [5] "Arrondissement de Forbach" (WWW: Geoplatt.com, no date) http://www.geoplatt.com/platt43-saint-avold.htm [6] Uckelman, Sara L., "Late Period French Feminine Names" (WWW: Self-published, 2005) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/latefrench.html [7] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien), "Names Found in Ambleny Registers 1578-1616" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2005-2006), version 1.2, updated 01 June 2006. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/Ambleny/ [8] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "Given Names from Brittany, 1384-1600" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/latebreton/