ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3323 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3323 ************************************ 17 Jun 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if , which you believe is the Spanish/Latin word for 'January', was ever used as a feminine given name before 1600. Here is what we have found. Strictly speaking, the website that you found is incorrect in saying that is Spanish and Latin for 'January'. The modern Spanish word for January is , and the month was known as or just in Latin. Both and the Portuguese word derive from the Latin . However, is indirectly related to the Latin word for 'January'. is a feminine form of masculine or , which is the Spanish form of the Italian masculine name . , which derives from Latin , is the name of a saint who, according to legendary sources, died in 305. [1,2,3] We have evidence that both and were feminized, as and , respectively, but we have been unable to determine when these feminine forms first came in to use. The only examples that we've found have been modern. We also do not have any other examples of or outside of this early period saint. As a result, we cannot recommend as an authentic medieval name. If you'd like to chose a different name, we recommend that you look at the articles in our Medieval Names Archive, at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ 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, Coblaith Mhuimhneach, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 17 June 2007 -- References: [1] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei nomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992), s.n. Gennaro. [2] "Januarius" (WWW: Wikipedia.org, 01 June 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Gennaro [3] "Jenaro" (WWW: Wikipedia.org, 06 June 2007) http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenaro