ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3334
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3334
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14 Jun 2007
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked for help constructing an authentic English feminine name
with a feminine form of <Alan> for your given name and either <Skeye>
or <de Skylington> as your byname.  You also wanted to know whether
<de Skeye> would be appropriate.  Here is what we have found.

As we said in our original reply to you, the masculine name <Alan> 
was also used as a feminine name in England, though rarely.  In Latin
records from 1381 we find a <Robertus filius Radulfi> 'Robert son of
Ralph' and <Alana filia eius> 'Alan his daughter'. [1]  The spelling
<Alana> is appropriate for Latin contexts only, such as written
documents and ecclesiastical, judicial, and academic settings where
Latin was the spoken language.  A woman recorded in Latin as <Alana>
would have been called simply <Alan> in English-language contexts.  We
therefore can recommend <Alan> as a suitable name for a woman living
in fourteenth century England.

The two bynames that you asked about, <Skeye> and <de Skylington>, 
are found in Lincolnshire in 1332, making them excellent choices for 
the 14th century. [2]  The byname <de Skylington> means 'of 
Skylington', and it almost certainly refers to the town of 
Skillington in Lincolnshire.  Like the spelling <Alana>, <de 
Skylington> is a documentary form.  The English-language counterpart 
is <of Skylington>, pronounced \ohf SKIL-ing-tohn\.

The byname <Skeye> is probably related to the word <skey> or <skeigh>,
which is in turn related to the word <shy>.  In the 15th century we
find forms of <skey> being applied to horses which are skittish or 
easily frightened.  When used of a person, the word may have meant
something closer to 'fastidious' or 'particular'.  It is probably a
form of this word which is being used in the bynames of <Robert le
Skay> 1315 and <Johannes le Skay> 1346. [3]

Because <Skeye> is not a place name, <de Skeye> would not be
appropriate.  We recommend that you use <Skeye> or <Skay> or either of
these with the definite article <le>.  Both <Skeye> and <Skay> were 
pronounced roughly \skay\.

We can therefore confirm that both <Alan of Skylington> and <Alan
Skeye> are authentic names for a 14th century English woman.  In Latin
records, these names could be recorded as <Alana de Skylington> and
<Alana Skeye>.

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 Adelaide de Beaumont, Eleyne de Comnocke, Mari neyn Brian,
Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Juetta Copin, Maridonna Benvenuti, 
Ursula Georges, and Caitriona inghean Ui Bhraonain.

For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 14 June 2007

--
References:

[1] Fenwick, Carolyn C., _Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379, and 1381, Part 1:
Bedfordshire-Leicestershire_, p. 112.

[2] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls
for Lincolnshire, England" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2000). 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/

[3] McSparran, Francis, ed., _The Middle English Dictionary_ (WWW:
University of Michigan, June 1998), s.v. skei.
http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/m/med/