ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3340 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3340 ************************************ 4 Sep 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing an authentic Arabic feminine name for the period 1050 to 1300, and said that you were considering the name . The name is more properly transliterated , indicating that the first vowel is long. As we noted in earlier correspondence, is a fine choice for your given name; it is recorded in Andalusian Spain between 700 and 1200. [1,2] The website where you found and [3] is not a reliable source for medieval names. The list of "Persian" names is a hodgepodge of Persian, Arabic, and Hebrew names, without any indication of when the names first came in to use. Unfortunately, we haven't found any evidence that is a medieval Arabic given name. [4] Because of this, and because double given names, or middle names, were unknown in medieval Arabic names, we recommend that you do not use and use just for your given name. We have evidence that is used as a masculine name in Arabic today [6], but our only examples of this name in the Middle Ages are of women. We found an example of a slave woman named 'Qamar of Baghdad' who lived in the al-Andalus. [7] The name is also found later in our period; in one study of Jewish names recorded in Arabic in the 16th century, is the most common feminine name. [8] This raises two questions. The first is whether the feminine example of as the name of a slave can be used to justify its use as a masculine name, either for a slave or not. If the answer to that question is no, then the second is whether a matronymic byname (a byname based on the mother's given name) based on used as a feminine name is authentic. Regarding the first question, we have examples of being used by men in honorific and literary names. For example, is the honorific name of a 14th century Central Asian leader [9], and the name occurs in the Arabian nights. [10] Given its use as a masculine name in modern times, it's not impossible that was also used as a given name in the medieval period, but without any clear evidence that it was, we cannot recommend it as good re-creation. Unfortunately the answer to the second question is also unclear. While patronymic bynames (bynames which indicate the bearer's father's name) are extremely common in Arabic, we have yet to find any definitive example of a matronymic byname. What we have found comes in the context of a more general type of family name. [11,12] In addition to literal patronymics, we find many examples of family names which were originally used literally, but in later referred to someone who lived some generations ago. Some examples include or 'son of the small man'. There are examples of these sorts of family names formed from women's bynames (and more rarely, women's given names). [13,14,15] Some examples found in al-Andalus include , , , as well as ('son of the milkmaid') and ('son of the white woman'). [16] (In all of these examples, a . represents a dot underneath the previous letter). Based on this, , where was not necessarily the name of your mother but perhaps of a more distant relation, is not impossible for an Andalusian woman of your period. However, it would be better re-creation to pick a name for your father. If you'd like to chose a different name for your father which we know is authentic, we recommend the names in this article: "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/ For example, is an authentic byname to used with . 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, Talan Gwynek, Mari neyn Brian, Ursula Georges, Juetta Copin, Brygyt Strangewayes, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 04 September 2007 -- References: [1] Juliana de Luna, "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/ [2] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices," (WWW: SCA.org, 2003) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm [3] Saqra, "Persian Women's Names" (WWW: Saqra.net, no date) http://www.saqra.net/namesw.html#PERSIAN [4] is an Arabic given name in modern times, deriving from the Arabic 'date'; there is no Persian connection. [5] [5] Schimmel, Annemarie, _Islamic Names_ (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), p. 47. [6] ibid., p. 17. [7] Mari/n, Manuela, "Mujeres en al-Andalus. Reflejos histo/ricos de su actividad y categori/as sociales", _Estudios onoma/sticos- biogra/ficos de Al-Andalus_, 11. (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cienti/ficas, 2000), p. 66. We do not have a precise date for this person, but she is probably from before 1200. [8] Mari neyn Brian, "Jewish Names in Arabic Court Records (16th C Jerusalem)" DRAFT ARTICLE (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2005). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/Jerusalem/ [9] Griggs, C. Wilfred, _The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy_ (Reuven Amitai-Preiss, David O. Morgan), p. 306. [10] Hamori, Andras, "Review of _The Thousand and One Nights (Alf Layla wa-Layla) From the Earliest Known Sources_, Arabic text edited with Introduction and Notes by Muhsin Mahdi," _Journal of the American Oriental Society_ 107, no. 1 (Jan. - Mar. 1987), pp. 182-4 [11] Goitein, Shelomo D., _A Mediterranean society: the Jewish communities of the Arab world as portrayed in the documents of the Cairo Genizah_ (6 volumes). (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967-1993). [12] Goitein, Shelomo D., "Nicknames as Family Names", _Journal of the American Oriental Society_ 90 (4) (Oct-Dec 1970): 517-524. [13] Schimmel, Annemarie, _Islamic Names_ (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), p. 9. [14] Levi della Vida, Giorgio, "Matronymics among Arab Poets," _Journal of the American Oriental Society_ 62 (1942): 156-171. [15] Roded, Ruth, _Women in Islamic Biographical Collections: From Ibn Sa'd to 'Who's Who'_ (Boulder Col., Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994), p. 128. [16] Unpublished research of Juliana de Luna based on [7].