ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3349
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3349
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15 Jul 2008
From: Elizabeth Turner de Carlisle 

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! 

You asked for our opinion of <Gabriel St. John> as a plausible 
English name between the years 1118 and 1309. Here is what we found. 

The given name <Gabriel> is found in England as early as the twelfth 
century: <Gabriel> 1199, <Gabriel filius Reginaldi> 1212, and 
<Gabriele Spyg> 1296. [1, 2] It is a fine given name for your desired 
time period.

The byname <St. John> is a modern spelling. The spelling <saint> was 
not standardized by 1400, and this particular spelling was relatively 
uncommon compared to other forms of the byname. Here are some 
examples of Middle English and Anglo-French forms from English rolls 
of arms ca.1300: <de Seynt Johan>, <de Seint Johan>, <de Seint John>, 
<de Seint Jon>, <de Saint Johan>, <de Sein Joan>, <de Seyn Johan>, 
<de Sein Johan>, <de Sent Johan>, <de Seynt Jan>, <de Seint Jan> and 
<de Saincte Johan>. The first two seem to be the most common, and in 
these manuscripts the <Saint> and <Saincte> forms occur only once. 
[3] In addition, the Latin form <de sancto Johanne> appears ca. 1110. 
[4]

In summary, <Gabriel de sancto Johanne> or <Gabriel de Sancto 
Johanne> would be appropriate Latinized names for the twelfth and 
early thirteenth centuries as a documentary form, and <Gabriel de 
Seint Johan> would be an appropriate documentary form from the middle 
of the thirteenth century to the end of your period.

I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part 
of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted 
in researching and writing this letter by Ursula Georges, Eirik 
Halfdanarson, Caitriona inghean Ui Bhraonain, Mari neyn Brian,
and Talan Gwynek.

For the Academy, 
Elizabeth Turner de Carlisle
15 July 2008

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References

[1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ 
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995); s.n. 
<Gabriel>.

[2] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian 
Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

[3] Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia 
III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997).

[4] Reaney & Wilson, op. cit., s.n. <St John>.