Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 393

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 393

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/393

Some of the Academy's early reports contain errors that we haven't yet corrected. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's the information we found on the 13th-century English name "Richard."

"Richard" is a perfect name for the 13th century. In a survey of 877 names from across 13th-century England, Richard is the second most common name--one in 10 men in the list were named Richard.

There are many possibilities for bynames. For minor nobility (the class to which SCA members are assumed to belong) the most common form of name is "de <placename>." There are any number of possible placenames--one of the best sources is the "Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames" by Eilert Ekwall. It includes many examples of 13th-century forms of place names. If you have questions about a specific name or can't find a copy of that book, let us know and we'll offer some suggestions.

Margaret Makafee, Talan Gwynek, and Arval Benicouer contributed to this letter.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel