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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked for our opinion of "Katarina Kubena" as a Czech name around the year 1200. Here's what we've found.
Czech naming seems to have undergone a significant shift around the year 1300, possibly associated with the replacement of the native Pr^emysl rulers with the Luxembourg dynasty [1, 2]. (r^ represents an 'r' with a hacek.) One feature of this shift is the adoption of French and Christian given names, which were apparently uncommon before 1300 [2]. If any Christian names were in use before 1300, then "Catherine" is likely to have been one of them: The cult of Saint Catherine was so strong in Bohemia that one of the first literary works in the Czech language is a "Legend of Sainte Catherine", written in the mid-14th century.
By the late 14th century, Christian names were predominant: The most common Czech woman's name at the end of the 14th century was "Catherine", and it remained among the most common names in Bohemia until the end of our period [2].
You asked us about the spelling "Katar^ina". Without the hacek, this is a modern Slovak spelling. The modern Czech spelling is "Kater^ina" [2]. However, Czech spelling underwent a major change between the early 15th century and the end of our period. Before then, Czech shared the Polish spelling system, which remained in wide use at least until the mid-16th century. Thus, until quite late in our period, the Czech spelling of "Catherine" would have been "Katerzyna" or something very similar [7, 8]. The 'rz' represents a phoneme unique to Czech, which you can approximate with a rolled 'r' (as in Spanish) followed by a 'zh'. Taken as a whole, the name was pronounced [KAT-erzh-in-a] with the emphasis on the first syllable and all the vowels short.
The surname "Kubena" derived from the given name "Jakub", and was probably first spelled "Kubiena". Other similar surnames include Kuba (recorded as Cuba, 1374), Kubac, Kubak (Kuebak, 1371), and Kubo (Cubo, 1374) [3, 4]. In the 14th century, these names were true patronymics, meaning "son or daughter of Jakub". We do not have a dated, period reference for "Kubiena", but from the other forms we've cited, we think it likely that "Kubiena" was also in use in the late 14th century. We found no citation of "Jakub" or any derivative before 1300, so it may have been rare in Bohemia before that date. It was apparently relatively common by the late 14th century.
We would like to pass on a caution from a Czech-speaking member of the Academy: The word "kube^na" is quite similar to the Czech word for "concubine". As a result, it had a derogative connotation of "sloppy woman", "slut", "whore" or "concubine". "Kubiena" is a perfectly correct 14th century byname, but you may want to consider another choice: Any modern-day Czech speaker is likely to note the negative connotation. If you want to use one of the other patronymic bynames we've documented above, let us know and we will send you the correct feminine form.
You also asked us about the possibility of using "Alyssa" as a middle name. We recommend against it.
"Alyssa" is a rare modern English spelling of "Alicia". It has not been documented as a period name [5], and it is unlikely to have existed at any time in our period: The spelling "Alys" did not appear until the 15th century [6], while the latinate '-a' ending was not used in this name after the 14th century. No recorded variant has a double 's'.
Middle names were very rare throughout Europe until late in our period. The general practice of using multiple given names first arose in Italy and southern France in the 13th century, whence it spread slowly northward and westward. Double given names are fairly common among the upper classes in 15th century northern Italy, southern Germany, and southern France. We are not sure exactly when they were adopted in Bohemia, but based on evidence from Italy and Germany, we feel confident that middle names were not used in Bohemia before the 15th century.
In summary, we feel that the name "Katerzyna Kubiena" is appropriate for a Czech persona of the late 14th century or later, and possibly earlier.
I hope this letter has been helpful. Research for this letter was contributed by Catrin Gwynystlum, AElfwynn aet Gyrwum, and Walraven van Nijmege.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
References
[1] Encyclopedia Britannica, article on "Czechoslovakia"
[2] Frantis^ek Kopec^ny/, "Pruvodce nas^imi jmény", 1st edition (Prague :
Academia, 1975).
[3] Gerhard Schlimpert, Slawische Personennamen in Mittelalterlichen
Quellen zur Deutschen Geschichte (Berlin, Akademie-Verlag, 1978).
[4] Johann Neumann, Tschechiscke Familiennamen in Wien: Eine Namenkundl
(Wien: Holzhuasen, 1977).
[5] LoAR May 1996, acceptances, Meridies, Alyssa Cain.
[6] E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd
ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).
[7] Frantis^ek Cur^ín, Vy/voj spisovné c^es^tiny <The evolution of
written Czech> (Praha, 1985).
[8] Erich Berneker, Slavische Chrestomathie (Strassburg, 1902).