Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 566

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 566

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/566

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

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked about the name "Corinne". Here's what we've found.

All our references agree that "Corinne" is not a medieval name. It derives ultimately from the name of an ancient Greek poetess who lived in 6th century BC and whose name is rendered today as "Corinna". The name appeared again in the 17th century, when the English poet Herrick used it as the name of a character in his works. The name came into popular use in the early 19th century, after Madame de Stael published a novel titled "Corinne ou de l'Italie" [1, 2].

We could find no evidence of any connection with Ireland.

I hope this letter has been helpful. Alan Fairfax and Talan Gwynek contributed to this letter.

For the Academy,

Arval Benicoeur


References

[1] E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd

ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

[2] De Felice, Emidio, Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani (Milan: Arnoldo

Mondadori, 1986).