|
Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel.
You asked whether a Latin name like <Isadora> could be used for an English persona and whether the surname <Yeardley> was used before the 15th century. Here's what we found.
I'll divide the first question into two parts: were Latin names used by English men or women before 1600, and was Isadora used in England before 1600?
The answer to the first part is "Yes". Many Latin names were used in England during the middle ages and the renaissance. However, just because there is a Latin form of a name does not mean that it was used in England; good re-creation requires that the name be recorded in England in the appropriate period.
The answer to the second part is "No, <Isadora> was not used in England before 1600." First, <Isadora> is not a Latin name; it is a feminine form of the Greek name <Isidore>. Two popular Spanish saints bore the name <Isidore>, and that name, the form <Isidoro>, was fairly popular in 12th century Leon. [1] We have not been able to date when <Isadora> first came into use in England. This spelling is noted as both an English and modern Spanish feminine variant of <Isidore>[2, 3], but neither example is dated. Our best evidence suggests that the name was introduced into England in the 17th century and did not become popular until the late 19th century. [2,4]
If you are still interested using the given name <Isadora>, then we suggest a Spanish persona. Although we have not found a dated citation of this name in Spain either, we believe that <Isadora> or, more likely, <Isidora> might have been in use in Spain in period.
Since we could not document the name you chose, we looked for some similar-sounding names from England prior to the 15th century. [1, 3]:
Elisota. A diminutive of Elizabeth.
- 14th century - Elisota, Elisot
Isabella. A popular name throughout period, these are the variants that closest to Isadora:
Ismay
Ida
The surname <Yeardley> derives from several placenames: <Yardley> in Essex, Northampshire, and Worcestershire, <Yarley> in Somersetshire, and <Yeardsley> or <Urdesley> in Chestershire.[4, 5] There are several variants of the surname in use in England before the 15th century:
For a good 12th century English name, combine any 12th century given name above with the surname <de Gerdelai>. For 13th century re-creation, combine any 13th century given name above with either <de
Erdeleg> or <de Jerdeley>. Finally, for a 14th century name, combine
any 14th century given name above with <Yerdeleye> or <Yerdele>.
We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval d'Espas Nord, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Julianna de Luna aided in researching and writing this letter.
In Service,
Margaret Makafee
[1] Sopena, Pascual Martínez, "La antroponimia leonesa: Un estudio del Archivo de la Catedral de León (876-1200)", _Antroponimia y Sociedad_: Sistemas de identificación hispano-cristianos en los siglos IX a XIII_, Historie y Sociedad no. 46. Valladolid, Spain: Universiade de Santiago de Compostela and Universidad de Valladolid, 1995
[2] Withycombe, E.G. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, 1977
[3] Arana de Love, Francisca. Nombres Proprioes Espannoles, Editorial Vosgos, Barcelona, 1982
[4] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names. New York: Signet Books, 1983
[5] Talan Gwynek. Feminine Given Names in "A Dictionary of English Surnames". (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1994)
[6] Reaney, P.H. and R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1995.
[7] Ekwall, Eilert. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. Claredon Press: Oxford, 1989