ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 929 http://www.s-gabriel.org/929 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 08 Jul 1998 From: Jodi McMaster Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You asked about the given name "Inigo" circa 1550, wondering whether it was used by anyone other than the English set designer Inigo Jones. You also asked how it was pronounced. The famous Inigo was born in London in 1573. [1] His father's name was also "Inigo," pronounced \in-EYE-go\. His name was also spelled "Inigue." His father's name, "Enego," is yet another variant. [2] "In~igo" and its variants was a common name throughout the Spanish peninsula in period. The name originally derives as a Basque name, "E/neko" (where the "/" is an accent over the "e"), which was adopted into the Iberian peninsula's name stock rather early. [3] We've found an instance of "In~igo" in Spain as early as 941 [3] to one as late as the 16th century (and the name is still in use) [4]. We have also found examples of the name in Spain in the late 16th century, the time in which you are specifically interested. [5] In the 10th through 13th centuries, the name is mostly spelled Eneco or Enneco (note that accents are rare at best at this point, and lack of accent should not be taken to mean that the accent was not on the first syllable). [6] This is probably pronounced something like \eh-neh-koh\. There are a few early spellings using "In~igo," and this is the most common late spelling. In Spanish, this should be \EE-nyee-go\. We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, Walraven van Nijmegen, Lindorm Eriksson, Zenobia Naphtali, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, and Talan Gwynek contributed comments and/or research for this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum __________________ References: [1] "Inigo Jones," _Britannica Online_ at http://www.eb.com:180/ [2] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [3] Di/ez Melco/n, R. P. Gonzalo, _Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses: Siglos IX-XIII, ambos inclusive_ (Universidad de Granada, 1957). [4] Don Crist{o'}bal Berm{u'}dez Plata, "Catalogo de Pasajeros a Indias, durante los siglos XVI, XVII, y XVIII", vol. III (1535-15389). Sevilla: Imprenta de la Gavidia, 1946. [5] Antonio de la Torre and E.A. de la Torre, _Cuentas de Gonzalo de Baeza, Tesorero de Isabel la Cato'lica_ (Madrid: Biblioteca Reyes Catolicaos, 1956). [6] Mene'ndez Pidal, R., _Ori'genes del Espan~ol: Estado Lingu:istico de la Peni'nsula Ibe'rica Hasta el Siglo XI_ (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S.A. 1964).