ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2506 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2506 ************************************ 30 Apr 2002 From: Sara L Friedemann Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an authentic name for a medieval German woman, and asked if we could tell you what time period it would be most appropriate for. Here is the information we have found. The name came into fashion in the 19th century in Germany and Scandinavia, perhaps based on an Old High German word "(good) female spirit" but probably also influenced by the biblical . [4,5] We found no example of this name before the 19th century. We also found a number of early medieval feminine names based on the element or recorded in or near France: [1] Holdiardis 1087 Holdelinda 955 Huldrada 768 Holdesendis 11th-12th c. Huldesendis 1087 Hulsendis 9th-11th c. These names were all recorded in Latin; vernacular, or spoken, forms of the name would have different endings. We have also found one example of in the 9th century, though we do not know where this name was recorded. [2] or could be a pet form of any of these names, though we have not found any explicit evidence for either form. Your choice of surname, , is excellent for the 13th century onward. We find a "Werner called 'of Falkenstein'" recorded in Latin in 1281. [3] is the appropriate German form of the surname. Locative bynames in German were formed mainly in three ways: the name of the town without modification, ; a phrase with , ; and the adjective form of the place name, . The form using would be a bit unusual in the 16th c. except among the nobility [6]. The adjectival form was more common in southern Germany, especially later in period. The unmodified place name was the most common form in the north [3]. We would like to note that by the 13th century, surnames such as were beginning to be inherited, instead of using literally, to mean that the bearer was originally from . By 1500, such inherited surnames were the norm in most parts of Germany. If you would like to chose a given name that would be appropriate to use with , we can recommend the following articles: "German Given Names 1200-1250" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germ13/ "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/ "15th-Century German Women's Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/german15f.html If you are more interested in constructing an 8th-11th century name using , then we recommend you read the following report that we've previously written: Academy of S. Gabriel Report 2397 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2397 While this was written for a Frankish name, the information and naming practices would be appropriate for 10th century Germanic names as well. If you have any further questions after reading this report, please don't hesitate to write us again. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter were provided by Maridonna Benvenuti, Falk vom Weserbogen, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 30Apr02 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). I:134a [2] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). p. 223 [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.nn. Falkenstein(er), Salzburg(er), Wolfauer, Wolfinger, Wolfrath, Wolfsberg, Wolfurt(er) [4] Drosdowski, Guenther, _Duden Lexikon der Vornamen_, 2nd ed. (Mannheim: Dudenverlag, 1974). s.n. Hulda [5] Kruken, Kristoffer, ed. _Norsk personnamnleksikon_, 2nd ed. (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, 1995). s.n. Hulda [6] We discussed the use of the preposition in some detail in a report for a previous client. To find out more, see Academy of Saint Gabriel report 2041 (Dieterich). http://www.s-gabriel.org/2041