ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1473 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1473 ************************************ 9 Jan 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if is a valid period name, preferably for a Scottish woman. This letter is a brief answer to your question. If your aim is to find documentation for a name so that you can register it with the SCA College of Arms, we may or may not be able to help you. Documenting submissions isn't our focus: We want to help you to choose and use a name that fits the historical culture you are re-creating. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name, then we may not be able to help you. is a Scots name, a form of . Scots is one of the languages spoken in Scotland late in our period. It was spoken primarily in the Lowlands from about 1400 onward, and was similar to contemporary English. We've found several examples in 16th century records, where it is also spelled and [1, 2]. We could not find any example of the surname in Scotland or elsewhere. If you can tell us where you found it, we may be able to tell you more. The most similar Scottish surname that we found is [3]. would be a fine name for a woman living in late-period Lowland Scotland. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 9 Jan 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/ [2] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names" (WWW: Privately pubished, 26 Oct 1996). http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/scottownwomen16.html [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986).