ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2228 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2228 ************************************ From: "slf" 1 Jan 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a Swiss man living between 1400 and 1600. Here is a brief letter with the information we have found. was in use in Switzerland in the 9th-13th centuries, and we have no doubt that it continued in use in that country into the 16th century, when the name, spelled as , , or , was popular in Germany. It is an excellent choice for your given name. [1,2,3] The surname was originally a house name; a person living at an inn or a pub known as "The Eagle Inn," for example, might have been known as or . We find this use of the surname in Germany in 1300, 1309, 1316, and 1372. [4] By your period, though, the surname was more likely to be an inherited surname, and not a true descriptional element, and less likely to have the particle or the preposition . Standing alone, we find the surname in 1392, 1395, and 1414. [5] The Middle High German forms of the word are or , and by the late 13th century, these were interchangeable with . [5,3] Based on this, is a fine surname for your period. It would not necessarily denote that you lived at an inn called "the Eagle." We hope that this quick letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hestitate to write again if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, and Guntram von Wolkenstein. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 01/01/01 ----- References [1] Drosdowski, Guenther, _Duden Lexikon der Vornamen_, 2nd ed. (Mannheim: Dudenverlag, 1974). s.n. Markus [2] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia", revised edition (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) [URL:http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/]. [3] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). pp. 73, 408 [4] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357). s.n. Adler [5] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung. I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ (Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949). s.n. Adler