ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2421 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2421 ************************************ 5 Dec 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name appropriate for a Scot living on the Border in the 16th century. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Naming customs in the Borders were essentially the same as in the rest of the Lowlands. The most significant differentiation between Border names and other Lowland names is that certain family names were common along the Border simply because that's where those families lived. It's conceivable that particular given names were popular among those families, and much more likely that certain given names were popular in individual families; but we don't have the resources to do that kind of analysis. Our best advice, therefore, is to choose a popular Lowland given name and combine it with the surname of a Border family. For given names, the best source we can recommend is the masculine given name list in "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names", which you can find on the web at: http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ These names appear in records from 16th century Aberdeen; to ensure that you get one that was also used in the Borders, we recommend you choose one of the more popular names. The most popular men's names were , , , , (where the represents a \v\ sound), and [1]. Here is a list of some family names found along the Border [2]. We've listed each name under its modern spelling, followed by one or more period spellings. Quotations and dated spellings come from Scottish records, mostly between 1450 and 1650 [4]. Spellings preceded by an asterisk (*) were recorded in 16th century Durham and Northumberland, on the English side of the Border [3], but are probably appropriate in Scots, too. Some of the names were also recorded in Aberdeen and are listed in reference [1]; those spellings would be reasonable for a Border name, too. In the West Borders: Armstrong: <*Armstrong>, <*Armstronge>, <*Armestronge>, <*Armestrog>, <*Ermstrong> Carlisle: 1451, 1577, 1635, 1592, 1631, <*Carlile>, <*Carliole>, <*Carlell> Carruthers: 1460, 1460, 1572, 1537, 146, <*Corruddas>, <*Corrodas> Crosar: , and plural forms 1475, 1526, 1537, 1564, 1587, <*Croser>, <*Crosyer>, <*Crosier>, <*Croyser> Elliot: 1502, 1624, 1639, 1556, 1561, 1494; plural 1570, <*Elwould>. Glendinning: 1408, 1467, 1451, 1504, plural 1587, 1599, 1599, 1493, 1488, 1530, <*Glendeninge>, <*Glendyning> Graham: 1532, 1561, 1547, 1464, 1591, 1467, 1522, 1550, <*Graime>, <*Gram>, <*Grame>, <*Graym>, <*Grayme>, <*Greame> Hepburn: "In the sixteenth century there were Hepburns of Hailes, Waughton, Smeaton, Bolton, Alderston, Bearford, Humbie, Keith, Nunraw, and Monkrigg." 1589, 1562 mentioned s.n. Pringle, <*Hebbourne> Irvine: 1455, 1587, , 1587, , , 1519, 1550, 1568, 1572, , , , 1602, 1514, 1493, 1534, , , , 1641, , 1596, 1500, , , , 1593, , 1547, <*Urwin> Johnstone: 1451, or 1463, 1609, 1609, 1616, 1450, 1493, 1530, 1530, 1608, 1558, 1503, 1575, 1491, 1499. Nixon: 1398, <*Nixon>, <*Nixson>, <*Nickson>, <*Nicson>, <*Nyxon> And in the East Borders: Cockburn: 1574, 1567, 1637, 1531, 1467. Cranston: 1423, 1449, 1451, 1515, 1451, 1641, 1427, 1534 Douglas: 1540, 1633, 1504, 1429, 1583, 1529, 1499, 1511, 1559, 1454, <*Douglas> Edgar: 1618, 1508, 1591, 1574, 1516, 1602, 1591, <*Edear>, <*Edgar>, <*Edger>. Note: 'z', 'ge', and 'y' in the Scottish spellings all represent the same sound, similar to the in but with a little more emphasis. The 'z' is a transcription of the letter yogh, which is written something like an elongated '3'; using 'z' for this letter is a common modern editorial convention. Gordon: 1408, <*Gordon> Haig: "From the year 1412 the family of Haig of Bemesyde invariably used the form of Haig." Home: 1408, 1451, 1661, 1498, 1577, 1517, 1488, and 1488, 1550, 1464, 1544, c.1530, 1581, <*Home>, <*Hume> Ker: 1467, 1491, 1515, 1493, <*Carr>, <*Carre>, <*Car>, <*Kar>, <*Karre> Nisbet: 1493, 1446-56, 1649, 1468, 1574, 1450, 1452, 1574, 1507, 1537, 1554, 1616, 1546, 1467, <*Neasbyt>, <*Nesbet>, <*Nesbit>, <*Nesebit> Pringle: Derived from 13th century ; 1484, 1490, 1515, 1573, 1562, 1555, 1503, and 1567, 1470, <*Pringle> Redpath: 1486, 1655 1545, 1555, 1548, 1566, 1602, 1557, 1558, 1516, 1562, <*Rippeth>, <*Ryppeth> Riddall: c.1150, 1785, <*Riddell> Rutherfurd: and 1451, 1581, 1530, 1545, 1574, and 1544, 1589, 1592, 1464, 1584, <*Roderford>, <*Roderforde>, <*Roderforth>, <*Rudderfoothe>, <*Rutherford>, <*Rutherforth>, <*Rudderforth>, <*Ruderforth>. The that appears in place of or in some spellings represents the letter thorn (which looked exactly like in this period), which was pronounced here like . Scott: 1395 and 1611, 1603, 1600, 1641, 1623, <*Scot>, <*Scott>, <*Scotte>, <*Skot>, <*Skott> Swinton: 1530, 1628, 1603, 1512, 1637, 1624, 1539, 1549, 1633. Trotter: 1478, 1479, 1479, 1512, 1630, <*Trotter> Trumble: 1452, 1507, 1586, 1609, 1649, 1497, 1603, 1531, c.1570, 1547, 1510, 1567, 1544, 1556, <*Trumbel>, <*Trumbell>, <*Trumble>, <*Trombell>, <*Tromble> Any combination of the given names and family names we've listed here would be an excellent choice for a Borderman of your period. We'll be happy to provide the correct pronunciation for any particular name. Note that a particular man's name would likely have been spelled in different ways: All the spellings of list above, for example, could have been used for the same person. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 Dec 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Sharon L. Krossa (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (WWW: Privately pubished, 1 Nov 2001). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16 [2] Sir Iain Moncreiffe of That Ilk & Don Pottinger, "Scotland of Old: Clan Names Map" (Bartholomew, 1983). The map shows 16th century locations of Scottish families. [3] Julie Stampnitzky, "Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615" (WWW: privately published, 2001). http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames.html [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). In most cases, the headword we use above is the headword in Black. is discussed s.n. Turnbull. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 11 Oct 2002, Arval: Clarified the notes on the name .