ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2500 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2500 ************************************ 26 Aug 2002 From: SARA LIANA FRIEDEMANN Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate name for a 14th or 15th century woman born in Cordoba. This is the information we have found. The book in which you found , Charlotte Yonge's History of Christian Names, is unfortunately a completely unreliable source. The author's romantic notions about the origins of names led her to some absurd conclusions, and she includes no evidence to back up any of her statements. There are languages in which some given names are derived from placenames, but Spanish is not one of them. We would be surprised to see used as a given name arising from the name of the city. However, we have found Latin forms of that are very similar, and which may interest you. itself is found recorded in 1171 [1], and then in the 14th century we find references to the same woman recorded as in 1353, and in 1358 and 1362. [5] Because and were often interchanged in Latin forms, appears to be a reasonable 14th century spelling of the name. However, we would like to note that this form would almost certainly only be used in written documents; we are not sure what the spoken form of the name would have been. was the most common woman's name in both the 14th and 15th century. [2,3] It is an excellent choice. is found in the 15th century, though is a more common spelling. [3] We have not found the spelling used in Spain; this is a more typically Italian form. However, we have found no examples before 1600 of the compound name , except in reference to the saint. [4] It is possible, though, for the two names to be used as an example of double given names, rather than as a single compound name. In the early part of your period, two given names is highly unlikely; by the end of your period, it is rare, but possible. The locative byname (byname based on the location of the bearer) is a fine surname, appearing several times in this spelling in the 15th century. [3] To summarize, , , and are all lovely names for a 14th or 15th century woman living in Spain. is less likely, but not impossible. We hope this 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 Leonor Martin, Raquel Buenaventura, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Julie Stampnitzky Kahan, Adelaide de Beaumont, Laurensa de Chambord, Mary Hodges, and Catriona inghean ui Bhraonain. For the Academy, Juliana de Luna & Aryanhwy merch Catmael August 26, 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References & Notes [1] Menedez-Pidal, Ramon, _Crestomati/a del Espan~ol Medieval_ (Madrid: 1971). [2] Pero Lo/pez de Ayala, _Coronica del rey don Pedro_, ed. Constance L. Wilkins and Heanon M. Wilkins (Madison : Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1985). [3] Juliana de Luna, "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999-2000) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/. [4] The compound was used in reference to the saint by that name; we just haven't found any evidence of people other than her being known by this name. [5] Carrasco, Juan, Fermi/n Miranda Garci/a, and Eloi/sa Rami/rez Vaquero. Los Judi/os del Reino de Navarra: Registros do sello 1339-1387 (Navarra Judaica 4). Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, Departmentado de Educaci/on y Cultura, 1994. pp. 71, 136, 223