ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2952 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2952 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 28 Dec 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if we could recommend names appropriate for a woman living in Sicily or Ustica between 1400 and 1600. Here is the information we have found. Ustica is a small island about 80 km (50 mi) north of Palermo. We don't have any sources for names specifically from Ustica, but it is reasonable to assume that the names used there were roughly the same as the ones used in Palermo and other parts of southern Italy which used dialects similar to Sicilian. We therefore have two lists of names that we can recommend to you, one from Palermo and one from Naples. We found the following feminine names from a 15th-century Latin tax record from Naples: [1] Colella Ioanna Magalda Oliva Perretta Pipa Polisena Ramundetta We also found the following feminine names in Latin records from Palermo in 1480. [2] Variant forms have been grouped together: Agnesa Alvira Angila Antona Barbara Bartholomia Bartonia Bella Caterina Catherina Catirina Chicca Christina Clara Constanza Costanza Diana Eularia Florenza Francisca Frixa Garita Gati Gratia Grippina Honofria Ioanna Joanna Jacoba Janna Jannella Jannina Lena Lisa Lisabecta Lisabecta Becta Lombarda Lucia Luchia Madalena Marella Margarita Maria Marina Marta Michela Milia Minica Narda Nastasia Perina Perna Perria Philippa Pina Pricita Razuna Rosa Sabella Scarlata Simuna Tummia Thumia Ursula Vilma Vintura Vinuta Virdina Ysabella Ysmiralda In one study of names from Palermo between 1561 and 1563, the following feminine names were the most common: [3] Joanna Joanella (Joanna and Joanella together represent 14% of all female names) Margarita Caterina Franchisca Antonina Lauria Caternella (Caterina and Caternella together represent 8% of all female names) Angila Norella The top ten names represent 42% of all feminine names in the source studied. You didn't say that you had any type of byname in mind, but we can make some recommendations. In the feminine names from Naples, 6 of the 8 women were recorded with a byname; one was a Latin descriptive, 'kind, amiable, courteous, tender'; three were patronymics (byname based on the father's name), e.g. ; and the other one was a locative (byname based on place of residence), . [1] This example uses the Latin preposition and a Latin form of the place name instead of the Sicilian preposition because it comes from a Latin-language document. The women from the Palermo documents were all heads of households. Most women's bynames were , where 'X' was the name of their father or husband. Widows were often recorded as 'widow'. We also found examples of descriptive bynames (such as 'the grandmother' and 'the midwife) and locative bynames (such as , from Cosenza in Calabria). [2] If you would like to pick a byname based on your father's name, please write us again and we will be happy to provide you with masculine names from this same time period and place. If you'd prefer a name beginning with a particular letter or if you have some other requirement, let us know and we'll do our best to accomodate it. If you would like to use a locative byname, we recommend the following article: "Mercator's Place Names of Italy in 1554" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/maridonna/mercator/ The section on place names in southern Italy and Sardinia is particularly appropriate for you. Some of the names on the map were recorded in Latin and some in Italian; once you've picked a place name, feel free to write us again and we can recommend the correct form of byname using this place name. Another possibility that you might like is the byname 'the Sicilian woman' or 'the Ustican woman'. While we have not found examples of either of these in use at any time they follow examples of , , and . [3] The <-o> ending on an Italian acjective is masculine; the equivalent feminine ending is <-a>. is particularly suited for someone who moved from Sicily to Ustica. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Gunnvor silfraharr. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 28 December 2004 -- References: [1] Friedemann, Sara L. "Names from 15th Century Naples" (WWW: Self- published 2003). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/naples.html [2] Armando Di Pasquale _Palermo nel 1480. La popolazione del quartiere della Kalsa_, Edizioni Mori, Palermo, 1975. [3] Lyneya Fayrebowe of Busshopestrowe, "Palermo, Sicily, Italy: Baptisms Records from 1561-1563". Unpublished research based on a microfilm of a handwritten baptismal register, in the collection of the Family History Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Aryanhwy, May 2006: Added footnote to examples of and