ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3187 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3187 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 13 Oct 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a Norman around the time of the Norman Conquest. Here is what we have found. With a few minor changes, you've picked an excellent name. The Norman name has its roots in the Old Norse name <{TH}orsteinn> (where {TH} represents the letter thorn, which looks like a

with it's standing leg extending above the circle). This name was common in Normandy, with at least 60 instances in Normandy between the late 10th century and the Norman Conquest and more thereafter. [6] The Latin forms and seem to have been especially common. In Domesday Book, a record of land-holders compiled in 1086 but also listing those who held land in 1066, we find the name spelled , , , , , , and , and . [1,5] (Letters in square brackets are expanded from scribal abbreviations. is the Latin genitive case of , very roughly corresponding to the English possessive form.) [7] Forms that we found in 11th century Normandy include: [3] Torstainus Torstingus Torstinus Tursten Turstincus Turstingus Tustingus Tustinus All of these with the exception of have been Latinized. Based on this, is hence an excellent choice for your given name. The name derives from the Norse name [8], which was imported into England both by the Scandinavians who arrived before the Norman Conquest, and also by the Normans themselves. [2] was quite common in Normandy, and we found a number of examples from the late 10th century on, in the Latinized form . [3] During your period, we'd expect a man named who was the son of a man named would have been known as 'Turstin the son of Osbern' in Old French. The spelling and the dropping of the article occurred primarily after your period. [4] In Latin, this name might have been recorded as . 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 Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 13 October 2006 -- References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Thurstan [2] ibid., s.n. Osbern [3] des Gautries, Jean Adigard, _Les Noms de Personnes Scandinaves en Normandie de 911 a\ 1066_, (Lund: Carl Bloms Boktryckeri A.B. 1954). [4] Reaney & Wilson, op. cit., s.n. Fitz has 12th C; s.n. FitzSimon, Henry II; s.n. FitzJohn, 1355; s.n. FitzWilliam, 1299. [5] Von Feilitzen, Olof, _The Pre-Conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book_ (Uppsala: 1937), s.n. {TH}orsteinn [6] Insley, John, _Scandinavian personal names in Norfolk: a survey based on medieval records and place-names (Uppsala: Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy; Stockholm: Distributor, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1994), s.n. {TH}orsteinn [7] The spellings with <-stan> are Anglicized: <-stan> is the native Old English cognate of Old Norse <-steinn>. [8] In this name, the / represents an acute accent over the previous letter, and is the o-ogonek, an with a reverse comma hook. ---------------------- Correction by Aryanhwy 1 Nov 12: The citation in [6] was incomplete, and has been completed now.