The languages of medieval southern France and northeastern Spain were more closely related to one another than to French and Spanish. Names and naming customs in southern France were also quite similar to those in Catalonia, especially in the Middle Ages. Later in our period, when the south was subsumed into France and Catalonia was united with Aragón, names in both regions gradually grew more similar to those in their political partners.

The language of medieval southern France is variously called Occitan, Provençal, or the langue d'oc. It is a distinct Romance language. The region where Occitan dialects were spoken is shown on this map and this one.

The language of medieval Catalonia was Catalan. Maps of the linguistic regions of Iberia are available for various dates: c.900, c.1150, and c.1300.

Catalan Names

Catalan Names in Latin Contexts: the late 12th century, by Juliana de Luna

An analysis of men's and women's names, with examples of given names and surnames and discussion of patterns of name construction.

Catalan Names from 12th and 13th Century Charters, by Arval Benicoeur

Jews in Catalonia: 1250 to 1400, by Juliana de Luna

An analysis of several hundred names from wills.

Catalan Names from 15th-Century Barcelona, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

Men's and women's given names and surnames from guild records.

Catalan Names from the 1510 census of Valencia, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

Names of men and women, with surnames: an analysis of "Cens del Regne de Valencia".

Occitan and Provençal Names

French/Occitan Names From The XII And XIII Century, by Ramons lo Montalbes

An index of names which appear in a chanson de geste written by two participants in the Albegensian Crusade.

Names from Thirteenth Century Languedoc, by Cateline de la Mor

A list of given names found in a book on 13th century southern France.

Languedoc Names circa 1300, by Arval Benicoeur

A list of names of 892 guildsmen of the city of Toulouse.

Names from 13th- and 14th-Century Latin Records from Gascony, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

Masculine and feminine given names and surnames from a document written in Latin.

Occitan Townspeople in the 14th Century, by Juliana de Luna

More than 200 names from court documents from Rodez in 1370.

Feminine Names from Aosta, 1337 and 1351, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

Feminine names in Latin contexts, from a town on the modern-day border between France and Italy.

Feminine Names from Périgueux, 1339-1340, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

Some names from a study of 14th century tax rolls

Occitan names from Saint Flour, France, 1380-1385, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

An analysis of the names of 819 men and women.

Names from Fourteenth Century Foix, by Cateline de la Mor

A list of given names found in a book on early 14th century southwestern France.

Some Names in Latin from a French document, circa 1442, by Margaret Makafee.

Names from Bordeaux Commercial Documents, 1470-1520, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Talan Gwynek.

A list of names from several languages, recorded in French commercial documents. The article is incomplete, but the data are correct.

Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France, by Talan Gwynek

A list of women's given names and bynames from Languedoc, mostly from 16th century records.

Qualques noms de l'Edat Mejana, by Giani Vacca

A list of masculine and feminine Provençal names. The author lists his sources, which look good, but gives no dates. However, this list appears to be reliable enough to trust.

Names found in a French Marriage Register, 1595, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael

The original document was created in the south of France, but written in Middle French. The names are thus in Middle French spellings of names that were in use in the Occitan region.

Jewish Names

See the Jewish names index.

The Medieval Names Archive is published by the Academy of Saint Gabriel and Joshua Mittleman.
© 1997-2004. Copyright on individual articles belongs to their authors.
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/occitan.shtml