This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence..  There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period.  If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Victoria.

I was asked recently about the female name “Victoria.”  Victoria is, in fact, a period name in multiple cultures.  It can be documented in 16th century Spain[1], Portugal[2], Italy[3], Germany[4] and, of course, England.[5]  The variant Victoire is found in France.[6]  We also find Victory as a female name in 16th century English.[7]

[1]  Victoria Roldorar; Female; Christening; 17 Nov 1599; Malgrat, Barcelona, Spain; Batch: C89273-4 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F5VL-Y52).

[2]  Victoria Ros; Female; Marriage; 20 Apr 1550; Espírito Santo, Calheta, Madeira, Funchal, Portugal; Batch: M88009-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F2ZC-N6L).

[3]  “Names from an Early 16th C Census of Rome” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/leofemfreq.html) and “Early 16th C Names from Naples” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/frattaminore.html).

[4]  Victoria Bainhardt; Female; Marriage; 23 Sep 1583; Brackenheim, Württemberg, Germany; Batch: M95512-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NCJ6-V6Y).

[5]  Victoria Marshall; Female; Christening; 08 Jun 1589; Darrington,  York, England; Batch: P00759-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NP5X-Q56).

[6]  “Late Period French Feminine Names” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/latefrench.html).

[7]  Victory Milles; Female; Christening; 22 Mar 1553; Wartling, Sussex, England; Batch: C14798-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NY45-LY1).

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence..  There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period.  If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Kathleen.

Back in March 2002, the College of Arms ruled that, “[a]t this time, no documentation has been found that Kathleen was used in period.”[1]   Fortunately, Kathleen is one of the many names for which we have recently found better evidence, as more and more period records are becoming available on line.  Although the name is often associated with the Irish in modern times, Kathleen was used as a given name in England in the late 16th century.[2]   A related name, Cathalina, is found in Spain in 1598.[3]

[1]  March 2002 Cover Letter (http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2002/03/02-03cl.html).

[2] Kathleen Matts; Female; Christening; 6 May 1571; Clungunford, Shropshire, England; Batch: C037382 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NYP2-6MX)

[3]  Cathalina Abbad; Female; Marriage; 07 Oct 1598; San Andrés, Villanueva De Los Infantes, Ciudad Real, Spain; Batch: M86467-8 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FFZ1-FXX).

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence. There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period. If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Kira:

I’ve been asked by a Gazette reader to talk about period names that sound like “Kira.” This set of sounds appears in several languages in period, although not necessarily in the ones that people expect.

The name Kira appears as a female name in Russian, dated to c. 1202.[1] It also appears as a surname in 14th century Japan.[2]

In very late period German, we find the female given name Kyrra, which *may* be pronounced like “Kira.”[3]

In Gaelic, Cera was the name of at least three Irish saints who lived prior to c. 1200 CE.[4] The post-1200 spelling of the same name is Ceara, which is also registerable as a saint’s name.[5] Note that this name is probably pronounced more like “Kara” or “Kera” than “Kira.” However, there are also the period Gaelic women’s names Ciar and Ciarnat, which are pronounced with a long ‘i’ sound.[6] The name Ciara appears to be a wholly modern form, based on current evidence.

For a person looking for an English name that sounds like “Kira,” we have to resort to the rule I’ve discussed before, where 16th century English surnames can be used as if they were English given names. Based on a quick bit of research, that gets us the spellings Kyrre[7] and Keyre[8], which are close to but not exactly like “Kira.”

All in all, for someone who wants the sound of “Kira,” there are a couple of options for time, place and culture.
[1] “Russian Names Database” by Paul Wickenden of Thanet (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/paul/ka.html)

[2] Nostrand, Barbara. Name Construction in Mediaeval Japan (1999) lists Kira as a historical surname dated to 1332.

[3] Kyrra Sranis; Female; Marriage; 02 Jan 1629; Evangelisch, Schotten, Oberhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt; Batch: M92548-1

[4] O Corrain, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, Irish Names (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Cera

[5] Martyrology of Donegal (http://books.google.com/books?id=zn8NAAAAQAAJ), at p. 375.

[6] O Corrain & Maguire, s.n.n. Ciar, Ciarnat

[7] John Kyrre; Male; Burial; 24 Dec 1585; Cranbrook, Kent, England; Batch: B02880-3

[8] Mergery Keyre; Female; Marriage; 13 Aug 1576; Cranbrook, Kent, England; Batch: M01834-4

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence. There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period. If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Cleopatra.

In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a fashion developed (particularly in England and the German-speaking principalities) for naming children after figures from classical history and mythology.  As a result, we have evidence of women named Cleopatra in England[1] and in Switzerland[2].

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence..  There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period.  If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Liam.

Liam has long been a problem name for the heralds.  Many people assume
it is medieval, but in fact we have no evidence of its being used as a
given name in the medieval or Renaissance era.  Nor has there been any
evidence of its being a period nickname for “William.”  The closest
thing to Liam we have found so far in an Irish context is a woman
named Joan nyne Lyeme (in other words, Joan daughter of Lyeme) in an
Anglicized Irish record from the era of Elizabeth I.[1]

However, for people determined to have the name Liam (such as certain
Peers of my long acquaintance), we have found a way to make it
registerable.  As I have discussed a few times in these articles,
there is an established a pattern of using late 16th century English
surnames as given names.[2]  The most well-known example of this is
Guildford Dudley, the husband of Lady Jane Grey, whose first name was
based on a family surname.

We do have evidence of a woman with the surname Liam who was married
in Cambridge, England in 1592.[3]  Because the pattern of using 16th
century English surnames as given names actually existed in period,
evidence of Liam as an English surname permits registration of Liam as
an English given name.  As it is considered an English name, it can be
used with an Irish or Scottish surname.

[1]  The Fourteenth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records
in Ireland (https://archive.org/details/reportofdeputyke1416irel),
entry 4539.

[2]  September 2012 Cover Letter
(http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2012/09/12-09cl.html)

[3]  Joana Liam; Female; Marriage; 1592; Elsworth, Cambridge, England;
Batch: M13053-1 ((https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJ1W-6MF).

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence..  There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period.  If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Frasier.

A few people have asked about Frasier (or Fraser or Frazier) as a male given name, usually assuming it to be a medieval Scottish name.  In fact, it does not appear to have been a period given name.  It was a surname found largely in Scotland but occasionally in England.

However, Frasier, Fraser or Frazer can still be registerable as a given name in English and Scots names in the SCA.  There is an established pattern of 16th century English surnames having been used as given names.   Since we do have evidence of Frasier, Fraser and Frazer as English surnames[1], that pattern allows these names to be registered as given names.

[1]  “A history of Northumberland” (A. Reid, sons & co., 1930) (http://books.google.com/books?id=iG0gAQAAMAAJ) at p. 129 lists a Robert Frasyer buried in Newcastle in 1577.  Margrett Fraser was buried in 1596 in Lincoln, England (“England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JCGM-HTR), Margrett Fraser, 1596; Batch: B03058-2); Henrie Frazer was christened in 1587 in Devon, England (“England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N54M-THG), Henrie Frazer, 02 Feb 1587; citing ILFRACOMBE, DEVON, ENGLAND, Batch: C05121-1).

This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence..  There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period.  If you would like to suggest a name, send an email to the Gazette.

Today’s name is Hamish.

The male name Hamish is one of those names that is generally believed
to be period, but for which we have no evidence. All of the research
to date shows that Hamish did not evolve until the 19th century, when
it began to be used either as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic male
name Seumas or as a variant of the name James.[1]

While it is possible that new information could support Hamish as a
medieval or Renaissance given name at some point in the future, right
now it is not registerable.

So what should a person who wants to be “Hamish” in the SCA do? Well,
names do not need to be registered. In the East Kingdom, a person can
obtain awards and receive scrolls even without a registered name.
Alternatively, one could register a different formal name, such as
James, and use “Hamish” as a nickname.

Finally, there are some period and documentable given names that are
close in sound and appearance to Hamish. For example, the Family
Search Historical Records show “Hammash Munkastle” as the name of a
boy christened in 1609 in Lincoln, England.[2] “Heymish” is an early
17th cen. English surname, which can be used as a given name based on
the documented pattern of using very late period English surnames in
this manner.[3] “Hemish” likewise is an early 17th cen. English
surname that can be used as a given name.[4] Any of these options
give the look and feel of the name “Hamish” while also being
documentable and registerable. All of them can be combined with an
English, Scots or Anglicized Irish surname.

[1] James MacDoual, 7/2000 LoAR, A-Meridies.

[2] Hammash Munkastle; Male; 27 Jul 1609; St Peter-at-Arches’,
Lincoln, Lincoln, England; Batch: C02569-3
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N216-VLK).

[3] Eleoner Heymish; Female; Marriage; 05 Nov 1604; West Hendred,
Berkshire, England; Batch: M13001-1
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJ1H-8M4).

[4] Magaret Hemish; Female; Marriage; 04 Dec 1626; East Tisted,
Hampshire, England; Batch: M14663-1
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NK8Z-NYM).