Feminine names from 14th C Exeter
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Feminine names from 14th C Exeter

by Sara L. Uckelman
known in the SCA as Aryanhwy merch Catmael

© 2004 Sara L. Uckelman; all rights reserved
last updated 09Oct05

Introduction

The following list of 32 feminine names is from Rowe, Margery M. and John M. Draisey, eds. and trans., The Receivers' accounts of the city of Exeter, 1304-1353 (Exeter, England: Devon & Cornwall Record Society, 1989.) While this source modernized the given names from the original Latin, the bynames have been retained in their original spellings. Because the given names have been modernized, we cannot be 100% sure what was the actual spoken form of the name at the time of writing. However, all of these names can be found in their modern spellings by the 14th century (see Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997)), and thus are likely correct spoken forms for this place and time.

I have listed the given name by frequency, and then the surnames alphabetically, and then an alphabetical list of names as they are found in the source.

Given names

NameNumber
Alice5
Joan5
Emma3
Is'13
Amicia2
Christine2
Julian/Juliana2
Agatha1
Beatrice1
Clarice1
Edith1
Elena1
Gylda1
Helewise1
Katherine1
Margery1
Matilda1
Sarah1

Bynames

All bynames were found once each, with the exceptions of Spycer, Tappestere, and Gyst or Gyst', which were found twice. Two women had no byname.

A note on abbreviations used:

Des. = descriptive
Loc. = locative
Occ. = occupational
Pat. = patronymic

BynameNotes2
atte HoleLoc. 'dweller in the hollow', OE holh.
atte WilleLoc. 'dweller by the stream or spring'; will is a south-western form of well.
atte WodeLoc. 'dweller by the wood', OE wudu.
Beauson
ChamberlaynOcc. 'chamberlain', OFr chamberlain, -len, -lanc, -lenc.
ClyneLoc. from Clyne (Sutherland).
ColePat. from Cole.
CoterelDes. 'cottager' from OFr coterel, a diminutive of OFr cotier 'cottager'.
de MonteacuteLoc. originally from Montaigu in France.
Deghere
DurhamLoc. from Durham.
Forlanger
Gyst'/Gyst
Hughetone
HuxhamLoc. from Huxham.
NobleDes. 'well-known, noble', from OFr noble.
Obelyn
OlyverPat. from Olyver.
Onger
Plegh
PottereOcc. 'potter', from OE pottere.
PynDes. 'pine', a nickname for a tall person, from OFr pin
SpycerOcc. 'dealer in spices; apothecary; druggist', from OFr espicier, especier.
Stole
Swilledone
TappestereOcc. 'woman who sells ale, hostess' from OE tæppestere.
Torylox
WarynPat. from Waryn or Warin.

Complete list of women's names

The numbers following the name are the numbers of the page on which the name is found. 

Agatha Spycer - 65
Alice Chamberlayn - 65
Alice Coterel - 62
Alice Swilledone - 66
Alice Tappestere - 65
Alice atte Hole - 66
Amicia - 64
Amicia Forlanger - 75
Beatrice Beauson - 28
Christine Clyne - 65
Christine Deghere - 83
Clarice Plegh - 63
Edith Obelyn - 66
Elena Gyst' - 66
Emma Hughetone - 65
Emma Pottere - 64
Emma Tappestere - 64
Gylda Waryn - 65
Helewise Noble - 65
Is' Durham - 63
Is' Gyst - 65
Is' atte Wille - 65
Joan - 91
Joan Huxham - 63
Joan Olyver - 65
Joan Pyn - 62
Joan atte Wode - 64
Julian Spycer - 65
Juliana Onger - 62
Katherine de Monteacute - 35, 38
Margery Cole - 63
Matilda Torylox - 65
Sarah Stole - 65

Notes

1This is an abbreviation for either Isabel or Isolda, both fairly common feminine names at this time.

2Derivational notes are from Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.nn. Athol, Atterwill, Attwood, Chamberlain, Clynes, Cole, Cotterel, Durham, Huxham, Montacute, Noble, Oliver, Pine, Potter, Spicer, Tapster, Wareing, with additional information from Postles, David, The Surnames of Devon, with a Chapter contributed by Richard McKinley, English Surnames Series VI, (Oxford: Leopard's Head Press, 1995)

The original article can be found at: http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/exeterfem14thc.html