| Laurel: | Date: (year.month.date) | Precedent: |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Submitted as Jocelyn Alexandra Axstall of Mordav, the submitter requested a female name and allowed any changes. [...]
In the case of the name Jocelyn, all evidence found by the College showed that this name was only used as a masculine given name in period. Lacking evidence that Jocelyn was used as a feminine given name in our period, it is not registerable as a feminine given name. [...] This name combines a masculine given name, a feminine given name, an inherited surname, and a locative byname. The combination of the masculine and feminine given names is a problem:
Similarly, the submitted combination of Jocelyn Alexandra as given names is not registerable. As the submitter requested a feminine name, we have dropped the element Jocelyn in order to register this name. [Alexandra Axstell of Mordaf, 03/2004, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Submitted as Ophelia Le Lavendere, there was some question regarding which forms of this byname would have been used in a woman's name in period.
The form la Lavendere 'the Laundress' would be the typical spelling used in a woman's name in 13th C England. Both la and Lavendere are feminine forms. Reaney & Wilson (p. 273 s.n. Lavender) show an example of this byname in the name Ysabelle la Lauendere, which they date to 1253. The corresponding masculine byname was le Lavender. An example of this form may be found in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder) in the name Peter le Lavender, which he dates to 1273. As the English language evolved, and byname usage also evolved, some variations are found, mainly in the forms bynames took when used in a woman's name. Documented examples include Ralf la Lavendere dated to 1268 in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Lavender). This name shows a masculine given name with the feminine byname form la Lavendere. Cecelia la Lavender is dated to 1273 in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder). This example shows the feminine particle la with the masculine form Lavender. Examples of a woman's given name combined with a masculine form of a byname were discussed in the December 2001 LoAR:
These examples support a feminine given name combined with a byname that has a fully masculine form. However, no support was found for combining the masculine article le in an otherwise feminine byname. Therefore, support was found for Ophelia la Lavendere (fully feminine byname form), Ophelia le Lavender (fully masculine byname form), and Ophelia la Lavender (feminine article la, masculine form Lavender), but no support was found for Ophelia le Lavendere (masculine article le, feminine form Lavendere). Of these options, Ophelia le Lavender best retains the pronunciation that most modern English speakers would expect when seeing the submitted Le Lavendere. (In Middle English, the final e in Lavendere was not silent. Instead, it was pronounced approximately as a soft "eh" or "uh" sound.) As the submitter allows minor changes, we have changed this byname to the form le Lavender in order to register this name. [Ophelia le Lavender, 03/2004, A-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Submitted as Myfanwy Methig, the LoI provided a very useful summary of information and we thank them for it:
The question was raised regarding whether the byname Methig needed to be lenited since it was being used in a woman's byname. Harpy provided information regarding an authentic form of this name:
Based on this information, we have registered this name in the 16th C form Mevanwy Methig in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Mevanwy Methig, 03/2004, A-Drachenwald] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Listed on the LoI as Æsa inn kyrra, this name was submitted as Æsa inn kyrri. The element kyrri was changed at Kingdom to kyrra to put it into a feminine form.
The article inn is a masculine form. We have changed it to the feminine in in order to register this name. [Æsa in kyrra, 03/2004, A-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.12 | Bynames were literal in Gaelic in period. Ó Ríoghbhardáin means 'grandson/male descendant of Ríoghbhardán'. As a woman cannot be a grandson or male descendant, Ó Ríoghbhardáin is not registerable with a feminine given name. The corresponding feminine byname would be inghean uí Ríoghbhardáin. We have made this change in order to register this name. We have also added the accent missing from the byname. [Aliannsa inghean uí Ríoghbhardáin, 12/2003, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.09 | This name is being returned because Gormlaith is a feminine given name and Ó Néill is a masculine form.
Bynames were used literally in Gaelic in period. The form Ó Néill means 'grandson/male descendant of Niall'. As a woman cannot be a grandson or male descendant, the form Ó Néill is not compatible with a feminine given name in period. If the submitter wishes to indicate that her father's name is Niall, then the appropriate byname is inghean Néill 'daughter of Niall'. If she wants to indicate that she is a member of the Ó Néill family, then the appropriate byname is inghean u� Néill. As the submitter allows no changes, we were unable to change the byname to a feminine form in order to register her name. [Gormlaith Ó Néill, 09/2003 LoAR, R-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.04 | Submitted as Wilo ingen Donnchada, Wilo was documented only as a masculine given name. The byname ingen Donnchada means 'daughter of Duncan'. Gaelic patronymic bynames were used literally in period. Therefore, this name was not registerable as submitted since a man could not be a daughter. Since the submitter marked "don't care" for gender on her form, we have changed the byname to the masculine form mac Donnchada in order to register this name. [Wilo mac Donnchada, 04/2003 LoAR, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.02 | Regarding Thorgeirrson, the LoI stated that, "The submitter is using this as a marriage name, as Haakon Thorgeirrson is her legal husband." There are two problems with this name. First, no documentation was presented for this relationship other than this statement in the LoI. Lacking such evidence, the submission is not eligible for the Grandfather Clause. (See the Cover Letter for the October 2002 LoAR "Clarification of the Grandfather Clause" for more details.)
Were documentation provided as required for the Grandfather Clause, her husband's Norse patronymic byname would still not be registerable with a feminine given name. Precedent states:
Throughout period, bynames were literal in Scandinavia. Metron Ariston explains:
Therefore, a name combining any form of Thorgeirrson with a feminine given name is grammatically incorrect and is not registerable. Further, because her husband's name does not have this violation, her name submission introduces a new violation of the rules as prohibited in the precedent cited above. [Alizaunde Thorgeirrson, 02/2003 LoAR, R-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.01 | Additionally, the byname was improperly constructed. The particle ui is the genitive of ua, which literally translates as 'grandson' and which later (most recognizably in the form Ó) came to mean 'male descendant of'. Bynames were used literally in Gaelic in period. Since a woman cannot be a grandson or a male descendant, her byname would take the form ingen uí [X], which means 'daughter of [a man whose byname is] ua [X]'. This form later came to have the meaning 'female descendant of'.
A fully Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name would be Sadb ingen uí Cherbaill. We have changed the name to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity and to register this name. [Sadb ingen uí Cherbaill, 01/2003 LoAR, A-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.01 | Submitted as Christiane Janssoen, the LoI documented Janssoen with the statement "Dutch name found at www.panix.com/~mittle/names/german.shtml off of a collection of Dutch trade names. (Copies provided)". This is not an adequate summarization of the submitted documentation. The page cited is a list of links to name articles. The statement in the LoI does not indicate which of the numerous articles linked on this page was the article used to document this name.
Aryanhwy merch Catmael provided an evaluation of this name:
Current evidence shows that Dutch bynames were literal in period. Since a woman cannot be anyone's son, the byname Janssoen is not registerable with a feminine given name. As the submitter allowed any changes and indicated that sound was most important to her, we have changed this to the fully English form Christiane Johnson in order to register this name. [Christiane Johnson, 01/2003 LoAR, A-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.09 | Submitted as Terryl MacAodhagáin. Terryl is the submitter's legal given name. Since the submitter is female, Terryl is used here as a feminine given name. Bynames in Gaelic were used literally in period. Since a woman cannot be anyone's son, the particle Mac is incorrect in the submitted name. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this byname would be inghean Aodhagáin. The Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this byname would be ingen Áeducáin. As the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form is closer to the submitted form, we have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name. [Terryl inghean Aodhagáin, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.09 | Submitted as Cáelfind Ó Ruairc, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish Gaelic. Bynames were used literally in Gaelic in period. Ó is a later rendering of ua, which means 'grandson'. When inherited clan names came into use, Ó took on the meaning of 'male descendant of'. As a woman could neither be a grandson nor a male descendant, a byname such as Ó Ruairc is not registerable with a feminine given name. Appropriate forms of this byname appropriate to the early spelling Cáelfind are ingen Ruaircc and ingen hui Ruaircc (using Ruarcc, the earlier form of Ruarc). The first of these bynames indicates a daughter of Ruarcc. The second indicates a female descendant (literally the daughter of a grandson) of Ruarcc. As the latter form is closer to the submitted form of the byname, we have modified the name to use this form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Cáelfind ingen hui Ruaircc, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | Submitted as Ceara MacCárthaigh, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. This name combined a feminine given name with a masculine form of a byname. As bynames were literal in Gaelic, this combination has not been registerable for some time. We have changed the byname to a feminine form in order to register this name. [Ceara inghean Chárthaigh, 07/2002, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.01 | The documentation submitted with this name supported Rowan as an Anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Rúadhán and Bridget as Anglicized form of the Irish feminine given name Brigit/Brighid. Such mixed-gender names have long been unregisterable. Since Rowan is SCA compatible as a feminine given name, this name is registerable with a weirdness for use of an SCA compatible element. [Rowan Bridget Blackmoor, 01/02, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.12 | Reaney & Wilson (p. 455 s.n. True) date Henry le Trewe to 1327. The question came up whether the particle le is appropriate in a woman's byname. Dr. D. A. Postles, "Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy Rolls" (http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/lincscon.html), lists many women's bynames that include the particle la and some that include the particle le. These subsidy rolls date to 1332. [Ed.: The LoAr includes several examples] These examples are certainly enough to support le Trewe as a feminine byname appropriate for 1332. [Eryngerd le Trewe, 12/01, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.12 | Submitted as Lilias MacLeòid, the submitter claimed MacLeòid under the Grandfather Clause, citing the registration of her husband Daimhín Mac Leóid (reg. 06/95). However, no documentation was included in the submission proving that Daimhín Mac Leóid is her husband. Without such support, she is not eligible for the Grandfather Clause.
In any case, MacLeòid is not registerable to her under the Grandfather Clause: The issue is the scope of the Grandfather Clause. The basic principle is that an item once registered remains so even if for some reason it ceases to be registerable. As is explained in the 22 February 1993 Cover Letter, we have extended the principle in two ways. First, we allow the original submitter to register further instances of the problematic element provided that they introduce no new violations of the rules; and secondly, we extend the allowance to the original submitter's nearest kin. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR December 1995, p. 20)There are two issues with the name Lilias MacLeòid that are not present in the name Daimhín Mac Leóid. The first is a mix of Gaelic and English. This is one weirdness, but such a mix is registerable. The second issue is the combination of a feminine given name used with a masculine form of a byname. As bynames were literal in Gaelic, this combination has not been registerable for some time. This registerability violation is not present in the name Daimhín Mac Leóid. Therefore, even if she presented proof of eligibility for the Grandfather Clause, this name would not be registerable. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the byname to the Anglicized form MacLeod. [Lilias MacLeod, 10/01, A-Trimaris] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Submitted as Banujah al-Marrakeshi, al-Marrakeshi is the masculine form of this byname and cannot be used with a feminine given name. We have changed the byname to the feminine form. [Banujah al-Marrakeshiyyah, 10/01, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Black (p. 492 s.n. MacFarlan) gives Mac Pharlain as a Gaelic form and dates Malcolm Mcpharlane to 1385. Precedent requires that when a Gaelic byname is used, it agree in gender with the given name since bynames were used literally in Gaelic. Since Mac Pharlain is a masculine form, it cannot be registered with a feminine given name, since a woman cannot be anyone's son. As the client allows changes and has stated a preference for a "Ph" spelling, MacPharlane, as suggested on the LoI, is a Scots spelling that would meet her wishes. [Maura MacPharlane, 10/01, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Using a Mac-style byname with a feminine given name is a pattern seen in late period Scots, mainly in records that refer to a woman by her father's byname. Black (p. 471 s.n. MacClumpha) dates Joneta Makgillumquha to 1406, dating this construction to at least the early 15th C. [Maura MacPharlane, 10/01, A-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.12 | Submitted as Siobán Ó Fidhne, the name had a feminine given name and a masculine form of the patronymic. We have changed the name to be entirely feminine. [Siobán inghean uí Fhidhne, 12/00, A-An Tir] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.08 | Submitted as Onóra nic Catháin, nic only appears in Anglicised spellings. As we do not allow mixed-spelling name elements we have changed the patronymic (and thus the entire name) to be consistently Gaelic. [Onóra inghean mhic Catháin, 08/00, A-Meridies] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.04 | Submitted as Cassandra Annabell O Seanacain, the name has two weirdnesses: the mixture of Gaelic and English spelling conventions and the use of two given names, particularly in an Irish context, where it is not allowed. It also used a masculine form of the patronymic with a feminine name. By Anglicizing the surname, we make this an English name for someone of Irish decent, making it registerable. [Cassandra Annabelle O Shannahan, 04/00, A-Atenveldt] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.02 | Submitted as Elspeth O'Seaghdha, while the mixture of Scots and Gaelic spelling is a weirdness and not returnable, if the byname is in Gaelic it must follow the rules of Gaelic grammar. Ó Seaghdha (or O'Seaghdha) cannot follow a feminine name. We have therefore Anglicized the byname. If she wants an entirely Irish name she could have Sibéal inghean uí Sheaghdha, where Sibéal is a Gaelic form of Elizabeth/Isabel. [Elspeth O'Shea, 02/00, A-Middle] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.01 | Briana is SCA compatible. Submitted as Briana MacConmara, the surname is Gaelic, and, as such the gender of the patronymic is incorrect. If we corrected the gender of the patronymic, then the name would have two weirdnesses: mixed English and Gaelic orthographies and the use of an SCA compatible name. [Briana MacNamara, 01/00, A-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 1999.11 | Submitted as Eliza O Coileain, while mixed Gaelic/English spellings are allowed, we still require that the grammar of the Gaelic patronymic be correct. We have therefore substituted an appropriate Anglicized form of the byname. [Eliza O'Culane, 11/99, R-Atenveldt] |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.11 | [Katarzyna Wilk] The byname is in the masculine form, not the feminine... Polish requires names to agree in gender with the bearer, and the submitter does not take changes, we must return this name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR November 1998, p. 15) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.08 | [Astridr in kyrra] Submitted as Astridr inn kyrri, the given name is feminine and the byname is in the masculine form. Since the byname must agree with the given name in gender we have corrected it. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1998) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.07 | [Fionnghuala inghean Ghriogair] Submitted as Fionnghuala MacGriogair, the byname has been modified to match the gender of the given name and put into the genitive. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1998) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.06 | [Brigid ingen Loingsigh] Submitted as Brigid Ó Loingsigh, the patronymic needs to be changed to match the gender of the given name. We have done so. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR June 1998, p. 9) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.05 | [Kamle Kropotove] Submitted as Kamle Kropotova, Kamle is almost certainly a variant spelling as Russian feminine names all end in -a. Thus, the name that is documented seems to be a spelling variation. To use it in this spelling, the entire name should follow the same convention of changing a terminal -a into -e. Since the "e" in this case is pronounced like the French é and thus preserves the sound the submitter wants, we have done so. (Kamle Kropotove, 5/98 p. 14) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.05 | [Skameika Draikov] Submitted as Skameika Draikova, this combined a masculine given name with a feminine patronymic byname. Since Russian does not combine names in this fashion, we have changed the patronymic to the masculine form. (Skameika Draikov, 5/98 p. 15) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.02 | [Fiona ní Dhraighneán] Submitted as Fiona O Draighneán, for Gaelic names the entire name has to be internally consistent as to gender. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1998, p. 2) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.09 | The byname must be feminized to agree in gender with the given name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR September 1997, p. 3) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.08 | Rígán is a masculine name, so a Rígán cannot be anyone's daughter. A consistent early name would be Rígán mac Grigóir (or possibly Grigóra, if we extrapolate from the genitive given by Woulfe for the modern Greagóir), but since this transparently changes the lady's sex, we would rather return this name as to make sure that the submitter really wants a name of a gender that is not hers. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, p. 23) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.08 | Submitted as Eórann Ó Broin, this combines a feminine name in Gaelic with a masculine patronymic, something that the Gaelic language in period did not do. We have put it into the correct form. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, p. 8) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.08 | Submitted as Máirghréad Ó Taithligh, this combines a feminine name in Gaelic with a masculine patronymic, something that Gaelic in period did not do. We have corrected the gender of the patronymic. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, p. 9) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.08 |
Submitted as Morgaine nic Gavin, the only non-literary citation for Morgaine is Morgaine Hubble, who in 1583 had a license to marry Tomison (i.e., Thomasine) Halestone (Bardsley s.n. Hailstone). In other words, Morgaine as a real name is attested only as a variant of the masculine Morgan. A Morgaine therefore cannot be nic Gavin `daughter of a Mac Gavin'. We have therefore dropped the "nic" in order to register the name. (Morgaine Gavin, 8/97 p. 9) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.05 | [Cristall Madeleine Moore] While cross-gender names have long been allowed in the SCA, mixed-gender names have not. This has a masculine given with a feminine given with a surname.
Neither does it match any of the three kinds of double given name used in England before the end of our period noted by Bardsley: those that had already been used by English royalty, like Charles James; those that commemorated the prior death of the child's father with second element Posthumus/Posthuma (according to the sex of the bearer); and those with second name Maria (for either sex) in the Continental fashion. [The name was returned.] (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR May 1995, p. 16) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.11 | The name is a mix of an Old Irish given, an Anglicized spelling of an Irish "o" patronym, an incorrect Gaelic feminine patronymic prefix combined with an Anglicized name, and an English locative referencing an early Irish kingdom. Such a combination is simply impossible. We recommend the commentary of especially Harpy and Palimpsest for a more detailed discussion of the specific problems with the various elements and their combination here. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR November 1994, p. 12) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.08 | [Eibhilín Nic Thighearnáin] Submitted as Eighilin Mac Thighearnàin, no examples have yet been found of a woman using a masculine patronymic when the name is written in Irish. We have therefore substituted the feminine patronymic form. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR August 1994, p. 3) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1994.06 | [Returning Kyrin Charissa de Cameron.] [The given name was inadequately documented.] Additionally, it would appear to be a masculine name, which with Charissa would make the name one of mixed gender; while the SCA registers cross-gender names, mixed gender names have been disallowed for some time. [6/94, p.12] |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure) | 1991.03.21 | [Re: '<name> daughter of...'] "Admittedly, <name> is a masculine name, and has not been documented as a feminine given name in period. However, Mistress Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane (LoAR of 25 January 1987, p.7) noted that 'cross-gender names are so well-established a tradition in the Society that it would be pedantic to object' when she registered a masculine byname form with a feminine given. As a consequence of this long-standing acceptance of cross-gender names, I felt I could not but register this name." (CL 3/21/91 p.2). |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1987.01.25 | Cross-gender names are so well-established a tradition in the Society that it would be pedantic to object that the byname is masculine in form. However, ... Gaelic would normally demand the feminine form of the byname. (LoAR 25 Jan 87, p. 7) |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.07.21 | It is allowed, although discouraged, for a lady to use a man's given name, and vice versa. The applicant must note on the information sheet the fact that they know that the name is of the opposite gender and that they do desire it that way. Otherwise it will be corrected to the proper gender. WVS [21] [LoAR 21 Jul 80], p. 7 |