| Laurel: | Date: (year.month.date) | Precedent: |
| François la Flamme | 2003.08 | Submitted as Maria Alegreza di Nicoletti, the byname was not correctly formed. Siren explains:
We have registered this name in the second form suggested by Siren as it retains the pronunciation of the byname element Nicoletti. [Maria Alegreza Nicoletti, 08/2003 LoAR, A-East] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.04 | Submitted as Thomas atte Woode of Epping, the submitter requested authenticity for 1300-1500 English and allowed any changes. When two bynames that refer to locations appear in a name in English, the first byname is usually an inherited surname and the second is usually a literal locative byname. When atte Woode became an inherited surname, it seems to have been consistently written as a single word. Bardsley (p. 67 s.n. Attwood) dates William Attewood to 1439, which is late enough that the element Attewood in this name is likely an inherited surname. We have changed this name to use the inherited surname form Attewood to follow the documented pattern of [given name] [inherited surname] of [placename] and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Thomas Attewood of Epping, 04/2003 LoAR, A-Ansteorra] |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1999.05 | [Felicia Heather of Newcastle] Heather is dated in Bardsley's Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames as a surname to 1633. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1999, p. 5) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1999.01 | [Hákon Beowulf] Note: Reaney and Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames cite William Beowoulf from 1297. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR January 1999, p. 10) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.09 | [Tadhg Garrick de Hardwyk] This submission was accidentally left out the LoAR, it should have been returned for the following reasons:
The other is that the surname Garrick is apparently not period. According to Reaney & Wilson, Garrick is generally of Huguenot origin, the first of that name having fled to England in 1685. Moreover, the original French name is somewhat different: the head of the family was the Sieur de la Garrigue, and the English branch takes its name from the estate. [Errata Letter, 9/98] |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1996.11 | No documentation was presented that Wyvern was a period surname. Since the earliest dated citation for it as a word is 1610, and not spelt in this fashion, we do not feel that this is a reasonable name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR November 1996, p. 13) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.11 | No evidence has been presented for multiple surnames in Japanese. [The name was returned.] (Ko Fujibayashi Tashikage of Togakure, 11/95 p. 15) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.10 | [Domingo Diego Diaz de la Vega y Martin] This name, with two given names and three surnames, is significantly more complex than any available documented Spanish name. [The name was returned.] (Talan Gwynek, LoAR October 1995, p. 19) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.10 | The LoI documented Michel as a surname; however, period use of double surnames of this type has not yet been demonstrated and is inherently unlikely. Since double given names were merely very rare, it is probably better to regard Michel as a variant of Michael. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR October 1995, p. 1) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.06 | [Dragonmoor] The submitter documented the byname from the surnames Dragon and Moor. This has never been sufficient documentation for a combined surname like this. The example usually used is that we can document the surnames Smith and Jones from period sources, too, but we would not then register the combined surname "Smithjones". (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR June 1995, p. 27) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.02 | As the submitter's own documentation notes, the adoption of "artificial" surnames, such as Landyshev (from landys, lily of the valley), by the Russian Orthodox clergy "began at the very end of the seventeenth century" (Unbegaun, p. 217). As a consequence, the surname is documentably post-period. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR February 1995, p. 12) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.11 | This would be better as Alexander Kyppyn of Kirkcaldy -- the use of double surnames in English is vanishingly rare. [The name was registered anyway.] (Alexander Kyppyn Kirkcaldy, 11/94 p. 4) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.11 | Though the LoI noted some discomfort with the use of a double surname, the byname here actually follows a period Italian practice: di {father's given name}{father's surname}. Guendalina Francesca di Antonio Cristiano, 11/94 p. 4) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.10 | Submitted as Barry [N], the spelling of the given with a "y" appears to be modern, except in a few cases where it seems to be exclusively a surname. As the submitter allowed changed which kept the sound of the name, we have taken Palimpsest's suggestion and substituted Barre, a pet form of Barrfind and Finnbarr. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR October 1994, p. 9) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.09 | Double surnames are not rare in Gaelic; they do not appear to exist at all! (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR September 1994, p. 19) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.09 | Submitted as Patrick Donovan Warwick, the use of double surnames (or double given names) in English was very late period, and rare enough to be remarkable. (The 1086 citation from Reaney & Wilson is actually for Turchil de Waruuic; the documentation has been overstated.) Since the submitter allowed changes, we have added the article [preposition] to make a more likely form. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR September 1994, p. 4) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda | 1994.08 | [Wynne] The documentation for Wynne is weak; this spelling does not seem to have appeared until after the name became a surname. (Palimpsest did suggest an alternate, the Welsh Wyn.) (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR August 1994, p. 16) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1994.06 | [Returning Cynthia de Mantegna.] The preposition "de" is out of place here; were Mantegna either a placename or a given name, it would work, but Mantegna was only documented as a surname. [6/94, p.13] |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1994.01 | [Kenneth Ulrich] Submitted as Kenneth Ulrich Ochiern, no one was able to corroborate Ochiern, nor is the submitter's source (Arthur, An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names) considered a reliable one. As a consequence we have dropped the problematic element to register the name. [1/94, p.9] |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.10 | The custom of a Spanish woman changing her name upon marriage only took root within the last hundred years, which is out of period. (Maria Adelina Garcia de Macjenkyne, October, 1993, pg. 19) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1992.08 | [the Seaborne] While [Seaborne] was unlikely as an epithet, deleting the article made it an acceptable surname. Reaney ( DBS2, p.310) derives several similar surnames from the OE Saebeorn, and Bardsley cites the surname Seiborne to 1581. (Fiona Morwenna Seaborne, August, 1992, pg. 4) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1992.08 | The name was submitted as Mikhail Vojakin Kazimir, with documentation from Unbegaun. Unfortunately, that documentation does not support this form. Vojakin is not Russian for "warrior", but a surname derived from the word for "warrior" (voyaka, or as Unbegaun spells it, vojaka). If it's to be used as a surname, it should not be in the middle of the name. Likewise, Kazimir is a given name, not a surname, and should not be used in the surname's place. We have made the minimal necessary changes to correct the form of the name [to Mikhail Vojaka Kazimirov]; Mikhail Kazimirovich Vojakin would also be acceptable. (Mikhail Vojaka Kazimirov, August, 1992, pg. 12) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1992.07 | Much of the commentary opposed the byname Windhorse as overly fantastical ("horse that runs on the wind"). Were that the only interpretation of the epithet, I'd agree it would be unacceptable. Ekwall's Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, however, also cites wind as a variant of OE winn, "meadow, pasture" (as in such names as Windley and Windridge), and "meadow horse" is a much less objectionable byname. (Angharad Gwendraeth o Fynydd Blaena, July, 1992, pg. 1) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1992.06 | The byname was submitted as di Rucellai, implying either a patronymic or a toponymic. Rucellai being documented only as a surname, the preposition was inappropriate, and was deleted. (Gabriella Marguerite Simonetti Rucellai, June, 1992, pg. 1) |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1988.03.19 | The documentation is unclear as to the period in which the family name of origin ... came into use as a given name.... We would like to give the submittor the "benefit of the doubt"..., but this is difficult when there is solid evidence for its use as a surname and none for its use as a given name in period (cf. NR10). (LoAR 19 Mar 88, p. 18) |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1987.08 | The ... extremely lengthy appeal covered several points and was copiously documented with extracts from several genealogical and heraldic works.... It is a pity that so much of her documentation supported the original return....
Documentation was submitted to support the existence of [Name] as a surname and appeal was made to the familiar Camden citation as evidence that surnames were used in period. However, precedent reasserted by Master Baldwin ... (December, 1984) has reaffirmed that names used solely as surnames in period may not be used as given names: Camden notes an anomaly peculiar to late sixteenth century England and we must draw our general rules from the common usage, not the anomaly. She needs to have a given name.
The submittor states that the Campbells were actually lords of Lochow or of some other seat and not of Argyll. Unfortunately, her own documentation indicates that Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochow, created Lord Campbell in 1445 and chief of the clan, assumed the designation of Argyll. The use of the name Campbell of Argyll in modern mundane usage is tantamount to a claim of kinship with the chief and it will be so taken by the bulk of members of the Society, causing offense to some. (LoAR Aug 87, pp. 15-16) |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1987.08 | The ban on the use of surnames as given names goes back well into the last decade to the tenure of Mistress Karina and has been reaffirmed by every Laurel since.... The citation from Camden with regard to the practise "in late years" of surnames as given names has been considered on a number of occasions by the College of Arms. The standing precedent was set by master Baldwin in December, 1984, in the case of Dunham Wycliffe when it was decided that the Camden citation referred to a late and anomalous practise and that the use of surnames as given names should be limited to surnames actually shown to have been used as given names in period. (LoAR 26 Nov 89, p. 31) (See also: LoAR Aug 87, pp. 15-16) |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1986.12.28 | As [Name] is the Anglicised version of the name, used only as a last name so far as our sources show, the use of the Irish patronymic particle seem inappropriate and so has been dropped. (LoAR 28 Dec 86, p. 9) |
| Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane | 1986.12.28 | Family names derived from animals were extremely common in period Germany. (LoAR 28 Dec 86, p. 11) |
| Baldwin of Erebor | 1984.12.16 | In all fairness, the question "Is the use of surnames as given names a period practice?" is capable of being answered correctly in both the affirmative and the negative. ... I consider our present policy to be a workable compromise between these two extremes. It treats the general practice as being out of period (thus removing the need to distinguish by country or period of persona, which is tricky when you're dealing with hybrids), but it permits exceptions when a specific name is shown to have been used in period, or when it is the applicant's mundane given name. [BoE, 16 Dec 84, p.17] |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1982.02.26 | To use a surname to form a patronymic can indicate bastardy. WVS [63] [LoAR 26 Feb 82], p. 7. [I am not aware of any reputable source that bears out this claim.] |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1981.08.13 | You cannot have two clan names. Pick one and drop the other. WVS [50] [LoAR 13 Aug 81], p. 10 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1981.07.29 | Having a surname and a patronymic is improper in English usage. In particular, the patronymic uses only the father's given name. WVS [48] [LoAR 29 Jul 81], p. 4 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1981.02.24 | Given names and place names may be used as surnames, with or without prepositions or patronymics. WVS [35] [CL 24 Feb 81], p. 5 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.09.16 | [N. Hightower.] You must still get permission from Randall of Hightower to use his household name. WVS [25] [LoAR 16 Sep 80], p. 7 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.09.16 | From now on, surnames of royal households may not be used, but those of noble households without claim to thrones may be used. Thus although N. is the Ducal House of M., it is not a Royal House, having no claim to the throne. In using a name of a noble house one must be careful to avoid using any of the given names used by known members of that house. One still cannot be a Hapsburg or a Tudor, but Dever[eu]x is acceptable so long as you aren't also a Robert. These houses are generally large, and contain a number of non-noble members. Royal Houses contain only noble members in that everyone has some claim to the throne. WVS [25] [LoAR 16 Sep 80], p. 3 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.08.27 | We must have a surname for our records. WVS [23] [LoAR 27 Aug 80], p. 9 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.07.21 | The surname conflicts with the N. household, who protest. Try Something that sounds different. WVS [21] [LoAR 21 Jul 80], p. 10 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.06.05 | The word N. was coined in 1853, and is thus out of period. Please choose a different surname. WVS [19] [LoAR 5 Jun 80], p. 4 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.02.13 | [N. Hightower.] The name conflicts with Randall of Hightower, the first Principal Herald in the Society and formerly Clarion King of Arms. You would have to get Lord Randall's permission to have such a similar name. Hightower was the name of his household. WVS [11] [LoAR 13 Feb 80], p. 7 |
| Wilhelm von Schlüssel | 1980.02.13 | N. is the Ducal House of M. You will need to pick a different surname which is not a royal or high noble house. WVS [11] [LoAR 13 Feb 80], p. 6 |
| Karina of the Far West | 1979.06.30 | Take a surname, or provide documentation that your persona is from a culture not using them. (KFW, 30 Jun 79 [25], p. 77) |
| Karina of the Far West | 1976.06.16 | We will use the mundane surname until an SCA one is chosen. (KFW, 16 Jun 76 [6], p. 5) |
| Ioseph of Locksley | 1973.06.30 | [Ilya.] While We find no problem with the badge, We must ask for more differentiation of the name. Is he I[l]lya Kur[y]akin of a certain television show? Is he Ilya Bodanovitch? Who is he? Add more to the name, please. (IoL, 30 Jun 73 [68], p. 1) |
| Harold Breakstone | 1972.01.31 | Why can't people put together halfway consistent medieval identities? N. touched me off, but I could cite you several dozen examples almost as bad. Name should agree with surname and ekenames, and arms should be in keeping. I wish more people followed the Scandinavian practice of taking a surname that corresponds to the coat of arms -- most people had patronymics, and when a man was ennobled he took arms and surname together. Thus Hammarskjold has crossed hammers with four roundels, Oxenstjerna a bull's head with a star, and Papegoy -- I'm not kidding " a parrot. (KFW, 31 Jan 72 [23], p. 2) |