Swedish Feminine Names from ca. 1300

by Lindorm Eriksson (Christer Romson, christer.romson@spray.se)

Volume two of Svenskt Diplomatarium (or Diplomatarium Suecanum as it is titled in Latin), published 1834-37 by Riksarkivet (The National Swedish Archive), contains the text of all Swedish economical and legal documents from 1286-1310, in chronological order. Roughly 230 women are mentioned in these documents. Of these, roughly 150 women had one of the ten most common names:

Margareta (ca. 30 persons)
Ingeborg, Katarina and Cristina (ca. 20 persons each)
Cecilia, Ingegerd, Helena, Ingrid, Ragnfrid and Ragnhild (ca. 10 persons each)

The ca. 70 other women had 40 different names (1 to 4 persons per name). The "?" indicates names I'm unsure if they are Swedish female given names and "!" a name that actually appear to refer to a female once despite usually being a male name.

Agnes, Anna, Argun, Aron(?), Asa, Basilica(?), Benedicta, Birgitta, Botildis, Doter(?), Elisabet, Elisif, Estridis, Gertrudis, Gydha, Gyridis, Hafridis, Hedvigis, Helga, Helivigis, Hialmborg, Holmfridis, Ingfrid, Ingirun, Johanna, Juliana, Kättilö, Kunigundis, Lucia, Märda, Olaua, Olof(!), Radhburgis, Ragnhelf, Sestridis, Sigridis, Sophia, Susanna, Tonna, Walburgis, Öa.

Caveats

I'm an amateur with an interest in historical Swedish naming practice. I have no formal linguistic training and I don't read any Latin and only very little 13th century Swedish. It's quite likely that some of the figures above are wrong. I might have overlooked a female name believing it to be male, or have counted a male name as female. (But I'm quite convinced that all of the top ten names are female, and that I wouldn't overlook any of the most common female names).

I worked from the index of volume one and two (published 1910) of given names, not from the original texts. If there are any errors in the index (or the published texts), they'll automaticly carry over to my analyses. The index is organized with all the references for the same person grouped together, but it must have been imposible for the compiler of the index to always identify references to the same person. If there aren't any clues in the documents, how can one tell if Margareta, wife of John is the same person as Margareta, Peter's daughter?

Pages 642-669 of volume two are additions to volume one, and thus documents written before 1286. Persons only mentioned on these pages have not beem counted, neither have references to non-Swedish women when it was obvious from the name that she was a foreigner.

The names on this list have many different spellings. For each name, I have chosen the non-Latin spelling closest to modern Swedish spelling and thus not neccesarily the most common or most typical for the time studied. In particular, I am not sure how much or how consistently the authors of my reference may have normalized names to modern Swedish spelling. I believe that the spellings I have chosen are appropriate to the period, but I have not researched that question.

One particular note: Katena has its own entry in the index, but has been counted together with Katarina as I believe it to be a variant spelling of the later name.

Upper class women (nobility, merchants, rich farmers and nuns) are probably overrepresented in these documents. The result might not correspond to the usage of the entire population of the time, but will be more useful for SCA purposes.

This page was written by Christer Romson as a project within the Academy of Saint Gabriel, for use in the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (where he's known as Lindorm Eriksson).

Instances counted

Margareta

Margareta (no byname, 3 of 4 persons counted), Margareta domicella (two persons with the same byname), Margareta famula, Margareta paupercula, Margareta villica, Margareta filia Andree de Loghö, Margareta mater Andree, Margareta filia Aquonis Pik, Margareta filia Asmundi Lang, Margareta soror Bendicti Pætersson, Margareta uxor Cristiarni, Margareta Erici filia relicta Andreæ Eskilsson, Margareta de Glänuas, Margareta Gösztaui filia (same person as Margareta soror monasterium Kalmarnensis and Margareta priorissa), Margareta relicta domini Haraldi Ulfsun, Margareta in Hikkaby, Margareta filia Ingiburgis relicte Magni Jonsson (same person as Margareta relicta domini Kanuti Ericsson), Margareta filia Johannis Værmskæ, Margareta filia Karuli Svænkæsun, Margareta Knudhsdoter, Margareta Knuzdotter uxor Brynulphi Abyornason, Margareta uxor Leonardi Öthonis, Margareta soror Nicolai Ubbason, Margareta de Norusum, Margareta soror naturalis Ragnhildis Erlendi filie, Margaretade Selnum, Margareta uxor Stephani de Hesleby, Margareta (queen of Sweden), Margareta uxor domini Tholuonis Pætersson

Margareta comitissa Flandrie is a foreigner, Margareta (1 of 4 with no byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1. Neither is counted.

Ingeborg

Ingeborg (no byname), Ingeborg domina, Ingeborg domicella (2 persons with the same byname), Ingeborg uxor Andree, Ingeborg uxor domini Anundi, Ingeborg uxor domini Birgeri Haqunsson (the same person as Ingeborg relicta), Ingeborg uxor Birgeri Petersson, Ingeborg filia Erici Östenson, Ingeborg filia Göstavi uxor Benedicti Petersson relicta Nicolai Michaelis, Ingeborg filia Ingiborgis relictæ domini Magni Jonsson uxor domini Johannis Angeli, Ingeborg soror Ingridis Andree, Ingeborg uxor Laurencii filii Johannis Biorneson, Ingeborg filia Magni Regis, Ingeborg filia naturalis Magni Jonsson, Ingeborg uxor domini Magni Jonsson (the same person as Ingeborg relicta), Ingeborg filia domini Rangualdi Ingiborgason uxor Haquini Ingiborgason, Ingeborg filia Tunædotir domina, Ingeborg filia domini Ulphonis Karlson uxor domini Aberni Syxtensson relicta domini Kanuti Matsson, Ingeborg de Wrixstad

Ingeborg filia Haqvini regis Norvegicae, Ingeborg regina Norvegicae are foreigners and thus not counted.

Katarina

Katarina (no byname), Katarina domina, Katarina domicella, Katarina matrona, Katarina parvula, Katarina relicta Anundi de Stenungum, Katarina uxor Benedicti Elephson, Katarina in Halqui villica, Katarina relicta Laurencii de Hiernistadhum, Katarina filia naturalis Magni Joansson, Katarina soror Magni curati in Quistbro, Katarina Mathei filia domina, Katarina filia Sigvidi, Katarina soror in Skeningia, Katarina filia domini Swantepulk abbatissa Vretensis, Katarina uxor Svenonis Sunason, Katarina uxor Thome Jonson, Katena uxor Petri de Borungi

Cristina

Cristina (no byname, 2 persons), Cristina famula, Cristina uxor Aquonis Pik, Cristina uxor Beronis Neff, Cristina filia Ellisifis, Cristina Fastonis relicta domini Holmgeri, Cristina de Gudhem filia Hafridis Sigtragi, Cristina relicta Haquini Birghæson, Cristina de Hiartlandum, Cristina relicta Ingimundi de Anunstad, Cristina filia Johannis Elefson uxor Birgeri Petersson, Cristina mater Joseph, Cristina uxor domini Laurencii Boberg in Wreta, Cristina soror S Clare Roskildis, Cristina Thordonis filia

Cecilia

Cecilia domicella, Cecilia Elavi conjux domini Magni Karlsun, Cecilia relicta domini Göstaui Ingiburgis, Cecilia relicta Johannis Kalf, Cecilia soror Johannis plebani in Lomarydht, Cecilia Knutsdotter, Cecilia uxor Ketilli Clohamær, Cecilia uxor Nicolai braxatoris, Cecilia Ragnvaldsdotær de Hoa, Cecilia uxor Sigmundi Keldorsson, Cecilia Thome rectoris ecclesie Knifsta, Cecilia filia domini Werneri Brunko

Cecilia (no byname) belongs to the additons to vol 1 and thus not counted.

Ingegerd

Ingegerd filia Estridis, Ingegerd soror Gjurdonis, Ingegerd filia Helghæ, Ingegerd uxor domini Holgeri Ulfsson (same person as Ingegerd relicta), Ingegerd soror Johannes Elavi monialis in Skeningia (same person as Ingegerd priorissa), Ingegerd uxor Magni de Kalfstad, Ingegerd soror Magni Niclæsson monialis in Risæbergh, Ingegerd relicta Mathei de Aggathorp, Ingegerd uxor Nicolai Dyakn, Ingegerd filia domini Zwantæepolk

Ingegerd (no byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1 and thus not counted.

Helena

Helena (no byname, 1 of 2 persons counted), Helena domicella, Helena uxor Arnulphi Eskilsson, Helena uxor Bösonis, Helena relicta Gudberni, Helena uxor Johannis Danske, Helena Ormsdotyr uxor Johannis Ingason (the same person as Helena relicta) , Helena relicta Petri Magnusson, Helena soror Ragnvaldi Ingæson domicella, Helena Tunædoter domina

Helena (no byname, 1 of 2 persons) belongs to the additions to vol 1 and thus not counted.

Ingrid

Ingrid nutrix, Ingrid filia sororis Aberni Sixtensson domicella, Ingrid Andreæ, Ingrid filia Benonis de Barathorp, Ingrid Dighræ monialis Wreta, Ingrid soror Giurdonis Niclisson, Ingrid filia Ingridis de Owaxthorp, Ingrid de Læchiu, Ingrid de Oxwathorp, Ingrid filia domini Suantapulch

Ingrid (no byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1 and thus not counted.

Ragnfrid

Ragnfridis (no byname), Ragnfridis famula, Ragnfridis Gösztawi filia relicta domini Israelis legiferi Tiundie, Ragnfridis filia Hafridis Sigtragi, Ragnfridis amita Ingiborgiborgis (sic!) Gözstaui, Ragnfridis filia naturalis Johannis Karlsson, Ragnfridis filia Laurencii Bobergh monialis in Monte beate Virginis, Ragnfridis uxor Nicolai Ingimundi, Ragnfridis filia sororis Nicolai Ubbason

Ragnhild

Ragnhild (no byname), Ragnhild domina, Ragnhild uxor domini Benedicti Boson, Ragnhild uxor domini Egardi Bralstorp soror Elaui Andresson, Ragnhild Erlendi filia uxor Johannis Karlsson och Magni Gregorii, Ragnhild uxor Karuli Vlphsson, Ragnhild uxor Laurencii de Snytringe, Ragnhild de Lindasund, Ragnhild filia Spiældbudæ uxor Beronis Ingulfsun

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