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Sunday 18 September 2011

Top 50 Male Names by the century pre-conquest to 1600

Top Male Names by the century pre-conquest to 1600 
This research came from a mix of the Suffolk Domesday Book, the Paston letters, the Boldon Book and the Oxford Dictionary of Surnames, [on the principle that a name needed to be fairly common to become a surname; and examples of the original first name and the source are cited within it].  I do not claim 100% accuracy but it should give a fair idea.
I shall give the top 50 names of each period. I’ll give the most common variants. This will result in more than 50 names where equal place goes to more than enough to fill the table.
I’m sorry the table goes over the side bar, I can’t make it any narrower


Pre conquest
1067-
1199
1200-
1299
1300-#1399
1400-
1499
1500-
1535
1536-
1600

Aelric
William
William
John
John
John
John

Ailwin
Robert
John
William
William
Thomas
William

Le[f]win
Richard
Robert
Robert
Thomas
William
Thomas

Godwin
Ralph
Richard
Richard
Robert
Robert
Richard

Torkel
Walter
Thomas
Thomas
Richard
Richard
Robert

Ulric
Hugh
Walter
Henry
Henry
Henry
Henry

Swain
Roger
Roger
Adam
Roger
Nicholas
James

Alfsige
John
Henry
Walter
Walter
James
Edmund
Edward

A[n]sketil
Geoffrey
Adam
Roger
James
Nicolas

Robert
Henry
Hugh
Hugh
Nicholas
George
Ralph

Athelstan
Edric
Leofric
Gilbert
Ralph
Nicholas
Alexander
Edward
George

Thomas
Simon
Simon
Adam
Peter
Christopher

Peter
Nicholas
Ralph
Edmund
Hugh
Walter
Anthony
Andrew

Hugh
Adam
Peter
Peter
Roger
Alexander
Andrew
Christopher

Leofing
Simon
Alan
Geoffrey
Lawrence
Edmund

Osgood
Osbert
Stephen
Stephen
Simon
Christopher
Francis

T[h]ori
Reginald
Alexander
Gilbert
Peter
Hugh
Lawrence

Toka
Randall
Reginald
Alan
Ralph
Geoffrey
Ralph

Wulfgeat
Ailwin
Godwin
Geoffrey
Alexander
Philip
David

Ulf/Wlf
Turbert
Siward
Godric
Aelnod
Philip
Stephen
George
Adam
Matthew
Simon
Walter
Leonard

Alan
Gilbert
Edmund
Reginald

Elric
Elyas
Edward
Abraham
Andrew
Cuthbert
Gawaine
Stephen

Nicholas
Osbert
James
Peter
Akeman
Anthony
Miles

Her[e]bert
Jordan
Andrew
Andrew
Gregory
David

Leomer
Saewulf
Thurston
Ulfi
Wulfwin
Wulfstan
Elgar

A[n]sketil
Le[f]win
Odo etc
Randall
Laurence

Andrew
Michael
Gawaine
Hugh

Matthew
Bartholomew
Alan
Gilbert
Matthew
Michael
Giles
Gilbert
Godfrey
Oliver
Philip
Samuel

Alexander
Josce[lin]
Hamo etc
David
Ambrose
Augustin
Gregory
Humphrey
Laurence
Martin
Michael
Silvester
Stephen

James/Jacob
Elyas

Thurstan
Martin
Martin
Matthew
Denis

Geoffrey
Lawrence
Anthony
Patrick

Aelfward
Edward
Semer
Sewel
Ulfketel
Wulsi

Jordan
Herve[y]
Michael
Her[e]bert

Maurice
Edward
Benedict
Randall
Denis
Gerard
Humphrey
Adam
Brian
Daniel
Humphrey
Pascoe

Godric
Godfrey

Philip
Herve[y]

Elyas
David
Warin
Randall

Humphrey
Seman
Ivo
Arnold
Avery
Cuthbert
Gilbert
Lambert
Ludovic
Oliver
Reginald
Attwell
Benedict
Cornelius
Elyas
Francis
Fulk
Gabriel
Giles
Godfrey
Griffin
Hamo
Jasper
Lancelot
Leonard
Luke
Mark
Marmaduke
Maximillian
Norman
Odbert
Oliver
Philip
Randall
Reynold
Reginald
Vivian

Alfred
Edmund
Harald
Merewin
Rolf/Rollo
Sigor
Sigric
Stannard
Wulfgar
Wulftheof
Wicing
Jukel/Jodoc
Lefwald
Leofstan

Stephen
Benedict
Alan
Charles
Constantin
Gabriel
Gerard
Joyce
Martin
Matthew
Maurice
Michael
Patrick
Randall
Swithin

Tedric
Edmund
Gerard

Arnold
Gerard
Hamo
Gregory
Jordan

Baldwin

Edward
Arnold
Eustace

Waldo etc
Matthew
Baldwin
Augustin
Gerard
Nigel
Osbert
Sayer

Ivo
Nigel
Arthur
Aslac
Baldwin
Bartholomew
Bertram
Benedict
Brictric
Charles
Conan
Diggory
Drogo
Gawain
Giles
Godfrey
Jordan
Luke
Pascoe
Percival
Philips
Sampson
Samuel
Urian
Warin

Thorkel
Maurice
Fulk
Baldwin
Algar
Gamel

A[n]sketel
Edward
Maurice
Josce[lin]
Gregory
Guy


The big change comes with the Norman Conquest, not surprisingly.  Robert  and Hugh are two of the few names to be found crossing that change, and Robert is the only name to be found in the top 10 across time.  In the earlier period it may have been in the form Hrodbeort. 
There’s less change in the male names after the Reformation than might be expected, the introduction of a few more Biblical names but nothing very obvious amongst the perennial favourites. 
                                                                                                                                                                                              

22 comments:

  1. thank you..
    terima kasih

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  2. You're welcome!
    the big book of names for authors and re-enactors from pre medieval to 1536 carries on struggling on....

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  3. Thank you for the wonderful information! I found it extremely useful while writing a fictional piece for my English class

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  4. Very helpful for my fictional write in English. Much thanks!

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  5. Thanks! I was preparing an article on pre-Pastuer brewing techniques and I needed a few names from that period to use in examples, and this was exactly what I needed!

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  6. Thank you! This made it so much easier for me to choose a name a story character I am creating! Thanks

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  7. Excellent, I am glad, have fun! and don't hesitate to ask if you need to check a research point, if I don't know I probably have a book that does!

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  8. You are welcome, Loki, love the handle, capricious is the middle name of course!

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  9. Hi, i am about to start writing my first book so i am busy researching, is there any way i could contact you privately to perhaps pick your brain a little please?x

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    1. Are you on Facebook? my account Sarah Waldock has an 18th century lady as the icon. You can send me a friend request to talk on messenger, but I won't accept any friend request without that you give me your facebook name, either here, or commenting on my timeline that you spoke to me here and have sent a friend request. I've just bumped my name book post so there's that to comment on.
      You will understand that I am not going to hand out my email to someone without a name.

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  10. of course i completely understand, i will send you a friend request on facebook now, my name is katheryn morris, thank you very much for your time x

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  11. I did a past life regression hypnosis where I was a young man in my late 20s/early 30s and my name was Lionel. It was 1410. How realistic is this name for the tine period?

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    1. perfectly reasonable, and almost certainly not a peasant- it's a Norman French root. It might be in the emerging middle class, but probably too early for that, unless named after a noble patron.

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