Top Female 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. Where a shared place low down the table carries the numbers over 50 so be it.
In the earliest period stretching beyond 20 names is difficult, this does not mean that these were the only names used, merely that I have not got evidence of others. Generally speaking those Saxon/Viking names from 1067-1199 would probably also have been in use.
Bear in mind that in early times there were a number of variants on names and that the use name might not be much like the name in the parish register. Also the changing of pronunciation with the Normans and in different parts of the country caused name changes. See ‘The Mutability of Names with regard to pronunciation’
Pre conquest | 1067- 1199 | 1200- 1299 | 1300- 1399 | 1400- 1499 | 1500- 1535 | 1536- 1600 | |
Wulfhild | Alice | Alice | Alice | Agnes | Jane Margaret | Elizabeth | |
Sigrith | Mathilda | Mathilda | Agnes | Alice | Jane | ||
Alfleta Alviva Bricteva Ediva Edith Emeline Godusa Mawa | Agnes | Agnes | Mathilda | Joan/Jane | Alice | Ann etc | |
Edith Emma | Amice | Isabel | Isabel | Elizabeth Marjorie | Agnes Alice | ||
Julian | Margaret | Margaret | |||||
Amice Lettice Mary | Emma | Marjorie Joan | Catherine | Agnes | Ellen | ||
Margaret | Elizabeth | Ann etc | Margaret Mary | ||||
Christina | Amice | Ann etc Marjorie | Catherine | ||||
Richenda Hilda Genevieve | Marjorie | Julian Emma | Ellen | Catherine | |||
Mary | Sibilla | Isabel | Marjorie | ||||
Aldreda Angrebod Earngith Godiva Golde Gudrun Gunnilda Gunnora Ingrid Leofe Livitha Loveday Milda Mildred Mildburgh Saelova Seberga Torilda Werthiva Whyburgh Ysopa | Isabel | Christiana | Beatrix Ellen Mathilde | Mary | Frances | ||
Cecilia Goditha Iva/Ivette Isabel Joy Odelina Stanilde | Cecily | Elena | Dorothy Frances Margaret | Cecily | |||
Edith | Cecily | Isabel | |||||
Joan | Dyonisia | Amice Christiana Cecily Dyonisia Eve etc Mary Rose etc Sarra | Dorothy | ||||
Elena | Edith | Cassandra Cecily Crystobell Emma Euphemia Godlefe Griselda Julian etc Nicola Rose Scientia Thomasine | Mathilda Susan[nah] | ||||
Avice Petronille Sibilla | Catherine | ||||||
Beatrice | Thomazin Grace Barbara | ||||||
Sarra | |||||||
Basilia Bettrys Bothild Clarissa Engelise Helewis Iseult Julian Love Magisend Muriel Pavia Rimilde Sarra Sabine Sephare Sybil Wakerilda | Ismenia | Mary Sibilla | |||||
Bettrys | Christina Emma Hannah Joyce[lin] Martha Petronelle Rosamund Sarah | ||||||
Lettice | Eve Lettice Lucy | ||||||
Eve | |||||||
Gunnora Catherine Felicia | |||||||
Petronella Rose | Emma Frances Isolde Jenefer Joyce[lin] Lettice Nicola Olivia Tiffany Thomasin Truda Wenthelen Wilamin | ||||||
Lucy Millicent Rose | Avice Agatha Isolde Hawisia Elisabeth Tiffany | ||||||
Ingaret Beatrix Blanche Bridget Clementia Audrey Jenefer Kynburgh Patience Philippa Protasia | |||||||
Albreda Isolde Ida Idonea Hawisia Sabine Sarra | |||||||
Ann etc Clarissa Enota Felicia Goditha Idonea Ismenia Nota | |||||||
Acelina Adeline Basilia Godith Grace Helewis Iva/Ivette Olivia Orabella Pavia | |||||||
Ailith Acelina Aliva Barbara Christina Cwenhild Ediva Egidia/Gilot Eve Fleur Golde Ismay Leofe Lina Lucy Petronille Saegifu Stanburgh Tiecia Theda Turgiva Tovilda Werthiva Whyburgh | |||||||
Albreda Alviva Constance Helewis Lavinia Laura Leveda Masota Olivia Scholastica Thomasin | |||||||
Bricteva Eulalia Hilda Laura Love Lovechild Muriel Pleasance Preciosa Ragenhild Regina Sedehana Scholastica Susan | |||||||
I really like this! Just what I needed to answer a question. I am not understanding the significance of the blocks? Some with one name, some with a list? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous! where there is more than one name, it means those names appeared with equal regularity in the sample I took. For instance in 1300-1399 Joan and Marjorie were equal 6th, which means the next name, Amice, was 8th. I've often ended up with a tail of names that take the top 20 to more than 20 because I couldn't separate them. Be aware that the names here also show the most popular form, and encompass the pet names as well. Joan was the most common form of what later became almost exclusively Jane; one might have found Jean,Jehanne, Joanne, Johanna, Jennet etc
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting is many names from previous eras have made it to our day, while others have sort of disappeared. There are names that were so common in that era that I have never heard. Very interesting !!!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lilac! yes, it's interesting which ones have staying power, and that we are familiar with names like Matilda and Hilda which are close on 2000 years old even though they aren't exactly up in the popularity stakes... and then of course there were fads, even then, like the Diamanda/Argentina type ones, even as today there's a fad for calling girls after places, like Erin, Shannon, Brooklyn, Kimberley, Chelsea and probably sooner or later Battersea or possibly with the celebrity habit of the place of conception, Thebackofdadscortina or Cortina for short.
ReplyDeleteOf course with the Medieval habit of giving pet names, sometimes one of many pet names or forms has been revived or continued. We don't use Amice, but may still find Amy and Amanda; equally Helewis lurks now in Louise. The move from Bettrys to Beatrice as the most common form may be noted on the table. It should also be noted that most people whose names have been recorded in early documents were the upper class; and I strongly suspect that many of the peasantry were still using Saxon names almost through to Tudor times.
Thanks for gathering and making this list available.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Bailey!
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me more about Masota?
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ReplyDeleteMasota is probably a diminutive as -ot was a diminutive and often with a girl [though not always] was -ota. I left it in because I was unable to trace back a clear etymological path. It MAY be a variant of Mazelina which can be [1] a female version of the diminutive Mazelin for the Norman given name Mazo or [2] a diminutive for Mathilda [Oxford Dic. of Surnames: surname, Maslin]. Considering the number of ways Machtilde [the original form] was mangled up to and including Maud, it wouldn't surprise me. But I decided to play safe... if it was a form of Mathilda, it might have swapped the placings of Mathilda and Agnes in second and third, but there weren't enough Masotas to make a significant statistical difference
ReplyDeleteBasilia and Pavia...gorgeous! I wish I was having another daughter! But alas, I'm having a son. So is there a post for boy names?
ReplyDeleteYup, here's the top 50 names from each century from the conquest to 1600: http://sarahs-history-place.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/top-50-male-names-by-century-pre.html
ReplyDeleteand literary names from the Arthurian cycle etc: http://sarahs-history-place.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/medieval%20names
the hypochoristics of names [table of male names at end]: http://sarahs-history-place.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/medieval-nicknames-pet-names-and-use.html
And some of the more unusual names used by officers in the Peninsular War: http://sarahs-history-place.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/regency-names-male-used-by-officers-at.html
So, when you hear of someone named Lancelin Artleberte Geryon Ebenezer you can blame me...
This is useful for a children's story I'm writing. It gives me somewhere to select names for my characters. It's funny how so many of these names have survived - names we often think of as quite modern. Thank you. :-)
ReplyDeletethat's splendid! it really is a tool intended for authors, so I'm glad it's useful. Let me know how it goes! and yes, there are some very surprising ones in there. Some of them passed out of use and were revived latterly of course.
ReplyDeleteWow, who knew there were Tiffanys and Jennifers even way back then! Thank u for producing such a comprehensive list. Even by researchingjust a few names, I'm already learning so much history ��
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed, you sound like me, someone who looks up something particular and gets distracted by other things... a historian's equivalent of a kitten and "Ooo butterflies!".... Theophania is an awful name to inflict on a little girl, I'm glad it became Tiffany very quickly! Jenefer was the oldest form of Jennifer once it moved from Guinevere and was found in Cornwall much earlier than it appeared in the rest of the country. What surprised me was that the odd Kyneburgh and Godlefa survived as late as they did.
ReplyDeleteNames of 1565 help
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this chart, Sarah! I'm working on a mystery in a medieval setting and this will come in very handy. I am stunned that the name Tiffany was around then. Do you know if the name Mercia was in use after the conquest? I like it for one of my characters, but I'm working in the 1300s and figured it was probably out of use by then.
ReplyDeleteKimberly, I'm so glad it's useful! Tiffany surprised me until I discovered it's nothing more than a mangling of Theofania, or Theophania, a saint-name. Scientia/Sanchia/Sensey was the one that surprised me! No, I don't have all the variants on this post I'm afraid, I think I did post a list of pet names and variants though. If not I'll rectify that.
ReplyDeleteI am wary of Mercia, I think your instincts are right. To me, it's more a place name ... and Mercy won't be fashionable for another 350 years as a virtue name. Odd Saxon and Viking names endured, Thorfinn and Torkil and similar could be found on the east coast up to the 18th century and Torkil endured longer in Scotland as Torquil. I've come across the odd Angrebod and Godiva and Saelova up to the 16th century and Loveday and Lovechild survived even longer, especially Loveday. After about 1380 they tended to be more female than male names, in the same way that in more recent times Jocelyn has become purely female, and Lesley for a girl is often spelled in the boy fashion Leslie, which has disappeared as a male name. Kimberley has been stolen by females as has Shirley, which is Anne Bronte's fault, though men have stolen Morgan.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to find my granddaugjter's name, Isolde, on your lists from 1200 to 1499. I love the name and wonder if Isolde has historical significance?
Thank you
Isolde is the accepted English form of Yseult or Essylt, from Arthurian legend, the tragedy of Drustan [Tristan] and Yseult [Isolde]. It's a Welsh/Breton name. Iselda was a form also used in the Middle Ages. As with many names from the Arthurian cycle, it had a revived popularity after the publication of Morte d'Arthur in 1585, though it had dropped in popularity to the 'also rans' outside the top 50. The probable popularity of it in the early years of the 15th century would be an interest in Arthurian stories with rising literacy of the artisan class, which also led to Lollardy, following the writing of the [possibly satirically intended] Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight in the late 14th century.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased to have found your blog! My family in 1600 had some very odd names. I understand they were written in Latin and all that it entails but names like Kellamus, Fortuna, Appelina, Jocosa do seem a little fanciful! Do you think they might have a modern equivalent? Thank you.
ReplyDeletethere's a few more here http://sarahs-history-place.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/what-i-am-up-to-and-civil-war-plot.html
ReplyDeleteincidentally of the link I just posted, some of the boys with outlandish surnames for names were colonists!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm missing the name Eleanor. Clearly there were a few from 1100-1300 with that name.
Yes, it's odd that I didn't turn it up in the common folk [relatively speaking] that I went through. You'd think a queenly name would be more common.
ReplyDeleteI love the name Sybil, I'm using it for a story! thanks for the info!!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, feel free to drop a link when it's published! the same to anyone who uses information from my blog
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ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteMy first time on your blog and i love it.
Please visit my blog baby blog thanks
I am trying to write a story with three girls born in the late 1600s whose parents are explorers. Is there any names that are more unusual for them?
ReplyDeletecertainly but to some extent it depends on whether their families are Parliamentarian in tradition or Royalist. Generally those of Parliamentarian bent would be more likely to use a name like Hezekiah, Hebshebeth, Bythia, Prudence, Patience, Mercy, Faith, Dorcas; and those of Royalist bent more likely to use Henrietta, Fri[d]swith, Maria[h], Ursula. However there are politically neutral unusual names like Sibella, Rose, Blanch, Winifred, Margery, Priscilla, Dorothea, Christabella.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually hunting Scandinavian names from pre 1600+/-. Some say Viking names but I've researched enough to know that it was all Scandinavia and only those that went to sea and conquered other countries were Vikings the rest were ordinary Scandinavian people. Love finding things like this with the names and it is interesting how modern names can be traced back in time. Well most of the time excepting the ones named Blue or Grass or something odd. Like you mentioned Cortina or say Ford. I don't think anyone named their kid Chevrolet, but I wouldn't put it past them. lol. Thanks Sarah for all the cool info.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. If you are still short of Viking names, email me on sjwaldock@yahoo.co.uk - I'd direct you to my book of names from pre-Roman Europe to 1600 but I am still collating the last part of it to get it ready for publication
DeleteDo you have a record of where you found Saelova? I'm trying to find documentation for that name and I'm coming up totally blank >_<
ReplyDeletecrumbs! ok, the 3 likely sources are [unlikely as it may sound] the Oxford dictionary of surnames, which cites patronymics and matronymics and also the first names and dates of the names thereof; The Boldon Book, a slim volume about the estates of that name; and the Suffolk Domesday book.
DeleteGot it! p397 of the paperback under Sealeaf [surname] giving the original as Saelufu, Salove, Seluue. The form Saelova probably came from a random other mention in the book of a female with another surname, it was the usual way it changed in medieval records even as -gifu became -[g]iva. I hope that helps!
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ReplyDeleteIs there a reason Alice stayed so popular?
ReplyDeleteit seems to have caught the imagination when it was brought by the Normans. It derives from Adalheid, so is one of the names starting noble- which tended to be popular with the Saxon population used to naming in two-part names chosen for meaning.
DeleteAlso, what is the orgin of the name Lettice?
ReplyDeleteLettice is from Laeticia, a virtue name directly from the latin meaning 'happy'.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteWelcome! Lettice lasted better than the briefly used Lalage, meaning laughter. I've occasionally threatened to write about twins, Lalage who is a pessimist, and Niobe who is cheerful and outgoing.
DeleteThank you Sarah! Just starting research for my new book and some of these names will be really good for the characters 🙂
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Good luck with the new book and feel free to advertise it here - which goes for anyone who has used my research - when it's written and published.
DeleteHello Sarah I have been tracing my family tree for many years and I have been really taken by a first name that I have not been able to find anywhere, the name appears in the parish register for Biggleswade in Bedfordshire the name is Found or Founde and later Founday, have you heard of this name before?
ReplyDeletenever! how fascinating. are parents given? I am speculating that the child is a foundling perhaps? of course the other possibility if a boy is that it is the maiden name of the mother, something more common amongst the gentry, but if there was a wealthier family member on the mother's side, not impossible to curry favour. As a surname, Founder is the common form for one who casts metal. Now if a foundling, if early, -day was often added to Love to make Loveday, found as a male name sometimes as well as female, though not as common, as well as Lovechild [Leofcild] a bastard, so if it's early, it might well be a child who was a foundling, adopted into a childless family. But that would be probably before 1400. Later, I would suspect surname influence. Sorry I can't be more help but I hope I can give you something to look into.
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