[BG-heralds] Name change submission

[Tim McDaniel]

On Tue, 18 Mar 2014, Liam Gordon <cenliamgordon2005 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I want to chance my submitted and approved name from William to
> Liam. I have the documentation, but want to find someone to help me
> out with the paperwork.

Speaking of new information:  I remembered to try a search on a system
called OSCAR.

     "Liam is found in FamilySearch Historical Records as a surname in
     late period England

     "Joana Liam 1592 Elsworth,Cambridge,England M13053-1 ...

     "By precedent, late 16th Century English surnames may be used as
     given names."

     -- https://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=145&id=37015

And "Gordon" is grandfathered to you, but it can also be found in that
spelling in England from 1279.  Ian Gordon was registered in May 2004,
but that same item has a couple of reputable commenters saying that
they would call "Ian" different visually and aurally from "Liam".

So: You can register "Liam Gordon".  When it comes to registration, if
it's documentable or permitted by the rules, you can register it,
regardless of how you reach the result.  For example, if it had been a
woman's name, you could have had it -- we don't do panty checks -- or
if it had been found in 8th Century BC Greco-Klingon historical
records, you could have had it.

But its meaning (so far as we know) is as a 16th century English name.
So far as I know, no Irishman would have been called "Liam" as a first
name for centuries.  A last name as a first name, while not unknown,
was rather uncommon ("Gordon Liam" would have been as [un]likely as
"Liam Gordon").

So it's simply your preference: how much do you care about
being Liam Gordon versus being authentic for some particular place and
time in period?  You can choose either one.

Danel de Linccolne
-- 
Tim McDaniel, tmcd at panix.com