[ANSTHRLD] 16th Century Spanish names
Coblaith Muimnech
Coblaith at sbcglobal.net
Thu Apr 22 14:26:56 PDT 2010
Masamune wrote:
> I am doing some research for several late period Spanish names, and
> I have a few questions.. . .
> . . .Does the naming practice of <given name> <father's surname>
> <mother's surname> or vice versa exist that far back?
"Choosing a Society Name: Hints for Newcomers" <http://www.s-
gabriel.org/names/dietmar/hints.html> says, "In modern Spain, members
of the nobility often have several given names and very complex
surnames that combine their parents' surnames. This custom is modern;
medieval Spanish names were much shorter and simpler."
> The name I am considering registering is Juan Miguel de Vadillo.
> All of the elements are listed at St. Gabriel as 16th Century
> Spanish. If this isn't registerable, can I do Juan Miguel
> <patronymic> de Vadillo?
Emily Minier commented:
> . . .if you are willing to use Miguel as part of your surname,
> instead of as a second given name, there is considerably more
> leeway (see letters 1554 and 1632).
and Masamune answered:
> Can Miguel be a surname? I wasn't aware of that. If I can use it
> like that, so much the better. I would also find "Son of
> Michael" (I have no idea if that's the same as Miguel) acceptable
> if there is another form, but I have never seen one.
I'm guessing the patronymic would be "Miguelez" or something similar,
based on the models at <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kvs/heraldry/spanish16/
patro-freq.html> and the fact that there are lots of modern
individuals surnamed "Miguelez".
With that and the other information in "16th Century Spanish Names"
<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kvs/heraldry/spanish16/> (which contains
"Juan" and "Miguel" as given names and "de Vadillo" as a locative and
explicitly supports the "<given name> <patronymic> de <locative>"
pattern for this context), I expect you could make a successful
argument for "Juan Miguelez de Vadillo".
Coblaith Muimnech
<mailto:Coblaith at sbcglobal.net>
<http://coblaith.net>
More information about the Heralds
mailing list