CHRISTIAN NAMES OF WOMEN.[60]

The names of women, so far as they are of German origin, enter into the Teutonic system precisely as do the names of men, and there is, as far as I know, no instance of a stem used exclusively for the names of women. But in regard to the second part of the compound, which is that which governs the name, there are certain words which are only used for women. Some of these are such as from their meaning would not be suitable for anything else, such as trud, from which we have Gertrude and Ermentrude, both of which seem to be of Frankish origin, and to have come to us through the Normans. The Anglo-Saxon form appears to be dryth or thryth, as in Mildthryth, from which comes our Mildred, the only name, as far as I know, in that form. Another feminine ending among the Anglo-Saxons was gith, which, as elsewhere noted, I have supposed to mean woman or goddess. The only name we have with this ending is Edith, unless, as seems not impossible, an Anglo-Saxon Godgith (Godith, Lib. Vit.) has got mixed up with Judith. Another specially female ending was fled, in H.G. flat, the meaning of which seems to be beauty. As a prefix this word enters into the names of men, and we may have some names from it, as Flatt, Flattery, Flatman, &c. As an ending there may have been some word corresponding with O.N. fliÔd, a beautiful woman, which has caused its special application. Then there are certain words, such as hild, war, and burg, in which the meaning (condere, servare) may perhaps imply in such case modesty or chastity; which, as endings, are used almost exclusively for names of women. But as a general rule the same range of words forms indifferently names of men and women, the latter being distinguished only by having the ending in a.

My object in this chapter is only to deal with a few names, in regard to which I desire to correct some wrong impressions, or to throw some new light upon the subject. And in the first place I have to refer to the connection between Isabel and Elizabeth, and to the manner in which I suppose the former name to have originated.

ISABEL another form of ELIZABETH, and how it came to be so.

Miss Yonge in her History of Christian Names, is no doubt right in taking Isabel to be another form of Elizabeth, with which it is historically shown to have interchanged. But the etymological process by which this has been brought about has been always somewhat of a puzzle, and it is upon this point that I have to suggest an explanation. Now the key to the puzzle is this: that the early Frankish converts in the time of Charlemagne, introduced the name, not only in its Latin form of Elizabeth, but also, and indeed more frequently, in its Hebrew form of Elischeba—it was Elischeba that was made into Isabel and not Elizabeth. Protected by its strong ending, Elizabeth has retained its form unchanged. Elischeba has been entirely lost to sight under a cloud of transformations. Slightly modified to suit Frankish pronunciation, it was introduced in the first instance as Elisaba, Elisabia, Alisabia, and Elisavia, all names of women in the Polyptique de l'AbbÉ Irminon and the Polyptique de Saint Remi de Reims. In the fourteenth century (if, indeed, it did not take place earlier) we find this old Frankish form El(isaba) abbreviated into Isabeau, its ending being made to conform to French ideas of spelling. Isabeau was the name of the wife of Charles VI. of France, and the name was still recognised as being the same as Elizabeth. We have got to forge the connecting link between Isabeau and Isabel, but the process is not a violent one. It would not be difficult to suppose that the French idea of the fitness of things in the case of a woman's name would lead them to change this masculine-seeming ending, beau, into what they would conceive to be its appropriate feminine, and so make Isabeau into Isabelle. We need not suppose that this took place all at once, or that because one man changed Isabeau into Isabel, everybody else forthwith proceeded to follow his example. It is more probable that the two names existed side-by-side, together, for some time before the struggle for existence terminated in the survival of (what seemed) the fitter. Throughout all these changes the identity of the name with Elizabeth had always been recognised; but when Isabel had finally succeeded in establishing its claim as the representative, the deposed Isabeau, its origin having been forgotten, might have become a man's name, and so capable of transmitting surnames, which would account for Isabeau as a family name in France at the present day.

But these are not the only changes which have come over this unfortunate name, for we find Elisavia, another of the old Frankish forms before noted, forthwith abbreviated into Lisvia, and further corrupted into Lisavir and Lisabir, all names of women in the two old Frankish chronicles before referred to. And if we can again suppose the name Lisavir (or rather Elisavir), its origin having been forgotten, to have become a man's name (towards which its masculine-looking ending, vir, might have assisted) it might well give the origin of the name Elzevir, of the famous printers at Amsterdam. Not that the name would necessarily be of Frankish origin, for the Hebrew form seems also to have been introduced into Germany, where we find the woman's name, Elisba, in the ninth century; and, it might be also into Holland, while the phonetic principles which regulate such changes are more or less of general application. Again, it seems not improbable that the Spanish woman's name, Elvira, for which no derivation at all satisfactory has been suggested, might be properly Elzvira, and so again another form derived from Elischeba. The question might naturally be asked how it is, seeing the various contractions which Elischeba has undergone, that Elizabeth has not been treated in the same way. In point of fact it seems probable that it has, for we find a solitary name Isabeth in the Liber VitÆ about the thirteenth century. This was before Elizabeth had come into use in England, and the name might probably be an importation. But abbreviate Elizabeth as you will you cannot disguise it, and this is what I meant in referring to it as "protected by its strong ending." And now, having dealt with the diversified forms that have grown up around Elisabeth, I shall have, in a succeeding note, to endeavour to show that Eliza, which might more certainly than any other form be supposed to be derived from it, is, in fact, of entirely different origin, and a name that was in use long before Elizabeth was introduced; though at the same time we cannot doubt that as soon as ever that potent name came in, Eliza would be at once appropriated by it.

ANNABELLA, ARABELLA, CLARIBEL, CRISTABEL, ROSABEL.

But in the meantime I may refer to some other names which seem cast in the same form as Isabel; as for instance, Annabella, Arabella, Claribel, Christabel, and Rosabel. With regard to these names, I am disposed to come to the conclusion, that though moulded into the same shape, they are not by any means all of a similar origin. Annabella would be a very natural corruption of Amabilla, a name in the Liber VitÆ of Durham. The same record contains, as names of women, Amabilis, Amabel, and Mabilla, of course from Latin amabilis—whence our Mabel, on this theory the same name as Annabella. Arabella, again, might be a corruption of the old Frankish Heribolda—bold, as an ending often changing into bel, as in our surnames Grimble and Wimble, from Grimbald and Winibald, and Tremble (most infelicitously), from Trumbald (A.S. trum, firm, strong). So, also, Claribel might be from an old Frankish Clarebalda, of which, however, we have only on record the masculine form, Clarebald. This appears to be from Latin clarus, illustrious, and is not the only case in which the old Franks at that period mixed up Latin and German in the same name. It is possible that Christabel might be from a similar origin; for the early Frankish converts at that period freely adopted the name of Christ, and mixed it up with German compounds, such as Cristhildis, a woman's name, from hild, war. But on the whole I am rather disposed to suggest a different origin for Christabel. Finding among the Franks at that period such names as Firmatus, Stabilis, Constabulis,[61] and the woman's name, Constabilla, in the sense, no doubt, of "established in the faith," it might not be unreasonable to suggest such a compound as Christabila, "established in Christ," as the origin of Christabel.[62] As to the last named, Rosabel, the ordinarily-received expression of "fair rose" would be a natural and graceful name for women if the French had to form names at a later period. But there is a woman's name, Rosibia, in the Pol. Irminon, which suggests a possible process like that in the case of Isabel—viz., a corruption into Rosibeau, and then a change into Rosibel. However, as in this case the connecting links are wanting, I can only put this forward as a conjecture.

MAUD properly a man's name. Its interchange with MATILDA an ancient mistake.

As Isabel interchanged in former times with Elizabeth, so did Maud with Matilda, among other instances being that of the daughter of Henry I., who was called by both names. Yet, etymologically, Maud can no more be derived from Matilda than can Giles from Ægidius, by which it used formerly to be always Latinized. And the interchange is rendered all the more curious by the fact that Maud, when traced up to its origin, seems to be properly a man's name. There has evidently been some ancient mistake or misappropriation, the origin of which I hope to be able to account for. The names Mald, Maald, Mauld (all names of women), found in the Liber VitÆ before the introduction of surnames, and the Christian name Maulde, found in the fifteenth century, show the form from which our Maud is immediately derived. Then we have the older forms, Mahald, Mahalt, and Maholt, all also apparently names of women. And in one case, about the twelfth or thirteenth century, the name stands as "Mahald vel Matilda." Now no one who has given attention to the subject can doubt that Mahald, Mahalt, and the French form, Mahault, are the same as an Old Frankish Magoald, eighth century, from Gothic magan, posse, valere, and wald power. This is distinctly a man's name; indeed, wald, as an ending, is almost exclusively confined to men's names, as the ending hild, as in Matilda, is to those of women. There is but one way that I can see out of the difficulty, and it is this. There is in the Liber VitÆ another name, Mahild, which is no doubt the same as an Old Frankish Mahilda, which Foerstemann (Altdeutsches Namenbuch) takes to be a contraction of Matilda. It would seem, then, that some mistake or confusion has in old times arisen between these two names, and that Mahild, which really represents Matilda, has been set aside in favour of Mahald, an entirely different name. The fact, however, of our having Maude as a surname would rather seem to show that this misappropriation was not universal, for surnames are not—unless it be in some very exceptional cases—taken from the names of women.

ALICE, ALICIA, ELIZA, ADELIZA, ALISON.

ALICE properly a man's name, and ELIZA its proper Feminine.

I have seen it stated, though I cannot at present recall the authority, that in one of our ancient families Alice is a name given to the sons and not to the daughters. This would at any rate be etymologically correct, for Alice is properly a man's name, and not a woman's. It is, there seems little doubt, derived from the Anglo-Saxon Adelgis, of which the female form was Adelgisa. It is clear that Alice (Aliss) represents Adelgis, and not Adelgisa, and that the proper female form would be Alisa, or, for euphony, Aliza. I venture to suggest that our Eliza, generally and very naturally assumed to be an abbreviation of Elizabeth, is in fact this missing name. Now, for the proofs of Aliza as the representative of Adelgisa, we must refer to the Liber VitÆ of Durham, in which we can trace the changes that have taken place in Adelgisa since the first noble lady of that name laid her gift upon the altar. First we find it contracted into Adeliza, and then, from about the twelfth century into Aaliza and Aliza, the latter name being henceforward rather a common one. The former of these two contracted forms, Adeliza, though not a name in common use, is one still given to the daughters of certain of our noble families; the latter form, Aliza, I take to be the origin of our Eliza. (The initial vowel is of no account, the ancient name beginning indifferently with a or e, and Alice in some families appearing as Ellice). But concurrently with the above forms in the Liber VitÆ, we have also Adaliz, Adliz, and Alis, at an early date, some of them at least being certainly names of women, so that the misappropriation is at any rate an ancient one.

Towards the close of the record, and about the end of the fourteenth century, another form, Alicia, begins to make its appearance in the Liber VitÆ, and appears to have become at once a very favourite name. Then, as now, fashion seems to have ruled, and when a new name came in, there seems to have been a run upon it. But by this time Elizabeth had come into use, and as soon as ever that took place, the two names, Eliza and Elizabeth, would begin to get mixed up together as they are now, so that a new female form would, so to speak, be required for Alice. Alicia (or more properly Alisia), is an attempt to supply the euphony which is lacking in Alisa, by supplementing it with a vowel, just as, for the same reason, Amala has been made into Amelia.

About the beginning of the fifteenth century another Christian name for women, Alison, begins to make its appearance in the Liber VitÆ. This name, however, I take to be from an entirely different origin. There is an old Frankish woman's name, Alesinda, Elesind, Alesint, of the eighth century, from which, dropping the final d, it would naturally come, and which is derived by Grimm from Gothic alja, alius (in the probable sense of stranger or foreigner), and sind in the sense of companion or attendant.

JANET: Not from JANE or any female form of JOHN.

It may seem rather a paradox to suggest that Janet has nothing to do with Jane, and yet I think that a pretty good case can be made out. We find Geneta as a woman's name in the Liber VitÆ in the thirteenth century, before Jane or Joan or Johanna were in use. And in the two following centuries we have Gennet, Janeta, Janette, and Janet, of common occurrence as Christian names. (One of these cases is a very curious one. It is that of one Willelmus Richerdson and his wife Christina, who having a family of eighteen children, seem to have been so completely at their wits' end for names to give them, that two of the sons are called Johannes, two Willelmus, after their father, two of the daughters Christine, after their mother, and no fewer than three called Janet. Such reduplication of Christian names does not, however, seem to have been unusual at that time.) Now it seems clear that the above name, Geneta, is the same as our Janet, and equally clear that it is not derived from any female form of John. Foerstemann (Altdeutsches Namenbuch) has an old Frankish woman's name, Genida, tenth century, from a Codex of Lorraine. And I find also the woman's name, Genitia, in the Pol. Rem., one of the old Frankish chronicles before referred to. These old Frankish names might well leave a woman's name behind in France, which in after times might get mixed up with Jean, and from which our name may also have been derived. I may observe that we have also Gennet and Jennett as surnames, and the Germans have also Genett. But these, though from the same stem, must be taken to be from another form of it—viz., from Genad, eighth century, a man's name. From the same stem Foerstemann derives the woman's name, Genoveva, sixth century; whence, through the French, our Genevieve. As to the etymology of gen, the Germans are not agreed, Leo suggesting a borrowed Celtic word, with the meaning of love or affection, while Foerstemann seems to prefer Old High German gan, magic or fascination.

EMMA: Its Place in the Teutonic System.

The ordinary derivation of Emma from a Teutonic word signifying grandmother, or nurse, becomes impossible in face of the fact that among the Old Franks, from whom, through the Normans, we received it, the man's name Emmo was quite as common as the woman's, Emma. But in point of fact the stem, of which the older form seems to have been im, was one common to the whole Teutonic system, including the Low Germans settled in England. And the Immingas, descendants or followers of Imma, are ranged by Kemble among the early settlers. But among the Anglo-Saxons, with whom the ending of men's names (other than compounds) was generally in a, Imma would obviously not be suitable for names of women; and in point of fact it always appears in England, at that time, as a man's name. And probably, for this reason, the Frankish princess Emma, on becoming the wife of Cnut of England, considered it necessary to assume a Saxon name in addition to her own, and so become known as Ælfgifu Imma. But a few centuries later, when the simple old Saxon names in a had very much died out, Emma coming in as something quite new, and with the stamp of Norman prestige, became at once, as appears from the Liber VitÆ, a name in favour. As to the etymology, which is considered by the Germans to be obscure, I have elsewhere ventured to suggest Old Northern ymia, stridere; whence the name of the giant Ymir, in Northern mythology. The sense is that of a harsh and loud voice, which suggests huge stature. So, from Gaelic fuaim, noise, strepitus, comes fuaimhair, a giant, of which we may possibly have a lingering tradition in the nursery—"Fee, Fa, Fum" representing the giant's dreaded war-cry. And from what follows, "I smell the blood of an Englishman," one might almost think of the nurse as a Saxon, and the ogre as one of the earlier Celtic race, who might in those days be dangerous neighbours.

I give below the stem, with its branches, so far as it forms names of women. It also enters into some compounds, one of which, Americo, bequeathed by the Franks or Lombards to Italy, has the honour of giving the name to America.

Stem im or em.

Names of men.—O.G. Immo, Himmo, Emmo (among others, three bishops in the seventh and ninth centuries). A.S. Imma, found in Imman beorh, "Imma's barrow, or grave." Imma, Hemma, Hemmi, about the tenth century in the Liber VitÆ. Eama, Anglo-Saxon moneyer.

Names of women.—O.G. Imma, Emma (among others Emma, daughter of Charlemagne).

Present surnames.—Eng. Him (?), Yem (?). Germ. Imm, Ihm. French, Eme, Emy.

With the ending in en, p. 27.

Names of men.—O.G. Imino, Emino, eighth century. A.S. Immine, a Mercian general, seventh century. Emino, Liber VitÆ.

Names of women.—O.G. Immina, Emmina, eighth century. Early Eng. Ymana, Ymaine, Liber VitÆ.

Present surnames.—Eng. Emeney. Fr. Emmon.

Ending in lin, p. 31.

Names of women.—O.G. Emelina, eleventh century. Emalina, twelfth century, Liber VitÆ.

Present Christian name.—Eng. Emmeline.

ETHEL, ADELA, ADELINE, ADELAIDE.

Ethel and Adela are different forms of the same word, adal, athal, ethel, signifying noble. But while Adela is a correctly formed feminine, Ethel can hardly be said to be so. Both as a man's name and as a woman's it had usually a vowel-ending, and though this was not invariably the case, yet a name appearing without it would be rather assumed to be a man's name. Adeline is a diminutive like Eveline and Caroline; it represents the old name Adalina, eighth century, and Adalina, about the twelfth century, in the Liber VitÆ, and comes probably through the French, the ending in e preserving the feminine by lengthening the syllable. Adelaide is from adal, as above, and H.G. haid, corresponding with Saxon hood, as in manhood. Hence the name seems to contain the abstract sense of nobility. The name must have come to us through the Normans; indeed, a woman's name could hardly be so formed among the Anglo-Saxons, for, curiously enough, this ending was a feminine one among the High Germans, and a masculine one among the Saxons. Hence perhaps it is that we have as surnames such names as Manhood and Mahood, the latter perhaps signifying boyhood, A.S. mÆg, boy.

EDITH.

Edith is the only representative in women's names of A.S. ead, happiness, prosperity, from which we have so many men's names, as Edward, Edwin, Edmund, Edgar. It represents an A.S. Editha, a contraction of Eadgitha, and the question, which is not without a little difficulty, is, What is the origin of githa? Is it a phonetic variation of gifa (A.S. gifu, gift), so common in Anglo-Saxon names of women, as in God-gifa (Godiva), Sungefa (Suneva), &c., or is it a separate word? I am disposed to come to the conclusion, upon the whole, that it is a separate word, and though the traces of it as such are not strong, yet there are some traces. There is a woman's name Githa in the Liber VitÆ, and this seems to be the same as an Old Norse woman's name Gyda in the LandnamabÔk. There was also a Gytha, daughter of Swend, king of Denmark. Then there are two Old German names of women with the endings respectively gid and (H.G.) kid. And the origin of all I should take to be found in O.N. gydia, goddess, the exalted conception of womanhood.

EVELYN, EVELINA, EVELINE.

There does not seem to be sufficient ground for Miss Yonge's suggestion that Eveline, a name which we have from the Normans, was borrowed by them from the Celts. On the contrary, they seem to have derived it from their Frankish ancestors, among whom we find it in the eleventh century in the form Avelina. This appears to be the original form, for we find it as Avelina in the Liber VitÆ about the twelfth century. And again in the thirteenth century we find that one of the Earls of Albemarle married a lady named Aveline. It is probably a diminutive from the stem av, which Foerstemann refers to Goth. avo, in the probable sense of ancestor. The names Evelyn and Eveline should be kept sharply distinct, the former being a man's name, and the latter a woman's, being the French form of Evelina, as is Louise of Louisa.

From the same stem, av, is formed also the female name Avice, now become very rare. It appears as Auiza and Avicia in the Liber VitÆ, and its original form I take to be found in Avagisa, eighth century, in the Altdeutsches Namenbuch, from gis, hostage. From a similar origin, but from the masculine form Avagis, may probably be Avis, included by Mr. Lower among Latinized surnames.

Another name from the same stem which seems to have been formerly rather common, but which now seems quite obsolete, is Avina.

HAVEYS, HAWOISE.

This is another woman's name which has become almost extinct, and, seeing how uncomfortable a name it is to pronounce, I do not wonder that it should be so. It appears in the Liber VitÆ as Hawysa, and in the Pol. Irminon as Hauis, but its proper form is to be traced up to the older name Hathewiza in the Liber VitÆ, from hath, war, and wisa, leader. A surname corresponding, though of course from the masculine form of the name, may probably be the well-known one of Haweis.

Some other Obsolete or Obsolescent Names.

The name Helwis occurs in the Liber VitÆ about the thirteenth century, and a more perfect form, Helewiza, about two centuries earlier. It seems rather probable, however, that its proper form would be Hildwisa, from hild, war, and wisa, leader. It occurs as Helois in the Pol. Irm., and is the same as the French Heloise (=Helwise). This name I take to be quite obsolete with us.

A name given by Miss Yonge as still in use is Amice or Amicia. It may probably be the same as the woman's name Amisa, Ameza, or Emeza of the eighth century in the Altd. Nam., which Foerstemann takes to be from A.S. emeta, quies. In that case it would probably be the same name in another form as Emmota, formerly not uncommon as a woman's name.

Another name which I rather suppose to be obsolete is Agace, Agaze, or Igusa, found in the Liber VitÆ up to the fourteenth century, and probably the same as an O.G. Eggiza, eleventh century, from a stem ag, supposed to mean point or edge.