Swedish Feminine Names from c.1300
Swedish Feminine Names from ca. 1300
Volume two of Svenskt Diplomatarium (or Diplomatarium
Suecanum as it is
titled in Latin), published 1834-37 by Riksarkivet (The National Swedish
Archive), contains the text of all Swedish economical and legal documents
from 1286-1310, in chronological order. Roughly 230 women are mentioned in
these documents. Of these, roughly 150 women had one of the ten most common
names:
- Margareta (ca. 30 persons)
- Ingeborg, Katarina and Cristina (ca. 20 persons each)
- Cecilia, Ingegerd, Helena, Ingrid, Ragnfrid and
Ragnhild (ca. 10 persons each)
The ca. 70 other women had 40 different names (1 to 4 persons per name).
The "?" indicates names I'm unsure if they are Swedish female given names
and "!" a name that actually appear to refer to a female once despite
usually being a male name.
Agnes, Anna, Argun, Aron(?), Asa, Basilica(?), Benedicta, Birgitta,
Botildis, Doter(?), Elisabet, Elisif, Estridis, Gertrudis, Gydha,
Gyridis, Hafridis, Hedvigis, Helga, Helivigis, Hialmborg, Holmfridis,
Ingfrid, Ingirun, Johanna, Juliana, Kättilö, Kunigundis, Lucia,
Märda, Olaua, Olof(!), Radhburgis, Ragnhelf, Sestridis, Sigridis,
Sophia, Susanna, Tonna, Walburgis, Öa.
Caveats
I'm an amateur with an interest in historical Swedish naming practice. I
have no formal linguistic training and I don't read any Latin and only very
little 13th century Swedish. It's quite likely that some of the figures
above are wrong. I might have overlooked a female name believing it to be
male, or have counted a male name as female. (But I'm quite convinced that
all of the top ten names are female, and that I wouldn't overlook any of
the most common female names).
I worked from the index of volume one and two (published 1910) of given
names, not from the original texts. If there are any errors in the index
(or the published texts), they'll automaticly carry over to my analyses.
The index is organized with all the references for the same person grouped
together, but it must have been imposible for the compiler of the index to
always identify references to the same person. If there aren't any clues
in the documents, how can one tell if Margareta, wife of John is the same
person as Margareta, Peter's daughter?
Pages 642-669 of volume two are additions to volume one, and thus documents
written before 1286. Persons only mentioned on these pages have not beem
counted, neither have references to non-Swedish women when it was obvious
from the name that she was a foreigner.
The names on this list have many different spellings. For each name, I
have chosen the non-Latin spelling closest to modern Swedish spelling and
thus not neccesarily the most common or most typical for the time studied.
In particular, I am not sure how much or how consistently the authors of my
reference may have normalized names to modern Swedish spelling. I believe
that the spellings I have chosen are appropriate to the period, but I have
not researched that question.
One particular note: Katena has its own entry in the index, but has been
counted together with Katarina as I believe it to be a variant spelling of
the later name.
Upper class women (nobility, merchants, rich farmers and nuns) are probably
overrepresented in these documents. The result might not correspond to the
usage of the entire population of the time, but will be more useful for SCA
purposes.
This page was written by Christer Romson as a project within the
Academy of Saint Gabriel, for use in the
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
(where he's known as Lindorm Eriksson).
Instances counted
- Margareta
- Margareta (no byname, 3 of 4 persons counted), Margareta domicella (two
persons with the same byname), Margareta famula, Margareta paupercula,
Margareta villica, Margareta filia Andree de Loghö, Margareta mater
Andree, Margareta filia Aquonis Pik, Margareta filia Asmundi Lang,
Margareta soror Bendicti Pætersson, Margareta uxor Cristiarni,
Margareta Erici filia relicta Andreæ Eskilsson, Margareta de
Glänuas, Margareta Gösztaui filia (same person as Margareta soror
monasterium Kalmarnensis and Margareta priorissa), Margareta relicta
domini Haraldi Ulfsun, Margareta in Hikkaby, Margareta filia Ingiburgis
relicte Magni Jonsson (same person as Margareta relicta domini Kanuti
Ericsson), Margareta filia Johannis Værmskæ, Margareta filia Karuli
Svænkæsun, Margareta Knudhsdoter, Margareta Knuzdotter uxor
Brynulphi Abyornason, Margareta uxor Leonardi Öthonis, Margareta soror
Nicolai Ubbason, Margareta de Norusum, Margareta soror naturalis
Ragnhildis Erlendi filie, Margaretade Selnum, Margareta uxor Stephani de
Hesleby, Margareta (queen of Sweden), Margareta uxor domini Tholuonis
Pætersson
Margareta comitissa Flandrie is a foreigner, Margareta (1 of 4 with no
byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1. Neither is counted.
- Ingeborg
- Ingeborg (no byname), Ingeborg domina, Ingeborg
domicella (2 persons with the same byname), Ingeborg uxor
Andree, Ingeborg uxor domini Anundi, Ingeborg uxor domini
Birgeri Haqunsson (the same person as Ingeborg relicta),
Ingeborg uxor Birgeri Petersson, Ingeborg filia Erici Östenson,
Ingeborg filia Göstavi uxor Benedicti Petersson relicta Nicolai
Michaelis, Ingeborg filia Ingiborgis relictæ domini Magni
Jonsson uxor domini Johannis Angeli, Ingeborg soror Ingridis
Andree, Ingeborg uxor Laurencii filii Johannis Biorneson,
Ingeborg filia Magni Regis, Ingeborg filia naturalis Magni
Jonsson, Ingeborg uxor domini Magni Jonsson (the same person as
Ingeborg relicta), Ingeborg filia domini Rangualdi Ingiborgason
uxor Haquini Ingiborgason, Ingeborg filia Tunædotir domina,
Ingeborg filia domini Ulphonis Karlson uxor domini Aberni
Syxtensson relicta domini Kanuti Matsson, Ingeborg de Wrixstad
Ingeborg filia Haqvini regis Norvegicae, Ingeborg regina Norvegicae
are foreigners and thus not counted.
- Katarina
- Katarina (no byname), Katarina domina, Katarina domicella, Katarina
matrona, Katarina parvula, Katarina relicta Anundi de Stenungum, Katarina
uxor Benedicti Elephson, Katarina in Halqui villica, Katarina relicta
Laurencii de Hiernistadhum, Katarina filia naturalis Magni Joansson,
Katarina soror Magni curati in Quistbro, Katarina Mathei filia domina,
Katarina filia Sigvidi, Katarina soror in Skeningia, Katarina filia
domini Swantepulk abbatissa Vretensis, Katarina uxor Svenonis Sunason,
Katarina uxor Thome Jonson, Katena uxor Petri de Borungi
- Cristina
- Cristina (no byname, 2 persons), Cristina famula, Cristina uxor Aquonis
Pik, Cristina uxor Beronis Neff, Cristina filia Ellisifis, Cristina
Fastonis relicta domini Holmgeri, Cristina de Gudhem filia Hafridis
Sigtragi, Cristina relicta Haquini Birghæson, Cristina de Hiartlandum,
Cristina relicta Ingimundi de Anunstad, Cristina filia Johannis Elefson
uxor Birgeri Petersson, Cristina mater Joseph, Cristina uxor domini
Laurencii Boberg in Wreta, Cristina soror S Clare Roskildis, Cristina
Thordonis filia
- Cecilia
- Cecilia domicella, Cecilia Elavi conjux domini Magni Karlsun, Cecilia
relicta domini Göstaui Ingiburgis, Cecilia relicta Johannis Kalf,
Cecilia soror Johannis plebani in Lomarydht, Cecilia Knutsdotter, Cecilia
uxor Ketilli Clohamær, Cecilia uxor Nicolai braxatoris, Cecilia
Ragnvaldsdotær de Hoa, Cecilia uxor Sigmundi Keldorsson, Cecilia Thome
rectoris ecclesie Knifsta, Cecilia filia domini Werneri Brunko
Cecilia (no byname) belongs to the additons to vol 1 and thus not counted.
- Ingegerd
- Ingegerd filia Estridis, Ingegerd soror Gjurdonis, Ingegerd filia
Helghæ, Ingegerd uxor domini Holgeri Ulfsson (same person as Ingegerd
relicta), Ingegerd soror Johannes Elavi monialis in Skeningia (same
person as Ingegerd priorissa), Ingegerd uxor Magni de Kalfstad, Ingegerd
soror Magni Niclæsson monialis in Risæbergh, Ingegerd relicta
Mathei de Aggathorp, Ingegerd uxor Nicolai Dyakn, Ingegerd filia domini
Zwantæepolk
Ingegerd (no byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1 and thus not
counted.
- Helena
- Helena (no byname, 1 of 2 persons counted), Helena domicella, Helena uxor
Arnulphi Eskilsson, Helena uxor Bösonis, Helena relicta Gudberni,
Helena uxor Johannis Danske, Helena Ormsdotyr uxor Johannis Ingason (the
same person as Helena relicta) , Helena relicta Petri Magnusson, Helena
soror Ragnvaldi Ingæson domicella, Helena Tunædoter domina
Helena (no byname, 1 of 2 persons) belongs to the additions to vol 1 and
thus not counted.
- Ingrid
- Ingrid nutrix, Ingrid filia sororis Aberni Sixtensson domicella, Ingrid
Andreæ, Ingrid filia Benonis de Barathorp, Ingrid Dighræ monialis
Wreta, Ingrid soror Giurdonis Niclisson, Ingrid filia Ingridis de
Owaxthorp, Ingrid de Læchiu, Ingrid de Oxwathorp, Ingrid filia domini
Suantapulch
Ingrid (no byname) belongs to the addition to vol 1 and thus not counted.
- Ragnfrid
- Ragnfridis (no byname), Ragnfridis famula, Ragnfridis Gösztawi filia
relicta domini Israelis legiferi Tiundie, Ragnfridis filia Hafridis
Sigtragi, Ragnfridis amita Ingiborgiborgis (sic!) Gözstaui,
Ragnfridis filia naturalis Johannis Karlsson, Ragnfridis filia Laurencii
Bobergh monialis in Monte beate Virginis, Ragnfridis uxor Nicolai
Ingimundi, Ragnfridis filia sororis Nicolai Ubbason
- Ragnhild
- Ragnhild (no byname), Ragnhild domina, Ragnhild uxor domini Benedicti
Boson, Ragnhild uxor domini Egardi Bralstorp soror Elaui Andresson,
Ragnhild Erlendi filia uxor Johannis Karlsson och Magni Gregorii,
Ragnhild uxor Karuli Vlphsson, Ragnhild uxor Laurencii de Snytringe,
Ragnhild de Lindasund, Ragnhild filia Spiældbudæ uxor Beronis
Ingulfsun