A Brief Introduction to Medieval Bynames
© 1999-2004 by Brian M. Scott and Joshua Mittleman; all rights
reserved.
Revised 22 Jul 2004
Sources for Medieval Bynames
If you'd like more information about bynames used in a particular
medieval culture or if you'd like to see a larger selection of
possibilities, here are a few good books you can consult. You will
also find a large collection of articles on medieval names and lists
of names from various cultures in the
Medieval Names Archive. If
you don't see anything that covers the culture that interests you,
please contact the Academy of Saint
Gabriel; we may be able to help.
Some of these sources are modern dictionaries of surnames. Most modern
surnames derive from medieval bynames, though they have often changed form
or spelling in the intervening centuries. The best studies of surnames
trace them back to their origins and give early, dated examples. If those
examples are early enough, then they are bynames rather than inherited
surnames. We have included in this list surname dictionaries that meet
this criterion. Other can also be used to choose medieval bynames, but it
requires more expert knowledge.
English
P. H. Reaney & R. M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995).
German
Hans Bahlow, Dictionary of German Names, tr. Edda Gentry
(German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357).
Josef Karlmann Brechenmacher, Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen
Familiennamen (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960).
(Etymological Dictionary of German Family Names)
Adolf Socin, Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen
Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn,
1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966).
(Middle High German Name Book. From Upper Rhineland Sources from the
12th and 13th Centuries)
Hungarian
Kázmér Miklós, Régi Magyar Családnevek
Szótára: XIV-XVII Század (Budapest,
1993). (Dictionary of Old Hungarian Surnames: 14th-17th centuries).
Lithuanian
Vitalija Maciejauskiene, Lietuviu Pavardziu Susidarymas XIII-XVIII a.
(Vilnius: "Mokslas", 1991).
(The Formation of Lithuanian Surnames: 13th-18th c.)
Low Countries
C. Tavernier-Vereecken, Gentse Naamkunde van ca. 1000 tot 1253: een
bijdrage tot de kennis van het oudste middelnederlands (Belgium:
1968). (Naming Practices of Ghent from c.1000 to 1253: a contribution
to the study of the oldest Middle Dutch)
Polish
Józef Bubak, S{l/}ownik Nazw Osobowych i Elementów
Identyfikacyjnych S{a,}decczyzny, XV-XVII w., 2 vols. (Krakow:
"Universitas", 1992). (Dictionary of Personal Names: And Elements of
Identification from
The Nowy and Stary S{a,}cz region, 15th-17th centuries)
Witold Taszycki (ed.), S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych, vols.
I-VII (Wroc{l/}aw: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n'}skich, Polska
Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987). (Dictionary of Old Polish Personal Names)
Russian
Paul Wickenden of Thanet, A Dictionary of Period Russian Names (WWW:
SCA, Inc., 1996). The 3rd edition in online; the 4th edition
contains additional material.
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/
Scandinavian
G. Fleck (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), The Old Norse Name, Studia
Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977).
Gunnar Knudsen, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, Danmarks Gamle
Personnavne, Vol II: Tilnavne (Copenhagen: 1949-64). (Old Danish
Personal Names, vol. II: Bynames)
Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn, Vol. 1- (Uppsala: 1967-. bd. 1, h. 3:
isbn: 91-7192-123-8; bd. 1, h. 4: isbn: 91-7192-223-7; bd. 1, h. 5:
isbn: 91-7402-044-7; bd. 2, h. 6: isbn: 91-7402-104-4; bd. 2, h. 7: isbn:
91-7402-136-2, h. 8: isbn: 91-7402-115-x; bd. 2, h. 9: isbn:
91-88096-00-9; bd. 2, h. 10: isbn: 91-88096-01-7; Bloms Boktryckeri AB:
Lund 1983 bd. 2). (Swedish Medieval Personal Names)
E.H. Lind, Norsk-Isländska Personbinamn från Medeltiden
(Uppsala: 1920-21). (Norwegian-Icelandic Personal Bynames from the
Middle Ages)
Scots (not Gaelic)
George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
History, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986).
Slovene
Pavle Blaznik, Histori{c^}na topografija slovenske {S^}tajerske in
jugoslovanskega dela Koro{s^}ke do leta 1500,, 3 vols. (Maribor:
Zalo{z^}ba
Obzorja, 1986-1989). (Historical Slovene Topography: From Styria and the
Yugoslavian parts of Carinthia, up to the year 1500)
Spanish
R. P. Gonzalo Diez Melcon, Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses: Siglos
IX-XIII, ambos inclusive (Universidad de Granada, 1957).
(Castillian/Leonese Surnames: 9th to 13th Centuries, inclusive)
Welsh
T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan, Welsh Surnames (Cardiff: University of
Wales Press, 1985).
Layout, editting, and publishing by
Arval Benicoeur.