Medieval Naming Guides: Early 17th Century English Names

Early 17th Century English Names

Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615, by Julie Stampnitzky
Over 5000 surnames recorded in Durham and Northumberland between 1521 and 1615.

Given names from Parish Marriage Registers of Northumberland and Durham, 1530-1830, by Douglas Galbi
A database of given names from some of the parish registers listed in GEN UKI, a UK and Ireland genealogy site. This compilationis part of Galbi's collection of lists of Given Names in England Before 1800. The second column is a code identifying the place where the name was recorded, the third the date of the marriage, the fourth the original spelling of the given name, and the fifth a standard modern spelling of that name. The last column gives the sex (1 = female, 2 = male).

Biographical Index to the Elizabethan Theater, by David J Kathman
A draft list of people involved in English theater between 1558 and 1642. Alternate spellings of names are given and all entries are carefully referenced. This is a pretty good source for names, particularly since it includes a large selection of dat4ed surnames.

Passenger Lists, 1600-1700, at The Olive Tree Genealogy
An index of 17th century documents at Olive Tree's website and elsewhere. Those dated before 1630 are listed below.

Ship Passenger and Immigration Lists: The Sea Venture, 1609
About three dozen names, a few of them feminine.

Records of 17th Century Sheffield, by R. E. Leader, transcribed by Eric Youle
Several documents, all previously available from Youle's index Sheffield Local History Material (now Wayback Machine links). Of particular interest are:

Names in the Protestation of 1642 in Manchester, by Douglas Galbi
A database of names, part of Galbi's collection of lists of Given Names in England Before 1800. The second and third columns give the original spellings of the given and surnames, the fourth gives a standard modern spelling of the given name, and the last column gives the sex (1 = female, 2 = male). There are only two women listed.

Persons in the Book Trade in Norwich before 1650, by Duncan Macquarrie
A short list of names extracted from a history book.

Most Common Names in England from 1600 - 1630, by Duncan Macquarrie
Copied from Appendix C of Names and Naming Patterns in England, 1538 - 1700, by Scott Smith-Bannister, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997.

Naming the Honourable Artillery Company, by Duncan Macquarrie
The various ways this company was identified in documents from 1537 to 1647.

Transported Convicts, at Genealogy Quest
Transcriptions of warrants issued 1617 to 1669, containing many names, masculine and feminine.

Mayflower Passengers, at mayflowerfamilies.com
An index of passengers with links to documents about some families.

Records of the Virgina Company, 1620-1, ed. Jim Gallman
A few dozen names of mixed gender.

Fortune Passenger List, at mayflowerfamilies.com
The ship Fortune arrived at Plymouth in 1621. About 15 names.

Passenger list, ship Anne, 1623.
A list of passengers on one of the Pilgrim ships.

Links to 16th century parish registers, provided by Julie Stampnitzky
GEN UKI, a UK and Ireland genealogy site, hosts a collection of parish registers. Julie has created links to the ones that start in the 16th century; most of them run to the 18th or 19th century. If you focus on the early entries, these are good sources for late-period names, especially surnames.

English Given Names from 16th and Early 17th C Marriage Records, by Arya nhwy merch Catmael
A catalogue of the given names found in the GEN UKI parish registers cited a bove.

English Sign Names From 17th Century Tradesman's Tokens, by Mari ingen Briain meic Donnchada
Shop, inn, and tavern sign names sorted by pattern and designator.


The Medieval Names Archive is published by Ursula Georges. It was historically published by the Academy of Saint Gabriel.
Copyright on individual articles belongs to their authors.
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/engPost1600.shtml