The Most Unusual Names in Medieval London
Looking for a medieval name for your child? Discover twenty of the most unusual names recorded in medieval London — rare, beautiful choices that once graced the city’s streets.
From Butter Penis to Fairhair: 517 Real Viking Nicknames
Discover 517 real Viking nicknames from the sagas, including bold, funny, and bizarre names like “Butter Penis” and “Fairhair.” Explore what these names reveal about Norse culture and identity.
Why Everyone in the Middle Ages Seemed to Have the Same Name
Many people in the Middle Ages shared the same few names—think Margaret, Thomas, or Henry. But why were these names so popular? From…
The Most Popular Girls’ Names in Tudor England
Discover the top girls’ names in 16th-century England, based on parish records. See how names like Elizabeth, Joan, and Mary rose and fell in popularity.
1,065 Unique Dog Names from the Middle Ages
Looking for the perfect name for your dog? A late medieval treatise may have just what you need—it lists 1,065 unique names for dogs.
The Wild Variety of Medieval Names: French Men in the Hundred Years’ War
Lots of people are interested in the medieval origins of personal names. But there are more riches in the world of names than many of us realize.
Twenty Old English Girls’ Names
The names of people living in Anglo-Saxon England are very different from our modern names. Here is our list of some of our favourite girls’ names in Old English.
The earliest use of the F-word
An English historian has come across the word ‘fuck’ in a court case dating to the year 1310, making it the earliest known reference to the swear word.
517 Viking Nicknames
Of all the peoples of the Middle Ages, it was the Norse who had the best nicknames. You can now explore a list of hundreds of interesting and strange nicknames from the Viking Age.
Metaphor and Metonymy in Names
Using examples from The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, the lecture discusses surnames from bird-names, animal names and fish-names.
How to Understand Medieval Arabic Names
Even though medieval Arabic names can get very long and look daunting, they reveal much about the person carrying them.
How women from Rus influenced names in Medieval Europe
Several kings in medieval Europe were named Philip and Valdemar. Those names may not have existed if not for Rus women.
The Most Common (and Uncommon!) Medieval Names in Southern France
Here are the top three names for medieval men and women in southern France, as well as some of the more uncommon names you could find in the region.
Scotland’s Names and Places with Matthew Hammond
In this episode of Scotichronicast, Kate talks with Matthew Hammond to discuss his work on names and places in Medieval Scotland, including how the surname prefix of Mac originated.
How medieval children got their names
It is not, strictly speaking, true that every Christian in late medieval Europe had the same six names.
Beowulf before Beowulf: Anglo-Saxon Anthroponymy and Heroic Legend
Since the inception of Beowulf scholarship approximately two hundred years ago, debate has persisted concerning the nature of the poem’s eponymous hero. Is he a historical Geatish prince or is he a fictional character inserted into a historico-legendary world?
Naming Particulars: A Thirteenth-Century Debate on Whether Individuals Have Proper Names
This dissertation is about a debate that occurred in thirteenth-century philosophy over an apparently bizarre question: Can individuals really have proper names?
The Social World of Alcuin: Nicknames at York and at the Carolingian Court
In almost every book on the Carolingian world, and even in most textbooks on medieval history, there is some mention of the nicknames in use among the members of Charlemagne’s entourage
New Database of 45,600 Family Names Dating Back to the Middle Ages
A new book and database of family names has been released this month, allowing users to learn about over 45,600 of the most frequent surnames in Great Britain and Ireland, many of which date back to the Middle Ages.
Excavating Past Population Structures by Surname-Based Sampling: The Genetic Legacy of the Vikings in Northwest England
The method of historical surname-based ascertainment promises to allow investigation of the influence of migration and drift over the last few centuries in changing the population structure of Britain and will have general utility in other regions where surnames are patrilineal and suitable historical records survive.
The most popular boys’ names in Tudor England
What were the most popular names for boys in England during the 16th century?
The most popular girls’ names in Tudor England
What were the most popular names for girls in England during the 16th century?
Epic (and Not-So-Epic) Names from Le Morte D’Arthur
Looking for a name for your avatar? Look no further! Everyone knows Lancelot and Gawain, but here are some lesser-known names from one of my favourite books: Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur.
The Multilingual Origins of Medieval Irish Surnames
Surnames came into widespread use in Ireland at a time where five vernacular languages were in operation – Irish, English, Norse, Welsh and Norman French.
