Picking a Name
Names are important. We all have a name given to us at birth, or chosen later in life, that people refer to us by. It is a core element of our identity. In this way, choosing a name is something you want to do with care. Some important things to note about picking a name:
- You want to make sure people can say it (or you do not mind how they mispronounce it).
- Write it down in a couple of different ways
- Try and mispronounce it yourself, and see what you come up with
- Write it down and ask some people to pronounce it to see what they say.
- You want to make sure you can spell it.
- While literacy was not common, the ability to spell your name is a modern practicality.
- You will want to be sure you spell your Persona’s name accurately for SCA/GLG documentation, etc.
- You want to make sure it is historically and culturally accurate.
Another important consideration is that you do not only need to pick one name. You should probably also know the names of your parents and, if you come from a culture where it was common to have more than one child, the names of your surviving and dead siblings. You would likely also know your Grandparents’ names, and any aunts and uncles.
My Process
In the middle ages, Anglo Saxon names were very formulaic. Which makes the process a little bit easier on me than it could be. I, personally, have always been fond of the name prefix Æthel. So I think my name will probably start with that. Regio Angelorum has a good list of names, and construction methodologies for Anglo-Saxon names. Using this list, and the components of Anglo-Saxon names, I chose the second part of my name to be -ric. This means, that I now have my own name, Era, and Culture you may need to provide proof.
For my parents, I like to leave it to fate. This is because I did not get to choose the names of my parents, and I doubt anyone in History ever really has. So I put together a set of tables for Masculine name parts and Feminine name parts to name my family members (below)
- Father: Wigbyrht (Carpenter)
- Grandfather: Æthelweald (Farmer)
- Great Grandfather: Æthelbryt
- Grandmother: Hereflæd (Shepherd)
- Grandfather: Æthelweald (Farmer)
- Mother: Ceolthryth (Shepherd)
- Grandfather: Bryhtlac (Fisherman)
- Grandmother: Sæith (Spinner)
- Sister (deceased): Hereith
Meaning that at this point I can start to draft up a little bit of a biographical story of my upbringing:
I am Æthelric son of Wigbyrht. I was born in in a hamlet near the market of Hamwic in the Kingdom of Wessex in the Year of our Lord 780. I lived on a small farm collectively run by my Father’s family: Æthelweald, my Grandfather, and Hereflæd, my Grandmother. A short distance away lived my Mother, Ceolthryth’s, family. My Mother’s Father, Bryhtlac, and her Mother, Sæith, were instrumental in my upbringing. My Mother’s family still held to many Pagan traditions as a matter of custom despite having officially converted to Christianity, while my Father’s family had converted to Christianity with my Great-Grandfather Æthelbryt. The year of the Viking rad of Lindesfarner, my Sister Hereith was born. She would die within a year from an unknown fever. As a child I remember helping on the Farm with my grandparents. My father taught me to work wood, and maintain tools. We had a meager anvil, and I spent many nights grinding axes with stones from a nearby river for his work.
We would play games, and my Grandmothers would tell us stories in the evenings while we ate our evening meal. My favorite was the tale of Beowulf. I always imagined fighting great beasts with sword and shield. My Grandfather Bryhtlac was a riddler beyond measure, always pushing me to think about things in new ways.
