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