On
Naming Oneself by Donna Serena da Riva
Unto
the populace of the Barony of the South Downs most joyous Greetings,
In the recent months we seem to be
acquiring a goodly number of new members, some who have just found the SCA, some who have moved here from elsewhere. Many of these
individuals are in the process of selecting personas, regions and time periods.
It is unto this endeavor that I speak.
Many good gentles have approached me with
an interest in developing an armorial device, but when I ask them about their
name and persona they have not begun that stage of things, and I say to those
people that they are putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Your persona
can have a drastic effect on the design and even the presence of armorial
bearings, therefore; I encourage any and all who are in this formative stage of
the SCA to develop their persona before considering the more decorative side of
things.
In the past developing a persona required
many in-depth trips to your local library, and that is most assuredly a very
good place to start, but we who are starting out in these later years of our
organization have the mixed blessing which is the internet. There are many
wonderful websites that can start your adventure in naming yourself; the best
place to begin is www.sca.org/heraldry/welcome.html. There you will find links
to take you many wondrous places chock full of information. One of these places
is The Academy of St. Gabriel at www.s-gabriel.org/. This site specializes in
names and personas. If you surf around you will be sure to find pointers in the
direction you are attempting to go.
Choosing your persona is (in my opinion)
the single most defining factor of what the SCA will mean to you. It provides
the framework within which you conduct all of the activities and research that
can create a satisfying SCA experience. That is not to say that you cannot
participate in activities that are outside of your persona, but it is good to
have firm footing before you leap.
As a departing note, at www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#APPENDIX_H there is
a list of books that are recommended name source books that can frequently be
found in libraries, both mundane and those of long time SCA participants. This
list also has the distinction of being books that do not require substantiating
photocopies attached to your name submission, one can simply refer to the book,
page and statement because the Laurel Sovereign at Arms has all of these books.
All books not found on this list require a photocopy of the page you are
referencing as well as a copy of the title and copyright pages.
A second, and
just as important appendix is the list of books that are to be avoided as
sources. Being that these are books that are most readily available at
bookstores I feel I should include the list here. A more extensive explanation
of why they are unsuitable can be found at www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#APPENDIX_F
Arthur,
Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names
Coghlan, Ronan, Irish First Names
Coghlan, Ronan, Ida Grehan and
P.W. Joyce, Book of Irish Names
Dellquest, Augustus Wilfrid,
These Names of Ours: A Book of Surnames (
Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, The
New American Dictionary of First Names
Hanks
and Hodges, Dictionary of First Names
Hanks
and Hodges, Dictionary of Surnames
Kolatch, Alfred J., The Jonathan
David Dictionary of First Names
Loughead, Flora Gaines, Dictionary of Given Names
Partridge,
Eric, Name This Child: A Dictionary of Modern British and American Given or
Christian Names
Smith,
Elsdon, New Dictionary of American Family Names
Wells,
Evelyn, A Treasury of Names (also published under the
title What to Name the Baby
Yonge, Charlotte, History of Christian Names
The
New Age Baby Name Book
Theresa
Norman, Names through the Ages
Several of the books (such as Yonge) were once considered acceptable sources but have now
be debunked by better and more extensive availability of research.
A
final caveat, if you are adventurous enough to explore the online listing of
registered names, please be aware that just because it
has passed in the past does not guarantee that it will pass today.
With
all of that said, I wish you good hunting! If you need any further pointers, I
would be happy to discuss this at greater length and answer any questions that
you might have regarding research, development and registry. Unfortunately,
unless you want a late period, female, Venetian name I will be little help in
actually naming you.
url confirmation 4/05