This is my master post of Middle Ages names from England! I got inspired because I needed to research late medieval-era British names for a project. This might also be helpful if you’re a high fantasy novel in the English medieval vein.
My sources include battle histories, subsidy rolls, and A Dictionary of English Surnames. I also included just a few names from the King Arthur legends. They’re mostly 14th century names, but they would’ve been in use long before and long after that century.
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This used to be one big medieval name list, but it was too hard for people to navigate, so I’ve finally gotten around to breaking it up.
Here’s the list of Medieval Male Names.
Here’s the list of Medieval Female Names.
Here’s the list of Medieval Last Names.
I hope these serve as a good reference for medieval names! Bookmark this post or pin it on Pinterest so you can always find it. Happy writing!
I SOOOOO love lists of names. This one is great, and is just in time, since I’m starting a medieval soon!
I love them too! Obviously 🙂 That’s great that this came at the right time. And I love medievals, I’m so glad you’re writing one!
i don’t even write historical fiction, but coming to Basil and Jocelyn, i now have firm images of them in my head. not quite lords and ladies stuff, but not quite paupers, either. but definitely star-crossed lovers … what have you done to me? LOL
Basil and Jocelyn were both male names, so unless you’re doing a gay romance, its not really accurate.
no shit!
Depends on the time setting. Late in the medieval period Jocelyn was being used as a female name.
Where’d you find Dinadan and Laudine?
Those are both from Arthurian legend, if I recall correctly! I only have a handful of those in here, because they may or may not be authentic, although they have a nice sound to them. 🙂
Sir Dinadan was one of the knights in the Arthurian legends. 😉
Sidney
Allison
Beverly
Cassidy
Darcy
Lynn
Emery
Whitney
Hilary
Kim
Shirley
Lauren
Michele
Reese
Shelly
Aubrey
Gale
Blair
Carol
Dana
Kelly
Lindsay
Ashley
Sandy
Jocelyn
Courtney
Meredith
Shannon
Leslie
Evelyn
Vivian
Stacy
Addison
Kelsey
Leigh
Tracy
All used to be exclusively male names. Many through the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Amongst the many fine names are a few Saxon: Edwin, Aldred. Any reason Edward and Alfred are not on this list? At least 6 Medieval English kings were named Edward.
Nicely done otherwise.
Oh, thank you! And no reason at all, actually. They are in the book 🙂 The list in the book is just a little longer.
Enjoyed this short list of names and the comments. I have two names to add, perhaps you have them in your book–Dingman and Hamby. Both are in my ancestral lines. Research disclosed that Dingman or Ding Man was the man who was the spear thrower in battles. Hamby immigrated to Scotland and England from France along with William the Conqueror.
Definitely want to know where I can get a copy of the book.
They aren’t in my book — I wish they were, that’s really interesting. “Dingman” — so unusual! Thanks, that is really good to know!
This is a great list to print out and refer to. I write fantasy and love making up names for my characters, though it’s always good to have some inspiration to hand.
Hey thanks, Suzanne! So glad it’s helpful!
Check out the surname called Inkpin / Inkpen … Lots if history on my name !!!
Ivy inkpen
Your last name is really Inkpen? That is such a cool name!!
I’m not in the Society for Creative Anachronism, but I respect the enthusiasm and scholarship of its members–and because to be officially in the SCA, you need to have an appropriately historical name, which are adjudicated for authenticity, they have great resources for names–articles that break things up by geographical region and era. Worth checking out for writers of historical fiction:
http://heraldry.sca.org/names.html
Ooh, I have heard of the SCA before, but I didn’t know that about their names. What a great resource! Thanks, Ron!
Another good source for Medieval names: any of the variety of Catholic websites that list saints of the day with biographies. Just check the hagiography (saint’s biography) to make sure the saint was canonized prior to the date of your story, and you can safely use it. The canon lists have a variety of differences for regions, so if your novel takes place in England, you probably won’t have a Polish saint name. Irish and Welsh spellings of the names differ significantly from the ones on the Roman calendar, so do little bit of research if you are setting your novel in one of those countries. For instance, St. David is St. Dafyd in Wales. The name of any saint who was canonized prior to the 8th century anywhere in Europe will probably have a fair number of people named after him or her in any Catholic (or formerly Catholic) European country.
Yes, you can name a male character with a female saint name and vice versa. People were often named for the saint of the day of their birth/baptism regardless of whether the genders matched. Girls were often named after their fathers, so they often ended up with “boys” names. There were (and still are) a fair number of Mary/Marie/Marias and Magdalens who would be male, and a fair number of Michaels, Lukes and Pauls who would be female.
My favorite site for the information is http://www.catholic.org/saints.
Deana, this is great! So helpful. Thank you so much!
It is sooo hard to find names like this on the internet! You saved me from tearing my hair out! Thank you for this!
I am so glad it’s helpful! 🙂
Please list some noble surnames from Medieval to Victorian England there are many connected with the Howard’s, Stuarts,, Tudors, and so forth.