Medieval Baby Names

  1. Benedict
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "blessed"
    • Description:

      Parents who like Ben and Benjamin but find those forms too popular sometimes consider Benedict as a more distinctive choice. Unlike the Old Testament Benjamin, Benedict is the name of the saint who formed the Benedictine Order and of fifteen popes,including a recent one.
  2. Clarimond
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "Light of the World"
    • Description:

      Clarimond is related to the Occitan name Esclarmonde, and is probably the more wearable of the two variations.
  3. Faramond
    • Idony
      • Origin:

        Norse
      • Meaning:

        "love again, renewal"
      • Description:

        Idony was the Norse goddess of spring and eternal youth, and variants of her obscure name could come under consideration with the rest of the fashionable I pack.
    • Ismeria
      • Joan
        • Origin:

          English variation of Johanna
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          Joan was the perfect name choice for one of the leading characters on Mad Men, being a quintessential girls' name of the period. A Top 10 name in the 30s, a Top 50 name from the 40s through the early 60s, it was the fifth most popular name in the country for three years running and ranks as one of the most common names for girls in the 20th century. But alas, Joan hasn't even appeared in the Top 1000 for a dozen years, and these days it's primarily associated with Joans of the generation of Joan Crawford, Joan Collins and Joan Rivers--just a few of the noted Joans whose ranks also include the singers Joan Sutherland, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading and Joan Jett. But it's possible that modern parents who are reviving Jane might move on to Joan, inspired by Joan Hollaway Harris.
      • Merewen
        • Origin:

          Old English
        • Meaning:

          "sublime delight"
        • Description:

          This Anglo-Saxon gem was borne by a few medieval women including Saint Merewen, Abbess of Romsey Abbey. It has also been used in literature, for example in Kit Berry's Stonewylde series. Merewen has the mellifluous vowels and Celtic charm of other current favorites like Elowen and Meredith.
      • Oriel
        • Origin:

          Latin
        • Meaning:

          "golden"
        • Description:

          Pretty Victorian-feeling cousin of Ariel; also, more prosaically, a kind of bay window.
      • Rosamund
        • Origin:

          German
        • Meaning:

          "horse protection"
        • Description:

          This lovely, quintessentially British appellation, also spelled Rosamond, is the name of a legendary twelfth-century beauty. Rare on these shores, it is more than worthy of importation.