Sad-Eyed Naming of the Low Lands

misty, placid creatures in the Dutch countryside, by Herm_B on Flickr

I came across a fabulous onomastic niche recently — Names in the Low Lands before 1150 is a wealth of data compiled on names used in the Netherlands and Flanders in early medieval times. Before you're off to peruse the lists yourself, here are the ones that caught my eye. 

Male
Avuko 

Avutet 

Craft 

Etto 

Folquin — romantic, could be called Quin, sounds like "falcon" 

Foravot

Illehere 

Maluin

Raingod — would make a killer surname 

Sahso 

Saxamer — another lovely sound 

Tangrad 

Vocco 

Witter 

Wolfrer — this is a new-to-me "wolf" name 

Female
Athela 

Baue
Bessela

Duvin — I'm (mis)-pronouncing this one with a French "-vin," and I like it 

Esacha 

Geva 

Lievilt — girl names ending in "T" are so unusual

Maruui 

Otgive 

Uuitta 

Vdonis 

Volcent — something about this appeals to me. Like an evil twin to Millicent, maybe? 

So many of them seem like they'd be right at home in a science fiction novel. I love these little time-travelers —  they're so old and unfamiliar, yet they're comprised of elements that still hold meaning. It's a nice connection to our (human) past.


A little Eponymia-update: to the right, you'll notice a link to my Twitter feed. I'll be using it to post names I hear when out and about here in LA. I almost always hear something worth mentioning!