During Queen Elizabeth's reign, many people from other countries to England to escape religious persecution. In 1571 a census of these people, 'aliens', was taken, ward by ward, parish by parish, of London. The introduction to this document reads as follows:
To the Ryght Honorable the Lordes of the Quenes Maiestyes most honorable Pryvie Councell.
Pleasythe youre Honours, according to the tenour of youre honorable letters to vs, the Maior and Aldermen of London, latelye directed for the inquisicion and searche of all the Straungers within this Citie and the lyberties of the same, we on the tenth of this November performed the same accordinglye as by thyse booke heareafter at large maye appeare vnto youre Honours, viz.:--
These people, from the Low Countries, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and a few even farther, are recorded by name, birth place, and occupation, along with who is in their household (wives, children, servants, other relatives, etc.), how long they've been in England and for what reason they came, and what church they attend.
The document is quite extensive and contains records of a couple thousand people.
There are not many good sources of there that are records of names recorded in a language foreign to that which they are from. This document is in English, and thus the names, which are of many different languages, have been recorded according to English standards of spelling and pronunciation. Many of the given names are clearly anglicized, while a few of the given names and most of the surnames are spelled phonetically.
The given name pool is quite diverse, and is fairly representative of the names that were popular in the country of origin. There is one factor that skews the frequency of some names: Most of the people coming to England came because of religious reasons. Many of these people were Protestants, and while their names do not always reflect this, the names of their children do. Old Testament names such as Abraham, Isaacke, Sara, Rachell, and Judithe show up with a surprising frequency in the names of the children.
The main breakdown of the data will be by ethnicity, e.g. Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Scottish, and other. Within each ethnicity, the names will be divided by masculine and feminine, and sorted by given name. Where applicable, I will include the city or area of birth, as well as the ward and parish of dwelling in London.
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine names
Feminine names
Masculine Names
Feminine Names
Glossary of geographical and ethnic terms
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