Names from Périgueux, 1339-1340

by Sara L. Uckelman (Aryanhwy merch Catmael)

© renewed 2007, 2011 Sara L. Uckelman; all rights reserved
© 2003; Sara L. Friedemann
last updated 31Mar11

Introduction

The following 36 feminine names and 7 masculine names are from a mid-14th century taxation record from Périgueux, which is in the southwest of France, about 66 miles ENE of Bordeaux, 44 miles SSW of Limoges, and about 35 miles SE of Angoulême.

France today is a unified country with a common language. That was not true in the 14th century: It was a collection of dialects, some quite similar, some quite different. The most significant division was between the langue d'oil, or French, spoken in the north, and the langue d'oc, also called Occitan or Provençal, spoken in the south. These were different languages, not just dialects of the same language, and names in them were often quite different.

As you can see from this map, Limoges (and thus Périgueux) is in the region that spoke the Occitan dialect of Limousin. The spellings of the names in this record reflect many of the dialectal differences, and are therefore thus only really appropriate for the south-western part of France.

I have organized the names into two lists: Feminine given names and the raw data (which gives examples of full names). At a later date, I hope to sort and add the surnames.

Feminine Names

Masculine Names

An incomplete list of surnames

Raw data (female names only)

Source: Higounet-Nadal, Arlette, Les Comptes de la taille et les sources de l'histoire démographique de Périgueux au XIVe siècle (Paris, S.E.V.P.E.N., 1965.)