Name of the Week: Ismay

Origin:

Ismay is a medieval name of obscure origin. It appears in records from the 13th century in various forms, including Isemay, Ysemay, Ysmay and Isamaya.  In A Dictionary of English Surnames, Reaney and Wilson propose that the name may possibly derive from the unrecorded (and therefore hypothetical) Old English name *Ismæg derived from is "ice" and mæg "kinswoman", but admit that Is- is unknown in Old English names, and -mæg is found as a second theme only in three late names.  As an alternative, they suggest a Germanic origin, as Is- occurs in a number of Old Germanic names. They propose the hypothetical name *Ismagi derived from the Old High German īsarn "iron" and magin "might, strength". However, thought both elements are common, they point out that -magin is not known as a second element. K. M. Sheard, however, points out that Ismay is not found in continental Europe so it is more likely to be Celtic in origin. That one of the earliest examples—Ysemay de Mult, listed in the Lincolnshire Hundred Rolls of 1275—comes from Mold in Wales. Sheard states: "In Welsh, there are a a number of names beginning with the preposition is meaning "under," "below," or "lower," followed by a word denoting a geographical feature. The obvious contender in the case of Ismay would be [the Middle Welsh] mai "field." Alternatively, this second element may be Mai "May."" Another even more intriguing option that Sheard puts forward for the first element is the Proto-Celtic *weso- "excellent, noble." This element is found in names from inscriptions in Roman Britain.  As Ismay was quite rare, it may actually have come about as a variant form of another obscure medieval name—Ismenia, Ismena, Ismeine—which, like Ismay, is not found on the continent. Reaney and Wilson describe is as "a common woman's name, found as Emonie, Emeny until the end of the 18th century."  Significantly, they point out that, in the 1227 Assize Rolls for Buckinghamshire, the same woman is listed as both Isemay and Isemeine, but believe "the two names can hardly be identical." Despite this, they suggest the Old Germanic origin of *Ismagin "iron-strength" for Ismenia, same as for Ismay.  K. M. Sheard thinks the possibility of Ismay and Ismenia being variants quite likely. If the first element of Ismenia is the Welsh is "under, below, lower," the second element could be maen "stone."  However, the second element could actually be from the Proto-Celtic *moyni- "treasure, precious object." This would be particularly significant if the first element derives from the Proto-Celtic *weso- "excellent". It is almost certain that Ismenia does not derive from the same source as Ismene, the name of a daughter of Oedipus in Greek mythology, derived from the Greek isme "knowledge".  The town of Ismay in Montana, America is named after an amalgamation of railroad president Albert J Earling's two daughter's names: Isabella and May.

Usage:

The Dictionary of English Surnames has a handful of examples of Ismay as a given name in the 13th century. It became used as the surname Ismay from this date, also; Ralph Isemay is listed in the Descriptive Catalogue of 13th century Charters for Sheffield and William Ysmay is recorded in the 1327 Subsidy Roll for Derbyshire. Ismenia has many more examples from the 12th and 14th century in various forms such as Isemeine, Ismeina, Ismena, Ysmeina, Ysmeine, Imayne, Ymanya, Emayn, Emoni and Emony. These went on to become the surname Emeny, Emeney, Emmony, Emmence, Emmens, Emons, Immink and Emney. The 12th century romance Protheselaus features a character named Ismeine and John Fletcher and William Rowley's Jacobean comedy play The Maid in the Mill, first published in 1647, features a Spanish aristocrat named Ismenia as a principle character.  Examples of Ismay and Ismena are rare in the early modern period, but they did survive into the 19th century in small numbers.  Registration records for Ismay and Ismena as a first name in England & Wales:   Ismay Ismena 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 5 births 4 births 10 births 23 births 32 births 32 births 52 births 81 births 37 births 19 births 12 births 8 births 3 births 8 births 3 births 3 births 2 births 7 births 3 births 5 births 4 births 0 births 4 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 births 3 births Since 1996, Ismay has remained rare, but it has ranked in the official data for England and Wales (i.e. given to 3 or more girls in any given year) in 19 years out of 22: It peaked at #2,313 (11 births) in 2013. In 2017, Ismay ranked at #5,765 with 3 births.  The spelling Ismae ranked once at #5,691 (3 births) in 2014. The form Ismena, Ismenia, Ismeine etc, has not ranked at all during this period, however.  In Scotland, Ismay has been registered six times since 1974: in 1988, 1994, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017. In each year it was registered once.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Thomas Henry Ismay (1837-1899), founder of of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company (White Star Line). * General Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay (1887–1965), a British Indian Army officer and diplomat and Chief of Staff during World War II. Contemporary: * Ismay, stage-name of Indie-Folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Avery Hellman. Other: * Ismay, a town in Montana, America.

Variants:

Isemay, Ysemay, Ysmay, Ismae

Pronunciation:

IZ-may [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Issy, Immy

Sibling Names:

Eseld     Aneira     Astrid     Haidee     Ione     Jessamy  Atlas     Cassiel     Jovian     Tristram     Acer     Dastan

Name Lists:

N/A

 

If you like Ismay you may also like:   Idony, Maelys, Isolde, Liveva, Ysoria, Zelda, Iseult, Isabeau, Maeva, Vesper

Thanks to Melody for requesting this name.