Two weeks ago I posted George Redmond's top 50 national totals for first names for men and women living in 1377-81 in England. This compiled from male names from 10 counties and female names from 10 counties in the Poll Tax returns of 1377-81 combined to produce a national total of 10,000 names for each gender.
However, in Christian Names in Local and Family History (2004), Redmonds also lists the individual lists for each county (ranking any name with 0.2% usage or more), and there are some interesting regional variations. One thing notable is that (just like today) there is a far wider range of female names in use than male names and greater regional variation. This is mostly because John was so popular for men that it took the lion's share of the percentage of all masculine names and as only names with 0.2% usage or more are listed, the rarer masculine names are missing from the rankings.
Below are all the names in George Redmond's individual county rankings which do not appear in the combined top 50.
Alina - Alina represents 0.4% of female names in Cumbria's Poll Taxes. Reaney and Wilson derive it from Adelina but note that there is evidence to suggest it was used as a diminutive of Alice (which ranked at #1 overall).
Ammot - Representing 0.3% of female names in Dorset, Ammot looks to be formed from the feminine name Amice, derived from the Latin amicus "friend" (which ranked at #16 overall) and the popular diminutive suffix -ot.
Aveline - Found in Norfolk (0.3%), Aveline is a diminutive form of the Old Germanic name Ava.
Clarice - At 0.3% of use in Norfolk and 0.2% in Dorset, Clarice is a medieval form of the Late Latin Claritia, itself a variant of Clara. Alice, Amice, Beatrice, Felice, Avice and Lettice in the combined top 50 attest to the popularity of -ice ending names at this time.
Colet - Essentially a unisex name, Colet was formed from the hypocoristic Col and diminutive suffix -et. Col could either be a shortened form of masculine Nicholas or feminine Nichola. In this case, Colet represented 0.4% of female names in Cumbria and 0.2% in Cumbria.
Dulcia - Representing 0.3% of female names in Norfolk and 0.2% in Lincolnshire, Dulcia was the Latinised form of Dulcie meaning "sweet".
Edilda - In use in Kent (0.2%), Edilda, or Edild, is a medieval survivor of the Old English Éadhild composed of ead 'prosperity, riches, fortune, inheritance, property" and hild "battle".
Elie - Found in use at 0.2% in Leicestershire. Elie was the Old French form of Elias/Elijah, but in this case, it is most likely as short-form of Ellen (ranking #10 overall).
Elizot - Elizot appears at 0.4% usage in Dorset and Elisot is at 0.2% in Cumbria. Both look to be formed from Elizabeth and the diminutive suffix -ot.
Em(m)ot - Emot and Emmot represented 0.2% of female names in Gloucestershire and Cumbria respectively. It is a pet-form made up of Emma +ot and is the source of the surname Emmett.
Floria - Found at 0.2% use in Kent, Floria is a feminine name derived from the Latin flos "flower" and may have been adopted thanks to a 9th century Spanish St Floria. It survives in the surnames Fleury, Florey, Flury and Florkin.
Goda - Goda represents 0.5% of female names in Lincolnshire. In Old English, Goda was a masculine name and Gode a feminine. Both were short forms of names featuring the name element god "God" or "good" such as Godwin, Godgifu and Godgýð. Goda, in this case, looks to be a Latinised form of Gode. Goda (Godgifu) of England was the daughter of Æthelred the Unready and sister of King Edward the Confessor.
Godith - Found in Cumbria at 0.5% use, Godith is a medieval form of the Old English name Godgýð, composed of god "God" or "good" and gyð "war, battle, fight." It is the source of the surname Goodison.
Gunnora - Derived from the Old Norse name Gunnvǫr, made up of the elements gunnr "war" and vǫr "vigilant, cautious". Gunnora (936–1031) was the name of of the wife of Norman Duke Richard I, whose Danish family were one of the most politically significant in Normandy. It represented 0.2% of names in Dorset's Poll Taxes.
Houkin - Representing 0.3% of male names in Shropshire's Poll Taxes, Houkin is a diminutive form of Hugh (which ranked at #11 overall) with the suffix -kin. It survives today in the surname Howkin(s).
Houde - Found at 0.2% in Shropshire, this looks to be a variant of Hudd, a medieval diminutive of Hugh. The spelling of Houde and Houkin suggests that Shropshire preferred Houw(e) as a spelling for Hugh.
Iglesia - This Spanish word for "church" represents 0.2% of female names in Lincolnshire.
Ive - This anglicised and French form of Ivo appeared in the Leicestershire Poll Taxes, representing 0.2%.
Justine - A feminine form of Justin, found in 0.2% of use in Kent. It was possibly used thanks to St Justina of Padua.
Lecia - While Lettice was the common English form of Latin Letitia (ranking at #32 overall), Lecia was the Latinised form of the Old French form Lece. This form was preferred in Lincolnshire, where it represents 0.2% of female names in the Poll Taxes, and went on to become the surname Leece/Leese.
Levot - Found at 0.3% use in Norfolk, Levot looks to end in the classic -ot diminutive suffix, but it is more likely a medieval form of the Old English Léofgýð (from leof "beloved" and gýð "battle") which is found earlier as Leved, Levit and Livitha.
Maiot - Found in Staffordshire at 0.2% use, and with the popular diminutive -ot suffix, Maiot looks to be a pet-form of Mary which was itself 0.6% in use—more common than in any other county studied—however, Redmonds has found examples of Mariori as a variant of Margery, which was significantly more common than Mary, and also that Marion and Mariot (generally thought to be diminutives for Mary) were also used as diminutives for Margaret and Margery.
Marcery - This name found in Cumbria at 0.2% looks to be a variant of Margery (which ranked at #9 overall).
Marin - Representing 0.4% of female names in Gloucestershire, Marin looks to be a form of Mary, but could be an anglicised form of Marina which Reaney and Wilson note in rare use and the origin of the surname Marrin.
Martha - Surprisingly, Biblical names were little used in the 14th century, with Elizabeth (#17) and Sarah (#20) being the most common. More popular were names of saints such as top 20 favourites Agnes, Margaret, Julian, Katherine, Beatrice and Edith, and it most likely Martha's saintly heritage which resulted in its 0.3% use in Kent.
Millicent - Found at 0.2% use in Kent, Millicent was a royal European name introduced by the Normans.
Obraya - Most likely this name, found at 0.2% in Kent, is a variant of unisex Aubrey which we can see in the surname Obray.
Orenge - Found at 0.2% use in Dorset, Orenge is a name of uncertain etymology. Reaney and Wilson also list the forms Orenga, Orengia and Horenga. They argue that it is "found too early to be associated with the orange", but K.M.Sheard argued that it is "not beyond the realms of possibility that it comes from the same source as the fruit tree." The surname Orange derived from this name.
Osanne - During this period, Osanne was the anglicised form of the liturgical term Hosanna meaning "help" or "save, I pray". It is thought that Osanne was used for girls born around Palm Sunday, as hosanna was sung on that day. Osanne represents 0.5% of use in Lincolnshire and survives in the surname Ozanne.
Sabine - This Roman name, at 0.2% in Leicestershire, is the source of the surnames Saban, Sabben, Sabin and Sablin.
Samia - Ranking at 0.4% usage in Lincolnshire, Samia is a bit of a mystery. It possibly served as a feminine form of Samson which was in some use in the Middle Ages.
Thomesia - This feminine form of Thomas represents 0.2% of names in Dorset.
Till(ot) - Both Till (0.3%) and Tillot (0.7%) appear in the rankings for Cumbria. Till is a hypocoristic form of Matilda (which ranked at #4 overall) and Tillot is the diminutive form. The Cumbrian's loved their diminutive forms: their ranks also include Ellot (Ellen), Anot (Agnes), Evot (Eve), Ibot (Isabel), Emmot (Emma), Elisot (Elizabeth) and Sibot (Sybil).
Wymark - A unisex name representing 0.4% of all female names in Kent. Wymark is an anglicised form of the Old Breton name Wiuhomarch made up of the elements wiu "worthy, noble" and march "stallion, horse, steed." Robert FitzWimarc was a kinsman of both Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror and became Sheriff of Essex (which borders Kent). His surname came from his mother Wimarca/Guimara who was possibly a daughter of Richard I Duke of Normandy. This survives in the surnames Wymark, Waymark and Whymark.
