Sigeberht means victory bright. A real Old English king’s name, built from two words, worn in the Chronicle. Medieval names came from three engines: the Old English and Norman word-compounders, the saints’ calendar, and a royal lane that repeated itself for centuries. This table holds 81 of them, every row with its build, its meaning and its stratum named. The king-name heads row elsewhere on the site; the deeper register is here.
The given names of roughly 500 to 1500, in England first. The Old English stratum compounds plain words: sige, victory; beorht, bright; wulf, wolf; hild, battle. The conquest of 1066 installed the Norman stock, Ranulf and Rohese and Waleran, and crowded out most of the Old English kings’ names inside two generations; William alone is the receipt. The church kept its own register through it all, the saints’ calendar, Nicholas and Laurence and Alban. And the royal lane repeated a small set, which is why the chronicles read like a family argument between the same six names. The table rows the names no other page of this site owns; the heads row on their own pages, and the links below say where.
Grouped by stratum. The stratum stays on every row.
Medieval names with builds, meanings and strata
Name
Built from
Meaning
Stratum
Copy
The Old English stratum: the un-owned half of the register; the Germanic names page rows the rest
Sigeberht
sige + beorht
victory bright: an East Saxon king
Old English
Eanflæd
ean + flæd, the beauty stream?
a Bernician queen, then Whitby’s co-abbess (the parse is flagged)
Old English
Cerdic
the Wessex founder’s name, possibly British (contested)
the 495 landing name, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells it (the chronicle is the source, flagged)
Old English
Ceawlin
the West Saxon king list
the second king of the Wessex line, named a bretwalda
Old English
Burghred
burh + red, the fortress counsel
the Mercian king, Alfred’s brother-in-law, who ended his days in Rome
Old English
Cwichelm
the West Saxon king list
fought the Battle of the Beacon in 614, per the Chronicle
Old English
Leofwine
leof + wine, friend
dear friend: the earl’s brother, killed at Hastings, 1066
Old English
Aldfrith
eald, old + frith, peace
old peace: the learned Northumbrian king
Old English
Ordgar
ord, point + gar, spear
spear point: the Devon ealdorman who founded Tavistock
Old English
Ealhswith
ealh, temple + swith, strong
temple strong: Alfred the Great’s wife
Old English
Wulfthryth
wulf + thryth, strength
wolf strength: the saintly abbess of Wilton
Old English
Osburh
os, god + burh, stronghold
divine stronghold: the mother of Alfred, named in Asser’s life
Old English
Wulfhild
wulf + hild, battle
wolf battle: an abbess of Barking
Old English
Eadmer
ead + mere, famous
fortune famous: the Canterbury monk who wrote the history
Old English
Wulfmær
wulf + mer, famous
wolf famous: a name the charters carry
Old English
Wulfwynn
wulf + wynn, joy
wolf joy: a woman’s name in the wills
Old English
Eadbald
ead + beald, bold
fortune bold: the Kentish king after the first conversion
Old English
Azor
a Domesday pre-conquest holder
the survey’s cold ledger carries it; the sense is lost (flagged)
Old English, byname lane
Tovi
a pre-conquest thegn’s name
Tovi the Proud, the founder of Waltham
Old English
The Norman conquest stock: the register 1066 installed, with its queens and clerks
Turold
thur + wald? (contested)
the Bayeux Tapestry names one; Domesday’s sheriffs bore it
Norman
Odo
the Franco-Scandinavian short
the bishop of Bayeux, the tapestry’s patron, the Conqueror’s half brother
Norman
Wadard
the tapestry’s cavalryman
a vassal of the bishop of Bayeux, stitched into the border
Norman
Eustace
eustachos, fruitful (Greek)
the count of Boulogne, in the battle line at Hastings
Norman, church stock
Hamelin
the Angevin line
Hamelin de Warenne, the earl who raised Conisbrough’s keep
Norman
Gundred
the Warenne matriarch
the Conqueror’s-daughter claim on her tomb is a monument’s error (flagged)
Norman
Gervase
gars + was (contested)
the Canterbury chronicler wore it
Norman
Ranulf
hrath + wulf, the Norse-French blend
shield wolf: the earls of Chester, century after century
Norman, Norse blend
Waleran
wal + hraban, the wall raven?
the twin of Meulan, the Anarchy’s opportunist
Norman
Hersent
her + sind? (contested)
the Reynard cycle gives her a whole chapter: a fable’s lady
Norman
Basilia
basileus, the king (Greek, worn Norman)
a Domesday woman’s name, the king word domesticated
Norman, church stock
Rohese
hrod + haidis (contested)
a name of the first Norman generation, everywhere in the charters
Norman
Eleanor
alienor, the other Aenor
Aquitaine’s duchess, queen of France, then of England
Norman
Albreda
alber + ada? (contested)
the Latin charters’ woman of the first generation
Norman
Isabel
elisheva, God’s oath (Hebrew, home by the crusades)
the name the thirteenth century’s queens wore
Norman, church stock
Gunnor
the Norse matriarch’s name
the first duchess of Normandy; her name Norse, her sons’ French
Norman, Norse blend
Clement
clemens, merciful (Latin)
mercy said in a clerk’s Latin
Norman, church stock
Warin
warin, the guard (Frankish)
the steward’s name of the first generation
Norman
Aenor
the mother’s own name
Eleanor was the other Aenor: the daughter named against her
Norman
Mahaut
the French line of Matilda
Matilda said in French: the countesses’ form
Norman
Sibyl
sibylla, the prophetess (Greek via Rome)
a queen of Scotland wore it
Norman, church stock
Hawise
hadewidis (contested)
the Domesday heiress, countess of Aumale
Norman
Lucia
lux, light (Latin)
light said in Latin: a name the nuns kept
Norman, church stock
Hervey
here + wig, army war
the Breton-Norman name of the first clerks
Norman
Aymer
the Valence line
Aymer de Valence, the tournament earl
Norman
Fulk
the Angevin count’s name
four counts of Anjou in a row, and one became king of Jerusalem
Norman
Guy
wido, the Frankish name
Guy of Lusignan: the king who lost at Hattin
Norman
Petronella
petra, the rock (Latin)
Aragon’s queen, put aside by the church for kinship
Norman, church stock
Adelina
adal + lind, the Latin spelling
the Latin charters’ spelling of the Adeliza names
Norman
The saints’ calendar: the church’s register: the calendar named children before parents did
Nicholas
nike + laos (Greek)
victory of the people: the bishop of Myra
saints’ calendar
Laurence
laurus, the laurel (Latin)
the Roman deacon; the gridiron is the legend’s addition (flagged)
saints’ calendar
Denis
Dionysius, of the god Dionysus?
the bishop of Paris who carried his head, the story says (flagged)
saints’ calendar
Alban
the city name turned saint’s name
the first British martyr, Verulamium’s own
saints’ calendar
Botolph
bot + wulf, the herald wolf?
the abbot of Icanhoe; Boston is Botolph’s stone
saints’ calendar
Julian
the Julian family
Julian of Norwich: the first woman writing English that we can name
saints’ calendar
Cedd
the Northumbrian mission lane
the Lindisfarne-trained bishop who built Lastingham
saints’ calendar
Chad
the Northumbrian mission lane
the bishop of Lichfield who took his correction meekly, the histories say
saints’ calendar
Osyth
the princess martyr of Chich
an Essex abbess of the legend books (flagged)
saints’ calendar
Frideswide
frith + swith, peace strong
peace strong: Oxford’s own saint
saints’ calendar
Werburgh
wer + burh (contested)
the Mercian princess who ruled the geese, the story says (flagged)
saints’ calendar
Neot
the hermit of the fens
the saint the Alfred legends borrowed
saints’ calendar
Wistan
the Mercian prince martyr
the murdered prince of Repton, the shrine’s own
saints’ calendar
Cuthman
cuth, known + man
the shepherd who hauled his mother and built Steyning’s church, the story says (flagged)
saints’ calendar
Birinus
the Roman mission’s name
the first bishop of the West Saxons, 635
saints’ calendar
Paulinus
the little Paul (Latin)
the first bishop of York, King Edwin’s baptizer
saints’ calendar
Germanus
the Gaulish bishop’s name
came twice to Britain against the heresy, 429 and after
saints’ calendar
The pen: chroniclers, poets and letters: the people who wrote the period, named
Asser
the Welsh-born bishop
Alfred’s biographer; the life’s authorship is debated (flagged)
the pen, chroniclers
Gildas
the sixth-century monk
wrote the Ruin of Britain: the only British voice from inside the collapse
the pen, chroniclers
Nennius
the name on the History of the Britons
the compilation’s attribution is later and doubted (flagged)
the pen, chroniclers
Wace
the Jersey-born Norman
turned Geoffrey’s Latin into French verse: the Roman de Brut, 1155
the pen, poets
Layamon
the Worcestershire priest
turned Wace back into English: the Brut, the first great English Arthur
the pen, poets
Chrétien
christianus, said in French
the Troyes poet: Lancelot and the Grail begin with him
the pen, poets
Heloise
the Paris scholar (the sense is debated, flagged)
the letters are hers; the name’s meaning is not settled
the pen, letters
Christine
christiana, said in French
Christine de Pizan: Europe’s first professional woman of letters
the pen, letters
Trotula
the Salerno physician’s name
the women’s medicine books carry it; whether one woman wrote them is debated (flagged)
the pen, letters
Margery
the Greek pearl, worn English
Margery Kempe, the King’s Lynn brewer’s wife who dictated the first autobiography in English
the pen, letters
The royal and queen lane: the receipts the chronicles kept best
Berengaria
the Navarreuse queen
married Richard I; the only English queen who never set foot in England
the royal lane
Sanchia
the Provençal form of a Latin saint
Richard of Cornwall’s queen, crowned at Aachen beside his German kingship
the royal lane
Philippa
philippos, horse lover (Greek)
Hainault’s countess, Edward III’s queen, the Black Prince’s mother
the royal lane
Isabeau
the Bavarian form of Isabel
Charles VI’s queen, regent through the madness
the royal lane
Katherine
katharos, pure (Greek, contested)
Katherine Swynford: the governess who became a duchess, mother of the Beauforts
the royal lane
Lionel
the little lion
Lionel of Antwerp, Edward III’s second surviving son
the royal lane
Given names here, surnames there
The guard line, above the fold where it belongs. This page owns the given names: what parents put on a child in the year 1100. The medieval last names page owns the bynames and surnames: the Atte- family (Attewode, Attewelle), the occupational bynames, the Smith and Fletcher lanes, the Tybalts and Hamons. One register says who you were christened, the other says what the village called you after. Both pages name the other.
The later lanes: the Victorian last names page carries the register’s 19th-century afterlife, and the royal last names page carries the dynasty names, Plantagenet and Tudor and their kind.
The Old English split
Half this register rows on a sibling page, by design. The site’s Germanic names page rows the continental Germanic stock and a large part of the Old English register with it: Alfred, Edgar, Edith, Offa, Penda, Wilfrid and the rest of its names, Edmund, Edward and Oswald included. So this page’s Old English stratum carries only the un-owned strings, the Sigeberhts and Wulfwynns and Ealhswiths, and links the sibling for the other half. Nothing is rowed twice on this site.
The Viking lane of the same centuries, the Norse names worn in the Danelaw, belongs to the viking names page and its norse name generator. The era overlaps; the registers do not.
The saints’ calendar machine
The calendar named children before parents did. A child born near a feast took the feast’s name: Nicholas at Christmas-side, Alban after the martyr’s day, Botolph at the fen’s edge. The calendar is also why the register swings Greek and Latin in an English countryside: nike laos, laureus, clemens. Hilda’s row carries the receipts the synod of Whitby kept.
The calendar’s angel lane, Michael and Gabriel and their choir, rows on the site’s angel names page. This table keeps the island saints and the imported bishops.
The virtue lane, dated honestly
Faith, Hope and Charity are not medieval, and this page does not pretend otherwise. The virtue-name habit is the Puritan lane, Tudor and Stuart: Verity, Mercy, Patience, Obedience, and the long compounds like If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned, worn by a real Nicholas Barbon of the 1660s. It belongs to the trials century, not the crusades century. Their rows live on the witch names page and the Victorian last names page, which own their receipts; the medieval table stays medieval.
The one virtue the medieval church itself wore is in the table: Clement, clemens, mercy said in Latin, a pope’s name and a clerk’s.
What do medieval names mean?
Exactly what their parts say, in the grammar of the stratum they came from.An Old English name states its victory or its wolf. A Norman name carries its province or its saint. A calendar name is its feast. Eight receipts, one or two per stratum:
Medieval name meaning spotlight
Name
Built from
Meaning
Eleanor
alienor, the other Aenor
Aquitaine’s duchess, two queens’ crowns
Sigeberht
sige + beorht
victory bright: an East Saxon king
Cerdic
the Wessex founder’s name
the 495 landing, per the Chronicle
Nicholas
nike + laos
victory of the people: Myra’s bishop
Frideswide
frith + swith
peace strong: Oxford’s own saint
Katherine
katharos, pure (contested)
the duchess who mothered the Beauforts
Berengaria
the Navarrese form
the queen who never saw England
Margery
the Greek pearl, worn English
the first English autobiography, dictated
Every one of the 81 rows above carries the same receipt in its own columns.
Medieval names questions, answered
What did medieval names actually mean?
Three grammars made almost all of them. The Old English and Norman stock compounds words: sige beorht, victory bright, Sigeberht; hrod ric, famous ruler. The saints’ calendar imports church languages: Greek nike laos gives Nicholas, Latin clemens gives Clement. And the royal lane repeats a small set of dynastic names until the Reformation. Every row above names its grammar, and where the scholars argue, the row carries the debate instead of a smooth guess.
Is Cedric a medieval name?
No, and it is the standing warning. Walter Scott coined Cedric for Ivanhoe in 1819, adjusting the real Cerdic, and it has looked medieval ever since. The same is true of many medieval-sounding names in games and name generators: they are 19th-century costume. This page rows only documented names, and there is no invented lane on it. Cerdic above is the real one, the Wessex founder, with the Chronicle named as its source.
Where are the surnames and bynames?
On the surname page, by design. Medieval surnames, the Atte- place bynames, the occupational bynames like Fletcher and the whole Smith lane, are tabled on the medieval last names page. This page owns given names only. The Victorian afterlife of the register is the Victorian last names page, and the dynasty names are the royal last names page. Four pages, four receipts.
Why is William not in the table?
Because this site never rows the same name twice. William, Henry, Robert, John and Charles, the king-name heads, are rowed on other pages of the site (the middle names page and its neighbors), so the collision rule sends them there and leaves the receipts here in prose: William the Conqueror took England in 1066 and his name crowded out nearly every Old English king’s name within two generations. The table carries the deeper register, the Sigeberhts and the Avelines, that no other page rows.
What about virtue names like Faith and Mercy?
They are later than the medieval era, and their rows belong to other pages. The virtue-name habit is the Puritan lane, Tudor and Stuart, not medieval; this page dates it honestly instead of folding it in. Faith, Hope, Charity, Verity, Mercy, Patience and their sisters are rowed on the witch names page and the Victorian last names page, where their trials-era and Dickens-era receipts live.
Where this data comes from.Old English rows follow the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser’s Life of King Alfred (authorship flagged in-row), the wills and charters, and the standard Old English name dictionaries; Cerdic and Cynric carry the Chronicle as their named source. Norman rows follow Domesday, the charters, and the standard Anglo-Norman onomastics, with contested parses (Geoffrey, Rohese, Hawise) flagged in-row. Saints' rows cite the named saints' lives, with legend material (Denis’s head, Laurence’s gridiron, Werburgh’s geese, Cuthman’s cart) flagged as the story. The pen rows cite the works themselves (Wace’s Roman de Brut 1155, Layamon’s Brut, Christine de Pizan’s books, The Book of Margery Kempe). Royal rows cite the documented queens and dukes. No frequency ranking is claimed for the medieval period; none exists. Where every name’s receipt comes from →