How popular is the baby name Leofeva in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Leofeva.
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Elea of British Baby Names recently published a great list of names popular during the Elizabethan era (late 16th century) in the Norfolk region. Here are the top 10 names for each gender:
Male Names
Female Names
1. John
2. Thomas
3. William
4. Robert
5. Richard
6. Edward
7. Henry
8. Edmund
9. Nicholas
10. James
1. Elizabeth
2. Margaret
3. Mary
4. Ann
5. Agnes
6. Alice
7. Dorothy
8. Joan
9. Katherine
10. Bridget
I thought it would be fun to compare this list to a couple of earlier historical name lists from England, so here are the most common names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (13th century):
Male Names
Female Names
1. William
2. John
3. Richard
4. Robert
5. Henry
6. Ralph
7. Thomas
8. Walter
9. Roger
10. Hugh
1. Alice
2. Matilda
3. Agnes
4. Margaret
5. Joan
6. Isabella
7. Emma
8. Beatrice
9. Mabel
10. Cecilia
And, even further back, here are the most-mentioned male names and female names in the Domesday book (11th century):
Male Names
Female Names
1. William
2. Robert
3. Ralph
4. Aelfric
5. Alwin
5. Hugh
7. Roger
8. Godwin
9. Walter
10. Godric
1. Aldgyth
2. Aelfeva
2. Leofeva
2. Wulfeva
5. Bricteva
5. Edeva
7. Emma
7. Godiva
9. Goda
10. Edith
The last two lists may not represent the top given names of their time periods very accurately, but they do give you a sense of how given names in England have changed over time.
We looked at names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (13th century) a couple of weeks ago, so now let’s go back a bit further and look at names from the Domesday Book (11th century).
What is the Domesday Book?
It’s a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of England and parts of Wales.
The Domesday Book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of land they owned, how many people occupied the land (villagers, smallholders, free men, slaves, etc.), the amounts of woodland, meadow, animals, fish and ploughs on the land (if there were any) and other resources, any buildings present (churches, castles, mills, salthouses, etc.), and the whole purpose of the survey – the value of the land and its assets, before the Norman Conquest, after it, and at the time of Domesday.
The book is held at The National Archives in London, but its contents are available online at Open Domesday.
Most of the names in the Domesday Book are male, as most landowners were men. So, to be different (and to make things easier!) I thought I’d focus on the women.
The female names below appeared in the Open Domesday database just once, except where noted. (Multiple mentions don’t necessarily speak to name popularity, as this is not a representative sample of 11th-century people. Also, some individuals are simply mentioned in the book more than once.)
A
Adelaide
Adelina (2)
Adeliza
Aeldiet
Aeleva (3)
Aelfeva (9)
Aelfgyth (4)
Aelfrun
Aelfthryth
Aelgeat
Aelgyth
Aelrun
Aethelfled
Aethelgyth
Agnes (2)
Ailhilla
Aldeva
Aldgyth (13)
Aldhild
Aldwif
Aleifr
Aleva
Alfhild (3)
Alfled (3)
Alswith
Althryth
Alware
Alweis
Alwynn (2)
Asa
Asmoth
Azelina
B
Beatrix
Bothild
Bricteva (8)
Brictfled
Brictgyth
C
Christina
Cwenhild
Cwenleofu
Cwenthryth
D
Deorwynn
Dove
E
Edeva (8)
Edhild
Edith (5)
Edlufu
Egelfride
Emma (7)
Estrild
Eva
G
Goda (6)
Gode (2)
Godelind
Godesa
Godgyth (4)
Goldhild
Godhyse
Godiva (7)
Godrun
Goldeva
Goldrun
Gudhridh
Gunild (2)
Gunwor
Guthrun
Gytha (4)
H
Heloise (2)
Hawise
I
Ida
Ingifrith
Ingrith
Isolde
J
Judith
L
Lefleda
Leodfled
Leofcwen
Leofeva (9)
Leoffled (4)
Leofgyth
Leofhild
Leofrun
Leofsidu
Leofswith
Leofwaru
Leohteva
M
Matilda (3)
Mawa
Menleva
Mereswith
Merwynn
Mild
Modeva
Molleva
Muriel
O
Odfrida
Odil
Odolina
Oia
Olova
Oseva
Q
Queneva
R
Regnild
Rohais (2)
S
Saegyth
Saehild
Saelufu
Saewaru
Saieva
Sigrith
Skialdfrith
Stanfled
Sunneva
T
Tela
Thorild
Thorlogh
Tova
Tovild
Turorne
Tutfled
W
Wigfled
Wulfeva (9)
Wulffled (2)
Wulfgyth
Wulfrun
Wulfwaru (2)
Wulfwynn (2)
See anything you like?
Also, did you notice the names of Scandinavian origin (e.g., Guthrun, Ingrith, Sigrith)? “These names are most numerous in the eastern half of the country, particularly Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This is precisely where, as we know from other evidence, there was a substantial settlement of Scandinavian immigrants.”
