The female name Jacomyn caught my eye as I was browsing through Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature by Charles W. Bardsley recently
Jacomyn, part of the massive James/Jacob name-group, fell out of usage in England centuries ago (though an equivalent name, Jacomijn, still sees usage among the Dutch).
I’m not sure how the final syllable would have been pronounced — short like Evelyn? long like Adeline? — but I do know that the name was spelled all sorts of ways back in the 16th and 17th centuries:
- Jacomyn Prentis, born in 1568 in London
- Jacomin Tapshall, born in 1638 in Dover
- Jacomyne Slade, born in 1614 in London
- Jackomyn Boxsall, born in 1564 in Lodsworth
- Jackamin Greene, born in 1672 in London
- Jackamyn Wodestock, born in 1562 in Croydon
- Jackemyne Trovell, born in 1576 in Ullingswick
I wonder if modern parents would be interested in Jacomyn as an alternative to more common James/Jacob-based feminine names like Jamie and Jacqueline…?
Would you consider using the name Jacomyn?
At first I thought it might be an alternative version of Jasmine, spelling the c as an s…
That’s an interesting association. You’re right, they do look alike.
I do like the name; obviously they must have come from the same source – I might spell it Jacquemyn, though – just to update and modernize it.