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Help[Facts] Re: my middle name is armenell
in reply to a message by sally
There was another post on the board about Armenell ten years ago, concerning an entry for the name in E. G. Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/538359
It clearly dates back further than Ms Withycombe's earliest example, as the earliest parish record I found was that of Armanell Woode, baptised in 1547 in Surrey. There were many other 16th-century examples of the name, in various spellings (Armonel, Armynell, Ermenill, Arminella etc) - almost all born in Devon and Cornwall*, so that's obviously where the name originates from.
English parish records began in the first half of the 16th century, and before that, lists of personal names, especially female names, are patchy at best. In the absence of consistent records with which to track the development of the name, it's impossible to say for sure where it came from, but I have two theories to add to Ms Withycombe's:
1) it's a feminised Cornish development or corruption or analogue of the Welsh name Arthfael, similar to the Breton name Armelle - seems possible given the Celtic-language connection, but I would expect to see a male form too, and I'm not finding one.
2) it's a Cornish corruption of the Anglo-Saxon female name Eormenhild (see Irmhild) which had a Middle English form of Ermenilda. This fits in with the Erminell spelling of the name, and there's at least one other name more-or-less exclusive to the area with an Anglo-Saxon source (Loveday). This seems a more likely hypothesis, but can't confirm without more data.
* neighbouring counties in South-West England
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/538359
It clearly dates back further than Ms Withycombe's earliest example, as the earliest parish record I found was that of Armanell Woode, baptised in 1547 in Surrey. There were many other 16th-century examples of the name, in various spellings (Armonel, Armynell, Ermenill, Arminella etc) - almost all born in Devon and Cornwall*, so that's obviously where the name originates from.
English parish records began in the first half of the 16th century, and before that, lists of personal names, especially female names, are patchy at best. In the absence of consistent records with which to track the development of the name, it's impossible to say for sure where it came from, but I have two theories to add to Ms Withycombe's:
1) it's a feminised Cornish development or corruption or analogue of the Welsh name Arthfael, similar to the Breton name Armelle - seems possible given the Celtic-language connection, but I would expect to see a male form too, and I'm not finding one.
2) it's a Cornish corruption of the Anglo-Saxon female name Eormenhild (see Irmhild) which had a Middle English form of Ermenilda. This fits in with the Erminell spelling of the name, and there's at least one other name more-or-less exclusive to the area with an Anglo-Saxon source (Loveday). This seems a more likely hypothesis, but can't confirm without more data.
* neighbouring counties in South-West England
This message was edited 10/18/2016, 12:56 PM
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