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in reply to a message by Narinoc
That names like Admiranda and Amanda were very rare indeed. Also that they would only really have been known to the people who used them, unlike common names like Elizabeth. They were not part of a general stock of names (sort of like the difference between, say, 'Emma' and 'Calico' today - one is common and part of the popular name stock, the other is rare and would surprise people).
The Amanda in the record is probably a girl bearing either the male French name Amand (women often bore male names such as Philip and Eustace), or a female form of Amand (probably Amande - Amanda is most likely the Latinisation of the name).
The Amanda in the record is probably a girl bearing either the male French name Amand (women often bore male names such as Philip and Eustace), or a female form of Amand (probably Amande - Amanda is most likely the Latinisation of the name).
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That could well be - from Shakespeare's point of view, though, Miranda was just another gerundive of obligation! Just as Perdita was just another past participle, and Marina was just an adjective. And educated parents would have been able to do what he did, in the Middle Ages or whenever, if they liked. The difference is that, if a girl was to be named Amand, then the one making the change to Amanda would have been the priest; and he would have been writing down a feminine form, not a gerundive with its own meaning.
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The recorder of the name (likely to be attached to a religious house, but unlikely to be a 'priest' in quite our modern sense) wouldn't be changing the name (the child would still be called Amand), just the recorded form. Which he would record in the Latin feminine because the record would be in Latin and the child would be feminine, no other reason.
And educated parents would be fairly thin on the ground, verging on non-existent, in 1200ish. Educated monks would be more likely. I think the male name is most likely here.
And educated parents would be fairly thin on the ground, verging on non-existent, in 1200ish. Educated monks would be more likely. I think the male name is most likely here.
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