About norman names
Results like "Marotte Faucon" and "Turbert Levett" mix Germanic given names with early French surnames, and the territorial de appears in forms like "Nathalée de La Hay". The de names suit landed knights and manor holders, while plain surnames fit stewards, archers, and townsfolk. Useful for 1066 campaigns, Anglo-Norman family trees, and keeps on either side of the Channel.
How norman names are built
A name pairs a gender-tagged given name with a surname from a 360-entry family-name pool. The men's bank holds 456 forenames and the women's 268, producing male pulls like Andrâ Ryall and Roald de La Hay and female pulls like Marotte Faucon.
Andrâ Ryall
Andrâ (given, male bank) + Ryall (surname)
Marotte Faucon
Marotte (given, female bank) + Faucon (surname)
Roald de La Hay
Roald (given, male bank) + de La Hay (surname)
Naming notes
The forename banks and the surname pool carry French-form material, including locative surnames that begin with de (de La Hay). Both genders draw from the one 360-entry surname pool. Use the de- and French-form surnames for an eleventh- or twelfth-century aristocratic register, distinct from later plain English names.
Questions about norman names
- Why do some surnames start with 'de'?
- The surname pool includes locative forms that begin with de (de La Hay); they are stored whole in the 360-entry bank and attach like any other surname.
- How is a full name built?
- A forename is drawn from the 456-entry male or 268-entry female bank, then a surname from the shared 360-entry pool, giving pulls like Andrâ Ryall or Marotte Faucon.
- What characters do these suit?
- An eleventh- and twelfth-century aristocratic register; the de- and French-form surnames set the period tone.