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Emma *love*

Alice without a doubt, it's one of my fave girl names.

That's really hard. I love quite a few of those.

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Hm... I choose Beatrice. I'd love to have a little Birdie.

Probably Joan. Maybe Cecily. Rohesia is cool too but I'd prefer it as a middle name.

Alice. It has a lovely sound, like a light bell ringing.

I'd choose either Juliana or Matilda. Emma is nice, but it's my own name: it could be considerable as a middle name, though. Alice, Beatrice, Cecily and Margery are also lovely, but they don't work that well in my home country (Finland). Well, maybe for a Swedish-speaking person, but I'm not one, so...

This message was edited 8/14/2014, 1:10 AM

Great names, It's hard to choose. I would have to go with Alice though. Juliana and Matilda were also strong contenders.

I'd choose Alice or Juliana. :)

Emma. I'd be happy with Emma whether it's 1314 or 2014. I've loved it forever.

Cecily, but I feel like if I were alive then, I might go with Margery. It has such a pretty sound but it just reminds me of margarine.

Probably Isabella, just because Ibbie would make such a cute nn. Agnes, Emma, Rohesia, and even Juliana and Matilda would be highly tempting, however.

Avice. I've never heard it before, but I like it the best of the bunch.

Hmm... as somebody with a background in medieval studies, I have doubts about the % number here. Birth (baptism, marriage, census-type, more likely) records from the period also aren't necessarily reflective of society as a whole, even if they are extant. Especially for girls. As someone else mentioned, you also have to account for the fact it's the richer people getting in the record-books largely.

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Nonetheless... most of these seem like pretty plausible names for the medieval period in England. Although I'm sure these would vary *greatly* depending on what part of the roughly 1000 year medieval period we're talking about (I see that your source is talking about 13th/14th centuries). And it would probably vary among classes, and regions of England. And then there's the question of whether different spellings constitute different names (as in the US name rankings).

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Your source is very interesting, and I like seeing all the alternate spellings! I only wish it had some references :)

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My little tangent aside (sorry!)... I'm a fan of most names on the list! I'd love to see something more unusual like Margery, Cecily, or Agnes get popular again.

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I'd pick Juliana. I like the name's sound and look, and think it works well as a modern name too. Plus it might be cool to reference the medieval mystic called Julian of Norwich :)

Agnes, it's a family name for me.

I'd choose Alice.

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I wouldn't mind using Alice Agnes Matilda as a combination, either.

Alice. It's a long-standing favorite anyway.

Cecily, probably. Definitely not Rohesia, it sounds like a disease. Or like Rhodesia, which makes me think of colonialism.

Lol, %60?? What a terrible time to be a namenerd! :)

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Hm, my favourites from the list would be Cecily and Matilda. But I might be tempted to go with Avice, for the obscurity factor. I kinda like all three.

Oh wow, Rohesia. That is really pretty. I'll have to put some thought into that one, but as it stands, the one that I would definitely consider using is Cecily, with Margery at a close second (though I'd spell it Marjory, apt as not). Very interesting list.

I would choose Margery.I prefer the spelling Marjorie, but never mind, they both sound the same.

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Given a second daughter, I'd choose Juliana.

Agnes, Beatrice and Cecily are all amongst my top names. Oh, goodness... I'm going to have to say Agnes, I think.

I'd probably opt for my darling Margery, though I'd also be alluringly courted by Agnes, Joan, and Rohesia.

Parents in medieval England had great taste, apparently, which makes this hard. Avice is interesting, so is Rohesia ... But I have to say Cecily. :)

Just curious - what's your source for that statistic? What time period does it cover? I do medieval re-enactment so I really enjoy reading about medieval names.

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I would choose Cecily, without hesitation. Matilda would come a close second.

Rohesia or Juliana

Hmmmmmm. Cecily, I think.