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Arminel actually has an entry in E. G. Withycombe's "The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names" (3rd edition, 1977). This is:

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A rare name which seems to be confined to Devon, where it is still in use. There was an Arminel Cording in that county in 1797. It looks like a diminutive of Armine, the English feminine form of French "Armand", German and Dutch "Herman."

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Since the above entry just says Arminel "looks like" a diminutive of Armine, I suppose it shows Withycombe was just trying to give an educated guess and really didn't have hard evidence for that explanation. But it seems to be a good possibility that her guess is correct.

I can’t help much with the girls names, but I might have some insight on Admonition. I’d wager to say that Admonition likely isn’t in reference to the admonition to the Parliament but instead a reference to admonition as used in the Bible. Though it sounds harsh, the Biblical context of admonition is to reprimand someone firmly out of love for them, seeking to correct their path for their own good and protection. It’s used often throughout the Bible, especially in the apostle Paul’s letters to the church, and certainly aligns both with Puritan theological values and with their common naming practice of naming children Biblical word names as warnings or reminders (names like Hate-evil, Fly-fornication, and Mortifie come to mind). It certainly could have arisen as a reference to the letter to Parliament, but I’d counter that by saying that the specific choice of admonition in that title is in reference to admonition as used by Paul, meaning the context of the name would have some aspects of both inspirations/meanings.

This message was edited 6/8/2025, 12:20 PM