I’m at the age where lots of people I know are having babies. And to my disappointment, with a few notable exceptions, most of them seem to be blissfully unaware of the rich treasure trove of baby names provided by the Middle Ages, especially the earlier centuries thereof.
To remedy this ignorance, I have compiled a list of names that definitely won’t be shared by your child’s classmates (in the U.S.), and they belonged to positively fascinating people. Given my personal experience with a Catholic grandma who scoffs at anything that ‘isn’t a Saint’s name’, several of these figures are canonized or venerated as such (additional dubious hagiographical information for skeptical grandmas available upon request).
- Darerca
Though her more main claim to fame was being St. Patrick’s sister, St. Darerca bore 17 children who mostly went on to become saints themselves which is a pretty awe-inspiring feat. This name still appears popular in Ireland; however I have met dozens of little Patricks running about in American Catholic Churches and never a Darerca, which really is a shame. - Florentina
St. Florentina was the sister of St. Isidore of Seville, and the dedicatee of several of his theological works. A Church leader in her own right, she founded an ascetic religious community, guided by the pastoral advice of her brothers St. Isidore and St. Leander. Also, - Hrotsvitha
A famous German secular canoness and prolific writer, Hrotsvitha has fascinated many medieval scholars as one of the earliest known female medieval intellectuals. Especially if you are into naming your daughters after brave, pioneering women, but don’t want to be one of the crowd, this one is a no-brainer. - Ingundis
Ingundis was a Catholic Frankish princess married off to Hermenegild, an Iberian Visigothic prince. To the horror of his family, Hermenegild converted from Arianism to his spouse’s faith, and then the two of them led an unsuccessful revolt against the much-despised Visigothic King Leovigild; though she fled Spain and died on her journey to Constantinople, Ingundis hopefully would have felt vindicated by the conversion of the Visigothic Kingdom under Hermenegild’s brother Reccared a few years later. - Rusticiana
Wife of Boethius, which means she was doubtless a woman of tolerance and patience, a veritable (if not canonized) saint. I mean, her husband translated Aristotelian commentaries for FUN and she remained devoted to him. What a woman.
Possibly a prophetic representation of my orange-haired self as a small child.
- Freculf. Ideal if he’s an adorable redhead like this medieval baby Jesus on the left, so you can call him ‘Freckles’ (he will never forgive you). Freculf was an impressive scholar and historian from Liseiux; I imagine a Lisieux-themed set of twins named Freculf and Therese would be adorably eccentric.
- Rahewin
A German chronicler from Freising who modeled his writing after that of Florus and Josephus, among others; somewhat overshadowed by Otto of Freising, whose unfinished Gesta Friderici imperatoris he completed. I pronounced this name wrong multiple times in a final presentation last month; still haven’t recovered. - Walahfrid
A ninth-century liturgical historian who offered a somewhat atypical perspective on the development and origins of the western liturgy. (On the off chance that you are deeply interested in the early medieval liturgy like me, I highly recommend “‘Appropriate to the Religion of their Time’: Walahfrid’s Historicisation of the Liturgy” by Christina Pössel.)
Would I actually name my kids any of these names? Quite honestly, Rusticiana, Florentina, and Hrotsvitha (maybe in the less difficult form Roswitha) are strong contenders (don’t tell my Fiancé yet).
Musings of a medievalist mama 