Message: "17th century English criminal's names!"

[Opinions] 17th century English criminal's names!

by Lethe (reniannen17)

12/8/2008, 3:16 PM

I've been doing a uni course on crime in the early modern period in England and to add some interest while studying, started compiling some of the names I came across. Ok my title was a bit sensationalist, the list also includes accusers, witnesses, victims etc. Some are just weird and it's hard to tell whether it's just the random spelling. Others I just find strange because I expect to find them in my parents or grandparents generation and don't think of them as traditional. Others are just unsual or otherwise interesting.

Female:

Vasta
Sinah
Rathea
Awdly - hee hee
Loer - no higher
Alse
Jana
Fides
Dorcas
Bernet
Disne - related to Walt?
Fryswid
Marienie
Florendine
Thomasine – sometimes found as Thomazine which suggests it was commonly pronounced with a hard s.
Johanna
Jennet - Another one I’ve seen in Scottish records is Jonet.
Arabella
Ursula – Pretty common. It surprised me as I realised I thought of it as an outside name and would have assumed it was a more modern adoption, not a name traditionally used in England. Of course the btn entry explains why.
Ursley - maybe a pet form of Ursula?
Cicely
Tibia - and her sister Femur?
Lydia
Magdalen / Magdaline (same person)
Blanch
Joyce
Denise - all these last 3 I think of as 20thC names
Hester
Sybil / Sibil / Sibila
Philis
Penelope
Angel
Clemence
Mercy
Prudence
Gunnora (14thC)

Male: