If, for whatever reason, you want to compile a list of medieval names, a web site called The Medieval Names Archive claims to steer you clear of unreliable sources:
People have lots of different reasons for compiling lists of names, and most of them don’t result in good sources for medieval names…. When you are faced with a name list, here are some signs that it is probably unreliable as a source of medieval names:
- No dates.
- No list of sources where the author found the names.
- The title of the list includes the word baby.
- There is a meaning given for every name.
- Languages of origin are given with unscholarly terms like Teutonic or Celtic.
- There is no variation in the spelling of names, i.e. every William is spelled the same.
Here is a list [only highlights of which appear below] of some websites that offer name lists that you should avoid if you are looking for medieval names…:
- Kate Monk’s Onomastikon
- Society of Kabalarians of Canada Baby Naming site
- Whisper Kitty’s Given Name List
- BabyCenter Baby Names
- Middle Eastern Dance Resource Guide: Names
- The Celtic Cauldron Celtic Name Compendium
- Scythian Vocabulary and Names [of which The Medieval Names Archive says: “We recommend against trusting this discussion at all. Other publications by some of the same authors have been thoroughly discredited.”]