Medieval names to beware of

If, for whatever reason, you want to compile a list of medieval names, a web site called :

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




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.”]