GAY MARRRIAGES IN THE 17TH CENTURY

[Falcor]

Well, the title should get this post some attention if nothing else :).

I am transcribing some parish records and have come across some entries that I have to query.

I have grooms with normal masculine names, marrying brides with names of Nicolas, Matthew, Theodore, Phillip and Christian, to name a few.

Now I am familiar with Leslie/Lesley and Francis/Frances but I did wonder if there was a penchant for cross-gender names as far back as the 17th century? I can't quite seem to accept that two chaps would get married in a church in 1670, nor do I believe they could |biggrin|. Although nowadays it is acceptable, of course.

Falcor

[busyglen]

Well, the title should get this post some attention if nothing else :).

I am transcribing some parish records and have come across some entries that I have to query.

I have grooms with normal masculine names, marrying brides with names of Nicolas, Matthew, Theodore, Phillip and Christian, to name a few.

Now I am familiar with Leslie/Lesley and Francis/Frances but I did wonder if there was a penchant for cross-gender names as far back as the 17th century? I can't quite seem to accept that two chaps would get married in a church in 1670, nor do I believe they could |biggrin|. Although nowadays it is acceptable, of course.

Falcor


Are these actually the christian names? They could be surnames, but I am sure you would have noticed if they had only noted one name. Really weird that isn't it? :confused:

Glenys

[Falcor]

Are these actually the christian names? They could be surnames, but I am sure you would have noticed if they had only noted one name. Really weird that isn't it? :confused:

Glenys
Yes most definitely Christian names!

[pipsqueak]

I think that some names that we now consider purely masculine might one have been female names. Even now (living in the US) there are names I think ought to be boys' names, given to little girls. I know girls called McKenzie, Taylor and Jamie, for example. Kelly is another that used to be a male name - probably a surname, like those I've already mentioned.

I have two female ancestors with "male" names as middle names: Jeffrey and Justus/Justice. There is no reason why your findings might not be just what they are. Women with names that have come to be thought of as men's names.

(Although if you are looking at handwriting, Theodore could be Theodora.... and who says a woman can't be a Christian? ;) )

[suedent]

I can't speak for the other names but I do have several female Christans/Christians in my husband's tree.
His great-aunt was Christian (Cissie) Dent and she was named after her aunt Christian Snowdon, who in turn was named after her aunt Christian Brown.

Later generations of the family have used Christine rather than the older form.

[Geoffers]

I am transcribing some parish records and have come across some entries that I have to query.

I have grooms with normal masculine names, marrying brides with names of Nicolas, Matthew, Theodore, Phillip and Christian, to name a few.


Are these names in English or Latin? Are you working from an oriignal or a transcript?

As has been pointed out, some names such as Christian were feminine.

[Falcor]

Are these names in English or Latin? Are you working from an oriignal or a transcript?

As has been pointed out, some names such as Christian were feminine.
Working from an original (fiche), and the text is in Englishe

[Guy Etchells]

Well, the title should get this post some attention if nothing else :).

I am transcribing some parish records and have come across some entries that I have to query.

I have grooms with normal masculine names, marrying brides with names of Nicolas, Matthew, Theodore, Phillip and Christian, to name a few.

Now I am familiar with Leslie/Lesley and Francis/Frances but I did wonder if there was a penchant for cross-gender names as far back as the 17th century? I can't quite seem to accept that two chaps would get married in a church in 1670, nor do I believe they could |biggrin|. Although nowadays it is acceptable, of course.

Falcor

Yes cross gender names were reasonably common.
Remember spelling was not fixed until relatively recently and therefore the finesse of gender now common in names did not happen then.

As today in England marriage could only occur between two people of different sex.

Homosexuality was considered to be of the same level as bestiality and carried the same punishments.
Cheers
Guy

[Angelaj]

Hi,
I found a marriage entry between Wm. Nichols and Douglas Sharrow (Westoning, Bedfordshire 1703). I assumed it was an error as these are 1940s typed transcripts, but further investigation showed a hign number of female baptisms with Douglas/Duglis as a first name, mostly in the mid to late 17th century.
Angelaj

[A Lee]

My name is Alison, but I read somewhere that it used to be a male name - as in 'son of Alice'.

[peter nicholl]

And in the 20th Century, Marian Mitchell and Shirley Crabtree Jnr.

[daleaway]

I have known women whose first names were Herbert and Stanley respectively. In both cases these were family surnames.

Shirley also began as a family surname and was a male name before becoming used only by females. I believe Beverley was in the same position. Once females start using a male name it is often dropped by males for fear of catching what the Simpsons call girl cooties. ;)

[ChristineR]

I have two female ancestors with "male" names as middle names: Jeffrey and Justus/Justice.

In this instance, the middle names were most likely surnames, a common practice to carry them down, often the origin with one of the female lines further back, sometimes several generations back.

Some families stuck rigidly to the naming pattern, and when in doubt if a son was ever going to be born they would give the name to a daughter, but often put an 'a' or 'ina' on the end.

Christine :)