Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names

Women's Names listed by frequency

by Talan Gwynek
(Brian M. Scott,scott@math.csuohio.edu)
© 1994, 1999 by Brian M. Scott; all rights reserved.

Revised 24 Aug 1999

For this list all variants of a single name have been counted together. I have followed modern usage in treating Helen and Ellen as distinct names, and likewise for Pierce and Peter. Similarly, I have distinguished a name from its diminutives when modern practice does so. I have arbitrarily assumed that all four people named Frances were women and that all 86 people named Francis were men. The second column gives the total frequency of the names in the associated block both absolutely and as a percentage of the whole. The third column does the same for the cumulative frequencies. In each list I have also expressed as a percentage the frequency of each name contributing at least 5 percent to the total.

Total Frequency
of this Block		 Cumulative
Frequency		                   Total Frequency
of this Block		 Cumulative
Frequency
Elizabeth 90 (13.6%)
Anne 72 (10.9%)
Joan 60 (9.1%)
Margaret 58 (8.8%)
Alice 57 (8.6%)
 337 (51.1%) 337 (51.0%)  
Marian 5
Frances 4
Lucy 4
Grace 4
Thomasina 4
21 (3.2%) 575 (87.0%)
Mary 43 (6.5%)
Agnes 40 (6.1%)
Catherine 26
Jane 16
Dorothy 15
 140 (21.2%) 477 (72.2%)  
Barbara 4
Magdalen 3
Etheldreda 3
Blanche 3
Francisca 3
16 (2.4%) 591 (89.4%)
Margery   10
Isabella 10
Joyce 9
Helen 9
Susanna 8
46 (7.0%) 523 (79.1%)  
Emma 3
Ursula 3
Dionise 3
Martha 3
Judith 3
15 (2.3%) 606 (91.7%)
Eleanor 7
Christiana 6
Edith 6
Sybil 6
Ellen 6
 31 (4.7%) 554 (83.8%)        


The following 11 names occurred twice each, making 3.3% of the total:
Amie Beatrice Bridget Cecily Constance Juliana Matilda Prudence Rose Sarah Winifred

The following 32 names occurred once each, making 5.0% of the total:

Adrian [1] Cassandra Dolora Ellois Florence Gwenhoivar Jocatta Lettice Mildred Rawsone Tabitha
Annabella Charity Ebotte Ely Gartheride Janikin Jocosa Lucretia Petronella Rebecca Venetia
Aveline Christian [1] Effemia Faith Georgette Jennette Laura Mable Phillipa Rosanna  

Notes:
Each instance of this name has been counted as a man's name save for the one instance of each that clearly referred to a woman. Further research suggests that in the 16th century these names were more often borne by women than by men. It is possible that all instances of both are in fact feminine

Introduction
Masculine Names listed by frequency
Name listed alphabetically (with derivation notes)
Abbreviations and Bibliography



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