Anthroponymy of Marriers from the Parish Marriage Records of Madeira Island: Parishes of Santa Cruz, Caniço, Sé, and Ribeira Brava (16th to 20th Centuries)

Abstract

This paper essentially reproduces part of the research project within the scope of the master’s degree in Linguistics: Societies and Cultures, which was developed at the Centre for Atlantic History Studies – Alberto Vieira (CEHA-AV), of the current Regional Department for Archives, Libraries and Books (DRABL), and whose report was presented and defended on the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Madeira on 19^th January 2024 (final grade 19 out of 20). As a starting point, a theoretical and methodological framework was followed within the scope of Lexicology, where Onomastics, as both the host entity (in the person of Filipe dos Santos, traineeship supervisor) and the University of Madeira (in the person of Naidea Nunes Nunes, scientific supervisor) were interested in the analysis and description of data from the parish marriage records (starting with those of Santa Cruz) previously inventoried, compiled and indexed by the Madeira Archives and Library (ABM), and which had benefited from a spelling update and standardisation for online research purposes. The methodology used was the study of masculine and feminine names by centuries, observing their evolution as individual names as well as the composition of family names. The availability of data from other parishes (including Caniço, Sé, and Ribeira Brava, which, along with Santa Cruz, share the circumstance of possessing marriage records going back to 1539) also made it possible to draw up a comparison between different spaces, discussing similarities and differences.

Keywords: Lexicology and Onomastics; Anthroponymy; Parish Marriage Records; Madeira Island; 16^th to 20^th Centuries.