Mike - > In a will dated 1586 one of Edmond Nason's daughter's had the name > 'ffryzarde'. A respected opinion was that the name could have been a > version of 'Frideswide' (patron saint of Oxford). > > I have no reason to now reject that possibility but write to ask if > anyone would venture an opinion as to how 'ffryzarde' might have been > pronounced in Warwickshire, in 1586! I am re-visiting the will and > perhaps idly speculating on other possible origins for the name, > wondering what the local accent and the phoenetic spelling of the scribe > might have done to the 'real' name. I have not seen any similar names > in any other source of the period. Within Oxfordshire variants are found in the baptism registers. I've looked at the Great Milton baptisms, and find the following (from the Oxfordshire FHS transcript): 1567 HUMFRY Friswede 1568 DIGWEED Friswth 1586 PHELPE Frisses 1588 SEIXON Fressus 1617 BEAKE Frises 1619 CALLIS Frises 1813 STEVENS Frideswide and in Henley: 1622 HAWNCE Friswid Wendy Baptism Index Co-ordinator, Oxfordshire FHS www.ofhs.org.uk