ABSTRACT
In sixth-century Ravenna, only 6 per cent of names were Biblical and only 17 per cent of the population bore them. Most were names of the Apostles, led by Johannes and Petrus. By the tenth century in Ravenna, Christian names were more important. Among the élites, they exceeded all other kinds of non-Christian name (Latin, Greek or Germanic) put together. Again New Testament names stand out and also some theophoric names: Deusdedit and Dominicus; and those of more recent universal saints: Martinus, Gregorius, Leo. The picture is similar for nearby Rimini. Of names recorded between around 700 and around 950, 20 per cent were Biblical, with Johannes, Petrus and Maria the most popular. The story could be repeated with evidence from Latium, Tuscany and the north-west. Only in the tenth century and more so in the eleventh was the predominance of Germanic names ended. And in some regions this development came even later. In Latium, old Latin names retained their vogue till the twelfth century and beyond, while the castellan and knightly classes kept Germanic names. In Genoa in 1150, Guillelmus was by far the commonest name, and only two Christian names figured in the top eight: Johannes and Bonifacius.
