From: richard@ex-parrot.com   
      
   On 08/01/2019 16:56, Tahiri wrote:   
      
   > I have 'Edrii' or 'Edrus', the latter with a squiggle over the 'u'   
   > (different entries) and my best guess is Edwardus, thus Edward.   
   > Anyone got any other suggestions?   
   Assuming you've not misread the name, then I think that's almost   
   certainly the case.  Edrus will be the nominative and Edrii the   
   genitive, so if you saw "Edrus fil Edrii", for example, it would mean   
   Edward son of Edward.  The son's name is written first using the   
   nominative because he is the subject of the sentence, and the father's   
   name is in the genitive to show possession.   
      
   > What about 'Johes'? Is thst going to be Johannes and thus John?   
      
   Depending on the time period, it's possible Jonathan is also a   
   possibility, but that would be unusual.  John is by far the more likely   
   possibility.   
      
   > Am I right that it would end with an 'a' for a female even as an   
   > abbreviation?   
   To some extent.  Most Latinised forms of English female names are first   
   declension and end -a in the nominative, while most male names are   
   second declension and end -us in the nominative.  There are exceptions,   
   including Johannes which is third declension ending -es in the   
   nominative, but Johanna (or Joanna) has a regular first declension.   
      
   Because Latin nouns (including personal names) decline according to   
   their use in a sentence, the endings change.  In a parish register, at   
   least in the short entries that are the norm in England, you're only   
   really likely to encounter the nominative and genitive cases.  Your   
   Latin teacher probably told you the first declension genitive ending was   
   -ae, and so it was in Classical times; but by mediaeval times it had   
   become -e, meaning the genitive of the female name Johanna was Johanne,   
   though Johannae can occasionally be found.  The second declension   
   genitive ending is -i, and the third declension (as used by Johannes) is   
   -is, meaning the genitive of the male name Johannes was Johannis.  Thus,   
   if the clerk wanted to say "John son of Joanne", he might write "Johes   
   fil Johe", and "Joanne daughter of John" might be written "Joha fil   
   Johis".  If you're lucky, the clerk will decide to abbreviate "filia" as   
   "fila" rather than just "fil", which is an additional clue.   
      
   > Should I be taking any notice of the ending of the father's forename?   
   If you're certain it is the father's forename, and the record is   
   otherwise clear, then perhaps not.  But bear in mind that registers   
   sometimes identify only the mother, for example in the case of   
   illegitimacy, without specifically saying she is the mother.  Sometimes   
   the ending can be the only clue that this is is the mother not the father.   
      
   Also, word order is much more flexible in Latin than in English, so it's   
   possible to switch the order of the two names around, putting the parent   
   first.  In practice this is rare, but if it happens, it is only the   
   endings which tell you.  Thus, "Johis fil Joha" does not mean "John son   
   of Joanna", but rather "John's daughter Joanna".   
      
   Fortunately there aren't many pairs of male and female names which are   
   quite so similar.   
      
   Richard   
      
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