Guide to Successful Submissions: Names

This guide is intended to provide an overview of what is required for a successful heraldic submission. It does not attempt to replace the Administrative Handbook or SENA (Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory), but rather provide a guide to what is required and a checklist of common pitfalls to avoid. Consult SCA College of Arms - Rules and Regulations for more information. Consulting heralds should read and be familiar with the content of this page. Please ask questions of your senior heralds if you have them!

• Names
• Armory
• Payment
• Submit
• FAQ

Requirements for Name submissions

• One copy of a properly-filled out name form
• Individual Name Form
• Branch Name Form
• Documentation for each element of the name
• Each source must have:
• The name of the source
• The heading under which the element is referenced, if applicable
• If not organized with readily accessible headings, a page number or other method of finding the data should be included
• The text that is relevant to the element being documented
• For sources which are not on the 'No-Photocopy' list, also provide:
• The author's name
• A copy of the title page
• For Internet sources:
• A complete URL must be provided
• The author and source of the page, to the extent that is known
• Examples:
• [name element]: [Title], [Author(s)], [URL]
  [quote from page of relevant information]
• Hungarian Bynames: SCA Heralds' Name articles, What is an SCA name by Master Jasper Greensmith of the Seagirt Glen and Dame Zenobia Naphtali http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/whatis/name.html,
  Most names within the SCA's period have two parts, a given name and a byname. A given name is a personal name (such as Caitlin, Rhys, Wulfric, or Elizabeth) which your parents would give you. (We don't call it a first name because it doesn't always come first. In Hungarian, for instance, the bynames come first, before the given name.)
• Gabriel: Academy of Ste. Gabriel letter 3349, Gabriel, by Elizabeth Turner de Carlisle, http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/3349.txt,
  The given name is found in England as early as the twelfth century: 1199, 1212, and 1296. [1, 2] It is a fine given name for your desired time period.
• A saved copy of the page and the date when it was gathered.
• Each item above may be provided either in an electronic scanned version or a printout mailed to Golden Dolphin.
• It is very helpful to Golden Dolphin to get the text of all documentation in a format that can be cut-and-pasted into OSCAR. Saved pages should be saved in PDF format for easy pasting into OSCAR as well.
• It is NOT required that a submitter fill in the boxes on the name forms restricting changes, specifying a desired gender and/or requesting authenticity.
• Leaving all these boxes blank significantly increases the likelihood of registration.
• Note that requesting authenticity specifically authorizes changes to the name to bring it in alignment with period style as currently understood by the College of Arms.
• The box that indicates what type of name is involved should also be filled in to avoid delay in processing.
• Branch, Order, Household, and Award names have additional requirements. Please see SENA NPN