ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1053 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1053 ************************************ From: 17 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us about the use of the masculine name in Ireland, and about the arms "Barry argent and sable, three griffins segreant Or." The name is indeed the Gaelic from of John, and appears at a very early date [1]. is a modern Scottish surname [2,3]. It is a Scots form of the Scottish Gaelic "son of Thomas" [4]. The name was used in Ireland in the 14th and 15th centuries [5]. It was known there as early as the 8th century, but became much more common after the Anglo-Norman settlement because was popular in England [1, 3]. An Irishman whose father was could be known as or . Putting it all together, the name pronounced \OAN mahk TOME-ish\ or the name \OAN mahk HOME-ish\ would be a fine Irish name. (Note that an 'i' has been added to from the byname because it is a genitive (possessive) construction; the slash represents an accent on the 'a'.) Your armory, "Barry argent and sable, three griffins segreant Or," is a good design. As far as we can tell, this design could be registered with the SCA College of Arms. Note that heraldic arms first appeared in northern France in the 12th century, and were brought to Ireland by the Normans in the next century. If you set your persona earlier than that, then your persona would not have used arms at all. However, since your name is best suited to the 14th century or later, this should not be a problem: Your arms would be fine for that period, too. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Charles O'Connor, Zenobia Naphtali, Teceangl Bach, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Brad Miller, Rouland Carre, and Arval Benicoeur contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990) [2] Electric Scotland (WWW) http://www.electricscotland.com/ [3] Edward MacLysaght, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985) [4] Patrick Woulfe, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation) [5] _Annala Rioghachta Eireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the Earliest Period to the Year 1616_, trans and ed John O'Donovan, (Dublin: Hodges Smith and Co., 1854)