ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1067 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1067 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 22 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic 12th century masculine name. Here is the information we have found. The root of is found in the surname , which is an Anglicized form of , "son of ." [1] (The slash represents an accent over the previous letter). As early as the 12th century, the was being pronounced as \h\, making the entire name sound something like \mahk HEE-yair-nahn\. This \h\ sound was practically inaudible after the \k\, and the English, hearing the name as \mahk KEE-yair-nahn\, came to write it . This spelling gives the misleading impression that the name is an English version of a Gaelic name meaning 'son of ,' but in fact no such Gaelic name as seems to have existed. If you're interested in using the root of , was a king in the mid-12th century; this places the name right in your chosen period, and makes it an excellent choice. It is pronounced \TEE-yair-nahn\. If approximating the sound of is important to you, then you might be interested in the name , pronounced \KYAR-ahn\. [1] It is not related to . For information on completing your name, we suggest you read the following article in our library: "Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/quick_gaelic_bynames.html If we can be of any assistance in completing your name, please write again, and we will be delighted to help. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Talan Gwynek, and Teceangl Bach. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael July 22, 1998 ---------------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).