ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1115 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1115 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 2 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating an authentic Scottish feminine name between 1400 and 1600 with either or as your given name and a last name starting with . Here is the information we have found. In your period, there were two languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands and the towns. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. , in 1469 [1], appears to be a misreading of the name . is a Latin form of the Gaelic name , or . We have found no evidence that was ever used as a name on its own, and we suggest that you consider a different name. We found only one reference to an , and that in 1208 [1]. While it would be a fine Scottish name, the reference is two hundred years earlier than your chosen period, and we have no evidence that it was still in use by the 15th century. It would be better recreation to choose a name known to have been used in your desired period. Since appears to be an error for the name , and was only used two hundred years earlier than your chosen period, you might want to consider using different names. Articles on Scottish feminine names found in our Library that you might want to read are: "A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottishfem.html "Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/acr_1501_womens_names.html There are a number of Scots surnames to choose from that start with "M." [3] Here are a few more common ones that you can consider: Mader Mair Malice Malingside Mane Mannie Mar Marcer Maresoun Markynch Mealing Mediltoune Mekill Meldrum Melros Melville Merimontht Mernis Mersynton Messynger Meygnes Millare Milne Mitschell Moffet Moncreife Monepenny Montegomorry Moreis Mortymar Mow Mowet Munro Muyr Mwdy Myll If you'd like more information on any of these names, including other spellings from your period, please write again, and we'll be happy to provide details. 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, Effric neyn Kenneoch vc Ralte, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, --Arianui filia Catmaili August 2, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986).