ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1129 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1129 ************************************ 19 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about , which you'd like to use as a Scottish/Norse feminine name from the highlands of Caithness. Here is what we have found. As we wrote in our previous letter [1], is indeed a modern Scottish Gaelic equivalent to , but we have found no evidence of its use before modern times. Our research leads us to believe that it is a modern innovation. You wrote that you found as a Norwegian name. We cannot find evidence of as a name anywhere in period Scandinavia. It is a modern name, but we can't find an example earlier than the mid-19th century [7]. We suspect that it is another modern coinage, perhaps taken from an alternate spelling of used in some translations of the Old Testament [2]. Other important biblical places were used as personal names in the 19th century; another example is [3]. This practice seems to have been particularly popular among the stricter Protestant sects, to which many Scandinavians belonged. You also wrote that the Norwegian is pronounced the same as the Gaelic . That is incorrect: the Norwegian name is pronounced \SEE-na\; the Gaelic name \SHEE-nya\. Although we did not find any evidence that was a Norse name, it may be possible to justify it as a name that could reasonably have existed. We found the Norse masculine name . There are some other masculine names ending <-arr> which have corresponding feminine names ending <-a>. For example, and , and , and , <{TH}o/rarr> and <{TH}o/ra> [5, 10]. (In these names, the slash represents an accent on the preceding letter. The notation {TH} represents a capital letter thorn, which is pronounced like the in .) Based on these examples, one could postulate that the masculine produced a feminine . We should stress that this argument is not very convincing, but it is not altogether implausible. We have no evidence that actually existed. It would be better re-creation to use a name that we are certain was used in your period. You might consider , pronounced \SIG-nu"\, where \u"\ is the German u-umlaut [5]. was a Viking Age name [4], so if the name existed, the combination is a reasonable name for that period. would be an excellent choice. is the normal possessive form of ; we do not believe that is correct [5]. This name could have been used anywhere in the Viking world, certainly including Caithness at least until the 13th century [6]. We're sorry that the name you've chosen doesn't fit your persona. We wish we could find the evidence that you want, but it doesn't seem to exist. If you'd like to consider other historically appropriate names, we'd be happy to help you; but we can't hold out any hope for justifying as a period Scottish name, especially not as an early medieval Scottish name. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangywstyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Alan Fairfax, Zenobia Naphtali, Lindorm Eriksson, Brad Miller, Talan Gwynek, and Aryanhwy Prytydes. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 19 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] You can find a copy on the web: http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?532 [2] King James Version, Acts 7:30 and 7:38. [3] Mittleman, Josh, "Concerning the Names Bethany, Beathag, Betha/n, and Bethia" (WWW: S. Krossa, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/problemnames/bethany.html [4] Jacobsen, L. & E. Moltke, _Danmarks Runeindskrifter_, 3 vols. (Kobenhavn 1941-42)m nr. 239. [5] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [6] Caithness" Britannica Online. [Accessed 27 July 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/97/60.html [7] A search for "Sina" at Alta Vista turned up genealogical references to (Texas, 1885-1954), (1892-1934), (1862-?), in addition to a bunch of modern examples of the name. [8] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Personbinamn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala: 1920-21). [9] Uppsala University Department for Scandinavian Languages, _Rundata_, software pre-release version 8.84 (test) (Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala universitet, 1990), U 57, U 58. [10] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -