ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1131 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1131 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 9 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You were interested in using as a Scottish feminine name. Here is the information we have found. You said you want a Scottish persona, but you didn't say when or in which of the languages spoken in Scotland in our period. Since you mentioned "Braveheart," we're assuming you are interested in the culture in which Sir William Wallace lived, c.1300. At that time, the main languages of the Scottish kingdom were Scots, a language closely related to contemporary English; Gaelic, which was identical to the language spoken in Ireland; and Norman French, brought to Scotland in the 12th century by Norman settlers. Wallace himself was Scoto-Norman, the descendent of the Norman settlers; he either spoke Scots or Norman French. There is no contemporary evidence that he had a wife or fiancee. The first reference to Wallace having a wife is in the late 15th century, in the epic poem by "Blind Harry," but this apparently does not mention her by name, only identifying her as the daughter of . [7] Some time after this (when we don't know) a tradition arose that her name was . [3] The name in the movie may have been an attempt to convert into a Gaelic name. The closest name to that we could find is the Gaelic name . [1] , pronounced somewhere between \MOOR-ahn\ and \MOOR-yahn\, with the \OO\ as in "moo," not "book," was a popular feminine name in Ireland before 1200. [1, 2]. A later spelling of the name is , pronounced the same as . [1] However, we have no evidence that either of these names were used in Scotland. If they were, they probably appeared in records as or as the Latin form of , . Most Scottish records were written in Latin and, later, in Scots. When medieval clerks recorded Gaelic names they would transform them to fit the language they were using in the document. Sometimes this was done by using a Scots name that sounded more or less similar to the Gaelic name, as Scots does to Gaelic . As you can imagine, this practice can make it difficult to determine exactly what names were used by Scottish Gaelic women. is an excellent name for a Scots-speaking persona. We found examples of the Scots spellings and in use from circa 1400 through 1600 and examples of the Latin spelling in use from circa 1250 through 1600. [4,5,6] The surname has two derivations, one Scots, one Gaelic. The Scots version of the name derives from a place name, which appears in name in the first half of the 13th century as . Later examples include 1219, 1233, 1421. The Gaelic form of the name, , was originally a nickname meaning "wry or hook nose." [3] At some point, the two names were confused, and both were eventually spelled . In period Scotland, spellings from different languages were not mixed; a name was either entirely Gaelic or entirely Scots. A Scots form of would be appropriate with the Scots feminine name , while the Gaelic would be appropriate with the Gaelic . Listed below are possible forms that or would be combined with or . Gaelic: before c.1200 thereafter Scots: (, ) in the 13th & 14th c. or thereafter , however, most likely meant that Muireann had a hook nose, not that she was a member of Clan Cameron. Gaels did not normally indicate their clan affiliation in their bynames. In Gaelic culture, a woman was most often known as her father's daughter. If your father were named , you would be called "Muireann daughter of Eoin." You would use this form of name in all formal situations, even if you were normally known by a descriptive byname like . 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, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, --Arianuia poetissa filia Catmaili August 9, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n. Bradfute [4] Dickinson, William Croft, ed., _Early Records of the Burgh of Aberdeen: 1317, 1398-1407_, vol. XLIX, _Publications of The Scottish History Society_ (Edinburgh: The Scottish History Society, Third Series, 1957). [5] --, The manuscript Aberdeen Council Registers, Volumes 8 - 20 (1501-1551), in the Aberdeen City Archives. [6] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). [7] Henry the Minstrel, _Wallace: The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace, of Ellerslie_, John Jamieson, ed. (Glasgow: Ogle, 1869)