ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1139 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1139 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 3 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a Dark Ages Irish masculine name, and said you were considered the names , , , , , and , specifically the name . Here is the information we have found. was an extremely popular name in early Ireland; in one source, it is listed as being in the top ten. [1] The slash in the name represents an accent over the previous letter. It is pronounced \AY.\ and were the names of Irish legendary figures in a Fomorian genealogy. [1,2] We have no evidence that either was used by real people in our period, and so we suggest that you choose a different name. is a nickname meaning "young," or sometimes "junior." While it would not be appropriate as a given name, it would be a fine byname (nickname) to use after a given name. It is pronounced \OAG\, rhyming with . There is also a given name \OAG-ahn\, which is formed from the root , meaning roughly 'lad.' It would be a fine choice for a given name. [1] We did not find in any of our Irish sources. The closest name we found is the name , pronounced \KOH-nahl\, which is listed as a very old and common name. Another similar name is , pronounced \KOHN-ghahl\, one of the more common early Irish names. [3] We did not find anything similar to in any of our Irish sources. The proper way to form a patronymic byname (a surname which identified you as your father's son) in your period would be to use followed by your father's name in the genitive (possessive) case. Your proposed name of would not be appropriate, as we only have evidence for as a byname, and not as a given name. implies that your father's name was , which would not be possible. A name such as "A/ed son of Conall," is an example of an authentic early Irish name. Alternatively, you could use as a byname: "Aed the Younger, Aed Junior." 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, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, --Arianuia de Cair Mirdin filia Catmaili --------------------------------------- References: [1] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). [2] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983). [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).