ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1145
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1145
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* NOTE: Later research turned up additional     *
*       information relevant to this report.    *
*       See the end of the letter for details.  *
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From: 
7 Aug 1998


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You wrote to us asking for the 16th century Scottish Gaelic form of
<Brendan MacGregor>, for use as a masculine name.

Since you indicated that you had not read Scottish Names 101, we'll begin
by pointing out that there was not a single uniform culture in 16th
century Scotland.  Rather, there were two primary cultures, each with its
own language and system of naming.  These are Gaelic (the same language as
that spoken in Ireland) and Scots (a language closely related to
contemporary English). Gaelic was spoken primarily in the Highlands while
Scots was spoken primarily in the Lowlands, including the royal court and
towns. 

Gaelic Scotsmen did not use inherited surnames or clan identification as
part of their personal names in our period, so <MacGregor> would not be a
clan name.  The name <MacGregor> comes from Gaelic <MacGriogair>, meaning
"son of Gregory", and this was the standard pattern of forming bynames in
Gaelic Scotland. Rather than having an inherited surname, you would use a
phrase indicating the name of your father.  We found the following
spellings of <MacGregor> in Scotland in the 16th century [1]: 

  <M'Gregare>     1500
  <McGrigour>     1586
  <M'Gregur>      1600
  <Makriggour>    1600

However, all of these have probably been Anglicized, so these spellings
are not compatible with a Gaelic form of your name.  Likewise, the name
<Brendan> is an English form of the Irish name <Bre/anainn> [1].  We can't
find any example of this name in Scottish records, so it may not have
spread from Ireland to Scotland.  If <Bre/anainn> was used at all in
Scotland, then <Bre/anainn mac Griogair> "Bre/anainn son of Griogar" is a
plausible Gaelic name.  We do know that the similar-sounding name
<Brana/n> was used in Scotland in your period, so <Brana/n mac Griogair>
would be a better choice [1,2]. 

If you have not yet read Scottish Names 101 since you wrote to us, then we
recommend you do so.  The information given there will certainly help you
better understand the basics of Scottish names and language.  This page
may be found at the following location:

  http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.
Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Effrick neyn Kenneoch contributed to
this letter.

In service,
--Walraven van Nijmegen
Academy of S. Gabriel

[1] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
    History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986)
    s.nn. MacGregor, MacBrenyn.

[2] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The
    Lilliput Press, 1990)

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Correction, 20 Mar 2002, Arval: The 16th century spellings of <MacGregor>
cited from Black were incorrect.