ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1155 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1155 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 14 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our opinion on , which you wanted to use as an Irish feminine name between 1300 and 1500, and asked for a feminine equivalent of if wasn't acceptable. Here is the information we have found. The Irish form of the masculine name is (where the slash represents an accent over the previous letter). There were a very small number of Irish given names that were used by both men and women; is not one of these names. We have no evidence that was used as a feminine name, and we have found no feminine form of the name. [1] , pronounced \KYAH-lahkh\, can be both masculine and feminine, and derives from the same root that does. It would be appropriate for a feminine name. The feminine , pronounced \KYAHL-sahkh\, may also be derived from the same root. [1] is the genitive (possessive) form of the masculine name . [2] In your period, most people were known as their father's children; a girl named whose father was \BRAYN-ahn\ would have been known as \KYAH-lahkh IN-yen VRAY-nahn\ 'Ceallach, daughter of Braona/n.' The addition of the in is required by Gaelic grammar, as is the change in pronunciation. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael August 14, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Riain, Pa/draig, ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985). [2] Patrick Woulfe, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation)