ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1156 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1156 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 13 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 14th to 16th century Scottish Gaelic name. You want your given name to be , , or something beginning with either \AY\ or \K\, and your father's name to begin with , and your clan affiliation to be Cunningham. Here is what we have found. In your period, there were two languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the towns and the royal court. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. You wrote that you want a Gaelic name, but all the specific names you asked about are Scots, so we're going to discuss both possibilities. is a Scots form of , which we've found recorded in 1539-1548. We also found other spellings, , in 1512 and 1570, and in the early 16th century [1, 4]. There was also a Gaelic form of , possibly derived by way of the pet form , recorded in 1467 as . The Gaelic name is pronounced \EHL-uhs-ahtch\ [2, 3]. is a Scots spelling of that we've found recorded in 1528. was quite popular in late-period Scots culture, and we have found it in a wide variety of spellings. Here are a few from your period [1, 4] Catharine 1459, 1549, 1571 Kathrine: 1589 Katerina: 1477 Catering: early 16th C Katrine: 1499, 1512 Katerin: early 16th C Katheryne: 1509 Katering: early 16th C Katherine: 1512-1564 Katherin: early 16th C Katryne: 1528 Katring: early 16th C Katrina: 1548 Katte: early 16th C Catrina: 1551 Kaithren: 1623 Kathren: 1632 was adopted into Gaelic as or , pronounced \kaht-REE-nah\ [2, 5]. (The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter.) is a Scots family name, the name of one of the great noble families of the Lowlands. We found many examples from your period: James de Cunyngham c.1317 James de Co~gheime 1375 (where the tilde is actually over the , and represents a missing in this case) William de Conyngham 1370 William de Cuningham 1403 Conynghame 1424 Cunyghame 1548 Adam de Cunygam c.1431 Cwnyghame 1550 Cunyngaham 1476 Cwnygham 1552 Cunyngahame 1476 Cunyngame 1553 Cunygam 1480 Cunningghame 1556 Chonigham 1499 Conighame 1568 Conigham 1499 Cunnyngayme 1580 Cunnygam 1503 Cunynghame 1608 Cuninggame 1546 Cwnninghame 1608 The early examples show that the surname originally identified the family's place of residence; in the late 15th century, the preposition was dropped [5]. It was very likely not until well after our period that this Lowland family started thinking of itself as a clan, in the Highland manner. Most Lowland families did not consider themselves clans in our period. While there were clans in Scotland in period, they were quite different from the modern clan system and were genrally confined to Gaelic culture. Because Gaelic and Scots names were constructed differently, you need to decide whether you want a Gaelic or Scots persona before you can choose your name. In Gaelic, a woman was almost always known as her father's daughter. If your father were called (the precursor to the modern name ), then you could have been known as "Ealusaid, daughter of Tairdhealbhach". The change in spelling from to is required by Gaelic grammar. The change puts the name in its possessive form (like to ), and reflects a change in pronunciation: was pronounced \TAR-dhel-vahkh\, and is \TAR-dhel-vich\, with \dh\ pronounced like the in , and as in . The entire name is pronounced \EHL-uhs-ahtch NEE-yen TAR-dhel-vich\. If you would like to consider some other choices for your father's name, please write us again and we'll send you a short list. It is historically quite appropriate for a late-period Highlander to be affiliated to some clan, but period Scotttish names did not announce clan membership, unlike modern Scottish names. A man named was the son of a father whose given name was ; his name doesn't tell us anything about his clan. Gaelic was only occasionally a written language in your period. Early your period, your name would have been written in Latin if it were written at all; late in your period, the written language was Scots. If you choose a Gaelic name, we'd be happy to suggest correct written forms for your period. In Scots, a women might have used any of several different kinds of surname; a family name like is one excellent choice. Either or or any other combination of the Scots spellings we've listed above are perfect names for a Lowland woman of your period. 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 Talan Gwynek, Margaret Makafee, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 13 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottishfem/ [2] --, A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript. [3] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [4] Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, "Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/acr_1501_womens_names.html [5] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Kill, Cuningham. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letter 'D' does not lenite. Correction, 26 Mar 2002, Arval: Removed , a modern spelling we've not yet found in period sources. See Scottish Gaelic Given Names, http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven.