ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1170 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1170 ************************************ From: 25 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote to us on behalf of a client who wanted to convert the masculine name into a form appropriate for 14-15th century Scotland. You had located in OC&M, and wanted to know if an 'N' could simply be added to this to make . Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using complete names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your client's primary goal is to register a particular name or name element, then we may not be able to help. To better meet our goals, we prefer to work directly with our clients. This minimizes the chances of amy mis-interpretation when information is passed through a second party. If this request is for a client who has e-mail or web access, we can provide further help to the client if he contacts us directly. If your client does not have such access, thank you for passing the query along. The name is a Gaelic borrowing of or , a feminine name [1]. In period, names weren't invented by adding letters to an existing name. We know of no example of a Gaelic name which was created by adding '-n' to the end of another name. The modern name has two independent origins, one Welsh and one Scottish. In Wales, it was an Anglicized spelling of the Welsh name or , which was pronounced \YEH-vahn\ and which was one of the Welsh forms of [2]. In Scotland, was an English form of the Gaelic name , pronounced \YOH-ahn\ or \OH-ahn\. This name was also Anglicized as and [3]; the in was originally another way to spell the \w\ sound that appears when you pronounce the Gaelic name as two syllables: \YO-wan\ or \YOU-wan\. appears to be an attempt to introduce the modern name into Gaelic. We find no evidence that this Gaelic name existed in period. If your client's main interest is having a name that sounds like the modern , then we recommend he consider a Welsh persona and the name . For information on late-medieval Welsh names, we recommend the article: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html If your client would like to learn more about Scottish names, we recommend the following articles: Scottish Names 101 http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html "Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames": http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/quick_gaelic_bynames.html We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Eafric neyn Kenneoch, and Arval Benicoeur contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990) [2] T.J. Morgan & Prys Morgan _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985) pp.130ff [3] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986) s.nn. , , and