ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1178 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1178 ************************************ From: 30 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote to us for advice on using as the name of a Scottish woman living sometime between 900 and 1400. You also wanted to know more about using as your last name, since that is the last name your husband uses and you wanted to share last names. The name is a rare feminine diminutive of [1], and as we pointed out in the letter we wrote to your husband, this latter name is a modern spelling with nothing like it before 1440. Since the spelling from which derives is a relatively modern one, we do not think is a likely name for your period. For well-documented women's names from Gaelic Scotland, visit the page called "Some Scottish Gaelic Feminine Names" at: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/scotgaelfem/ Since most people in Gaelic culture were known as their father's son or daughter, using the same last name as your husband would suggest that you are brother and sister. If your personas are brother and sister, this is fine, but if your personas are husband and wife, this would be an awkward choice. In Scottish Gaelic culture, wives did not take their husband's surnames. There really were no surnames in the modern sense of that word, that is, there were no fixed, inherited family names. Both men and women were identified are their fathers' children. Married or not, a woman had the same father and was always known as her father's daughter. For example, a woman named , whose father was , would be called , meaning "Muirgheal, daughter of Gille Muire". Women were not named as their husband's wives, though they may have been less formally described that way, so we recommend that you choose a different name for your father. For ideas, we recommend the following two sources: "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/simple_sc_gaelic_names_12.html This page compiles all the names from our only surviving early Gaelic source in Scotland. "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100/ While these names are from Ireland, instead of Scotland, they are Gaelic. If you would like assistance with the grammar and spelling for your last name, we can do that quickly if you provide us with two or three names that interest you. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, and Effrick neyn Kenneoch contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Peadar Morgan, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989)