ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1206 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1206 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 26 Sep 1998 From: Braddon Giles Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our assistance in selecting a Scottish Gaelic female name beginning with or , from the 7th century. You also wanted your father's name to start with or . Here is what we found, and our suggestions. In the following lists, the pronunciations are in slashes. Emphasize the capital letters, say the \n~\ like \ny\ (as in ), \l~\ like the in or the in , \@\ like in , and \U"\ as in the German u-umlaut (like omm-pah-pah!). The * marks a capital \Y\ following another consonant. In these cases, the \Y\ is consonantal (like the in ) and only very lightly pronounced. It's like the \Y\ sound in [1]. Here is a list of early Gaelic names starting with starting with and . We included only the more common names; however, the two names were the only ones we found, because very few Gaelic names begin with . Idnat \EEDH-natch\ I/te \EE-djeh\ Banba \BAHN-vah\ Banbnat \BAHNV-natch\ Barrdub \BAR-dhoov\ Barrfind \BAR-een\ Be/binn \BAY-veen~\, almost \BYAY-veen~\ Be/ Fa/il \BAY-vahl~\, almost \BYAY-vahl~\ Becc \BYEG\ * Beccnat \BYEG-natch\ * Bla/th \BLAHTH\ Breccnat \BREK-natch\ Bri/g \BREEGH\ Briu/insech \BRYOON-shekh\ * Broicsech \BROIK-shekh\ Broinnfind \BROIN-yeen~\ (really \BROIN~-een\) Bruinnech \BROON-yekh\ (really \BROON~-ekh\) Here is a list a some common early Gaelic men's names starting with M and T. Mac Raith \mahk RAHTH\ Ma/edo/c \MY-dhoag\ Ma/el Choluim \MILE KHOL-@m\ Ma/el Du/in \MILE doon~\ Ma/enach \MINE-ahkh\ Maine \MAHN-yeh\ (really \MAHN~-eh\ Marca/n \MARK-ahn\ Mugro/n \MOOGH-roan\ Muirchertach \MU"R-chairt-ahkh\ (\ch\ as in German ) Muiredach \MU"R-eh-dhahkh\ Murchad \MOOR-khahdh\ Tadc \TAHDHG\ Tadga/n \TAHDH-gahn\ Taithlech \TAHTH-lekh\ Tomaltach \TOME-ahlt-ahkh\ Tairdelbach \TAR-dhel-vahkh\ Tipraite \CHIB-radj-eh\ Tressach \TRESS-ahkh\ These names were found in medieval Irish records. Very few documents were written in Gaelic in Scotland, but in your period, the 7th century, Irish and Scottish Gaelic were indistinguishable and the name stock was probably very nearly identical [1]. In your period, a woman was almost always known as her father's daughter. For example, the daughter of would have been called , pronounced \BAHN-vah EEN-yen TAHDH-gahn~\. The word means "daughter"; it's analogous to the word "son". The spelling change from to is required by Gaelic grammar. The added in the last syllable puts the name into the possessive form (like in English), so that the second half of the name means "Tadga/n's daughter". In your father's name starts with , there is another grammatical change you'll need to apply. The initial \M\ sound will soften to \V\ after and the spelling will change from to . This change is called lenition, and it's rather complicated. If you'd like to know the details, we'd be happy to explain them. In general, the spelling and pronunciation of the possessive form of a Gaelic name can be quite different from the regular (nominative) form; once you choose a name for your father, write us again and we'll send you the grammatical details for that name. I hope this letter has been useful. Please to write us again when you decide on the given names, if any part of the letter has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin, Affrick neyn Kenneoch, Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook 23/09/98 -------------------------------------------------------------------- References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press,1990). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Amended by Arval, 15 Apr 2001: The advice about is incorrect; that name is not known to have been used by historical people. See report 1713 for a better-researched opinion. Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letter 'D' does not lenite.