ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1210
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1210
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6 Aug 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You requested information about the feminine Irish name <Liadan> and about
the patronymic element <inghean>.  This letter is a brief answer to your
question.


You asked if <Liadan> was in use in the first half of the 16th century.  We
found no evidence that it was.  The only examples we found of people using
the name were early saints and their mothers, no later than the 9th century
[1].  The limited data on late-period Irish women's names makes it
difficult to make a strong statement, but we do not recommend this name
as good re-creation for your period.


You also asked when the patronymic <inghean> was replaced by the modern
<ni/>.  (The slash represents an accent on the preceding vowel.)  The short
answer is that <ni/> is a modern word, not found in Gaelic before 1600.

In fact, your question isn't quite right: <ni/> is not equivalent to
<inghean>.  The word <inghean> means "daughter", and is the feminine
equivalent of <mac>.  If a man <Conn mac Briain> had a son <Domhnall> and a
daughter <Fionnghuala>, they would have been called <Domhnall mac Coinn>
and <Fionnghuala inghean Choinn>.  The word <ni/> is a contraction of the
phrase <inghean ui/>, which literally means "daughter of the [male]
descendent".  It was used as the feminine form of <O/>.  So, if our example
Conn were a member of the <O/ Gabhann> family, then he could have been
called <Conn O/ Gabhann>.  His son would be <Domhnall O/ Gabhann>, and his
daughter <Fionnghuala inghean ui/ Ghabhann> "Fionnghuala, daughter of O/
Gabhann".  In effect, <inghean ui/ Ghabhann> is the feminine form of <O/
Gabhann>.

The phrase <inghean ui/> was originally pronounced \IN-yen EE\.
English-language records of the 14th century transliterate that full
phrase, but in the late 16th century, English-language records use a
contracted form <ni> or <ny> [2].  From this evidence, we know that the
pronunciation of the phrase (at least as the English perceived it)
contracted to \NEE\ by the late 16th century.  The available Irish-language
records continue to use the full written form <inghean ui/> through the end
of the 16th century.


I hope this brief letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions or would like more information on medieval Irish names.
I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl verch
Morgant Glasvryn.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  6 Aug 1998


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References

[1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The
Lilliput Press, 1990). 

[2] O/ Clerigh, Lughaidh, _Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Ui/ Dhomhnaill -- Life of
Hugh Roe O'Donnell_ ed. Paul Walsh (Irish Texts Society, 1948).  The
examples are taken from English legal records mentioned in footnotes in
this book.

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