ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1296 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1296 ************************************ 26 Oct 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about , which your lord wants to use as a pre-1400 Irish name. Here is what we have found. is an English form of a Scottish Gaelic surname that was also carried to Ireland by Scottish emigrants. The root of the surname is a Scottish Gaelic masculine given name spelled or in the early Middle Ages (before 1200 or so), later in period. English and Latin records in Scotland record the name as 1246, 1327, 1480. From these examples, we conclude that the name was pronounced \FINN-lay\ or \FINN-lahgh\, where \gh\ represents the voiced version of the sound in Scottish or German [1, 2]. In modern Ireland, the surname has sometimes been confused with , which is an English form of . That family name was based on the Gaelic masculine given name , pronounced \FIN-gh@-l@kh\, where \@\ is the schwa, the first vowel sound in [2]. It wasn't a very common Irish name, but we've found a few examples recorded before 1200 [3]. If your lord wants to be Irish, then is probably not a good choice: use of the name appears to have been confined to Scotland. Of course, he could be a Scottish Gael who moved to Ireland; we have evidence of such a person before 1200 [3]. If he wants to be Irish-born, we can suggest several similar-sounding Irish first names. Each of the following names is given in two spellings and pronunciations. The first is appropriate up to 1200 or so, the second later in period [2, 3, 4]. Fiangalach \FINN-gh@-l@kh\ Fionnghalach \FINN-ahl-akh\ Finn \FIN\ Fionn \FIN\ Finnaca/n \FINN-@-gahn\ Fionnaga/n \FINN-@-gahn\ Finna/n \FINN-ahn\ Fionna/n \FINN-ahn\ Finnbarr \FINN-vahr\ Fionnbharr \FINN-vahr\ Finnchad \FINN-khahdh\ Fionnchadh \FINN-kha\ Finncha/em \FINN-khehv\ Fionnchaomh \FINN-khayv\ Finncha/n \FINN-khahn\ Fionncha/n \FINN-khahn\ Finnchu/ \FINN-khoo\ Fionnchu/ \FINN-khoo\ Finnech \FINN-@kh\ Fionnach \FINN-@kh\ Finne/n \FINN-ain\ Finnian \FINN-ain\ Finnlug \FINN-loogh\ Fionnlugh \FINN-loo\ Fintan \FINN-tahn\ Fiontan \FINN-tahn\ The slash in the names represents an accent on the preceding letter. In the pronunciations, \@\ is a schwa, the first vowel sound in the word . \kh\ is the harsh sound in Scottish or German , and \gh\ is the voiced version of that sound, as it was earlier. \oo\ is pronounced as in . If your lord would like to consider some other first names, you can find a good list on the web: 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100 These names are listed with early medieval spellings. If your lord finds a name he likes and wants to set his persona later than 1200, write us again and we'll be happy to tell you the late-period spelling and the correct pronunciation. In period Ireland, a Gaelic-speaking man was primarily known as his father's son. A man named , the son of , would have been called . The added to the father's name puts it in the possessive form, like the <'s> in modern English . Not all Gaelic names form possessives this way; once your lord chooses a name for his father, write us and we'll give you the grammatically-correct form and the pronunciation. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 26 Oct 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Finlay. [2] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.nn. Finlay, Fennelly. [3] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976), s.n. Findlaech. [4] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).