ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1317 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1317 ************************************ From: "Friedemann, Sara L" 5 Nov 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would have been used by an early 16th century Scottish Gaelic woman. Here is the information that we have found. In your period, there were two languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands and the towns. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. Both and are Scots names. We find this spelling of in 1492, so it would be fine for your period. [1] While we did not specifically find the form , other forms that we found, including and [4,3], lead us to believe that this spelling would be a possible late-period spelling. , "Alesone, daughter of Lawrens," would be a good choice for your period. The modern Scottish Gaelic form of is . Because was a common name in England and Scotland in period, we believe that could have been used by a Gaelic woman in our period. It is pronounced \AHL-a-sahn\. [2] The normal Gaelic form of is or . A woman named Allasan who was the daughter of Labhran would have been known as . [3] (The change in spelling from to is required by Gaelic grammar). This is pronounced \AHL-@-s@n NEE-y@n LOW-rin\, with the \OW\ pronounced as in , and the \@\ representing the initial vowel sound in the word . Gaelic was almost never used as a written language in period Scotland. Records in your period were generally in Scots, so if your name had been written down, it would have been rendered in Scots. The name could have been written [3]. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 5, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). [2] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986)., s.n. MacLaran [4] Symon Freser of Lovat, "13th & 14th Century Scottish Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996)