ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1344 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1344 ************************************ 20 Nov 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is a registerable late-16th century Irish feminine name. Here is what we have found. We actually don't try to figure out whether a name will pass, but whether it's appropriate for your specific period. The SCA has fairly lenient rules for passing names, so it's possible to pass many names which aren't historically accurate. If having this name is more important to you than having a historical name, then you should consult another group (such as the heralds in your kingdom or the SCA heralds mailing list at http://listserv.aol.com/archives/scahrlds.html) to find out whether your name will pass. Happily, your name is almost right for your period. is a modern spelling of the Irish Gaelic form of . In your period, we would expect it to be spelled and pronounced \MAR-ait\ [1]. The slash in the names represents an accent on the preceding letter. is a fine name for a 16th century Irishman [1]. The word didn't exist in period; it is a post-period contraction of either the word or the phrase . The word means "daughter", and it was used in women's names the same way was used in men's names. That is to say, if a man named had a son and a daughter, they might be called and . The phrase was effectively the feminine equivalent of in Irish family names. If were a member of the clan, his children could also be called and , which effectively meant "Lachlann of the O'Connor clan" and "Ma/irghre/ad of the O'Connor clan". was originally pronounced \IN-yen\. Late in our period it became \@-NEEN\, \neen\, or simply \nee\ in some dialects. The symbol \@\ represents a schwa, the last vowel sound in . The phrase was originally \IN-yen ee\, but by your period the pronunciation had contracted to \nee\. The spelling eventually followed the pronunciation, but not until after our period [4]. You'll notice in the examples in the previous paragraph that the father's name changes spelling when incorporated into his children's names. These changes are required by Gaelic grammar. The added puts his name into the possessive form, just like <'s> in English. The added in the daughter's name indicates a softening of the pronunciation of the first consonant; instead of being pronounced \SHAHN~\, it become \HAHN~\, where the symbol \N~\ represents the sound of in or n-tilde in the Spanish . This pronunciation change is called "lenition", and it is required in Gaelic in some grammatical circumstances. Putting everything together: If you want your name to mean "Ma/irghre/ad daughter of Sea/n", then the historically-accurate form is , pronounced \MAR-ait neen HAHN~\. If you want your name to mean "Ma/irghre/ad of the O'Sean clan", you would be called , \MAR-ait nee HAHN~\. Many records in your period were written in English, so if your name had been written down, it might have been transcribed into English. Given names were usually translated to some similar or equivalent English name, so would have been written . is recorded around 1600 as , , , and . If you replace the with , you'll have a likely feminine equivalent, so you might write you name [2, 3]. 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 Talan Gwynek and Effrick neyn Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 20 Nov 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Ma/rgre/g. [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. Mac Seagha/in. [3] Ewen, C. L'Estrange, _A History of Surnames of the British Isles_ (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1931; Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1968), p.210. [4] O/ Clerigh, Lughaidh, _Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Ui/ Dhomhnaill -- Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell_ ed. Paul Walsh (Irish Texts Society, 1948).