ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1349 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1349 ************************************ 13 Nov 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked about an 8th or 9th century Scotland Gaelic version of the name or . Here is what we have found. is an English form of a Norman name. It was adopted into Irish Gaelic in the 12th century as , , and , and later spelled [1]. Obviously, a Norman name couldn't have been introduced to Gaelic until after the Norman settlement of Ireland and Scotland. We have some very good articles on Scottish and Irish Gaelic names. You can find them on the web: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/celtic.html We recommend that you start with "Scottish Names 101", if you haven't already read it. You can find lists of men's names in "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names" and in "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland". Both these lists are based on sources several hundred years later than your persona, so the spellings are probably not right for your period. If you pick two or three names that interest you, write us and we'll be happy to suggest appropriate spellings and pronunciations. Men in period Gaelic society were almost always known as their father's sons. In the 12th century, for example, Cathal, son of Cormac would have been called [2]. Descriptive nicknames were occasionally used, but they tended to be much more concrete than . You'll find some examples in the "Simple Guide" we recommended. Surnames based on place names, like , were almost unknown, used almost exclusively by chieftains and senior clerics. We recommend that you avoid that type of name. 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 Tangwystl vz. Morgant Glasvryn and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 13 Nov 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names", (WWW: Privately published, 18 June 1997) http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.html