ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1351
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1351
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16 Nov 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for help choosing a 13th to 15th century Scottish Gaelic name
meaning "Michael son of Andrew" or "Eoin son of Andrew".  Here is what we
have found.

We're not sure whether Scottish Gaels used the name <Michael>.  In general,
Gaels avoided naming their children for important saints, instead using
compounds like <Giolla Mhi/che/l> "servant of [saint] Michael" or <Mael
Mhi/che/l> "devotee of [saint] Michael".  The slash in the name represents
an accent on the previous letter.  We've found examples of the first of
these names in Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries.  We have found some
indirect evidence that the plain name might have been used in the 15th
century, and it might have been spelled <Mi/chea/l> [1, 2, 3].  The plain
name would have been pronounced \MEE-ch@l\, the compound \GULL-a VEE-ch@l\,
where \ch\ represents the hissy <ch> sound in German <ich>, \@\ is a schwa,
like the last vowel in <sofa>, and \GULL\ rhymes with <pull>.

<Eoin> is a fine choice for your period.  It is a Gaelic adaptation of
<Johannes>, the Latin root of <John>, and it was pronounced various ways in
your period.  Early in your period, it was \YOAN~\ or \OAN~\.  The \OA\
vowel is the same one as in <moan>, and \N~\ represents the sound of <ni>
in <junior> or <n~> in Spanish <sen~or> [3].  Toward the end of your
period, in some dialects, it was \AYN~\, or \AY@N~\ (where the vowel is a
diphthong), or perhaps \EHN~\ [4].

Although <Andrew> is also an important saint's name, there is a little more
evidence that this name was used on its own.  We found <Andreas clericus
Moraviensis>, a.1242, and a 12th century bishop whose name might have been
spelled <Aindrias> and pronounced \EN-dr@s\.  We also found a suggestion
that the forms <Aindrea> and <Anndra> were used fairly early [1, 2].
<Aindrea> was pronounced \EN-dr@\; <Anndra> might have been \AHN-dr@\
through most of your period, and \AWN-dr@\ at the end.

<Eoin mac Aindre/is> would be a good name for your period.  The spelling
change in your father's name is required; it puts the name into the
possessive form, just as <John's> is the possessive form of <John> in
English.  <Giolla Mhi/che/l mac Aindre/is> would be another fine choice;
<Mi/chea/l mac Aindre/is> is somewhat less likely, except perhaps at the
tail end of your period.  These names are pronounced, respectively, \YOAN~
mahk EN-draysh\, \GULL-a VEE-ch@l mahk EN-draysh\, and \MEE-ch@l mahk
EN-draysh\.  


We 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 Nencia di Bartolo
Damiani.


For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  16 Nov 1998


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References

[1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. MacMichael,
Michalbegson, Andrew.  The examples of <Michael> are <Malmur Mac
Gillemichel> 1204-1211 and <Donald Michalbegson> 1465.

[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

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

[4] Arval Benicoeur, "Concerning the Names Iain, Ian, and Eoin", Problem
Names Archive (WWW: Sharon L. Krossa, forthcoming).
http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/problemnames/iain.html