ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1358 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1358 ************************************ 30 Nov 1998 From: Jodi McMaster Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked about using the name with a surname based on the clan O'Brien for an Irishman living between 500 and 900 A.D. You also asked whether middle names were used by Gaels living during that period. First of all, the spelling shown on Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's "100 Most Popular Names" article is not an alternative spelling, but a change demanded by the grammar of Gaelic when the name is used to indicate possession as in 'Cormac's son'. [1] To be correct grammatically, you would need to use [1]. To be appropriate for your particular time period, you should use [2] or [3], the second of which is older and a better choice of the two. is a late period construction indicating that the bearer is a descendant of someone named and was used to indicate clan relationships. The famous O'Brien clan claimed kinship to the late 10th-early 11th century king Brian Boru. Therefore, a pre-10th century person could not be a member of this particular clan. And, in fact, clan names of this form do not appear to have been used in the period you're interested in at all, although the same construction was used to identify a person's actual grandfather. We did not find any examples of the name for your time period, either. [4] We can suggest the similar name instead as the name to be used for a grandfather, rather than referring to a clan or distant progenitor. The connector used for most of your period was , so would be "Corbmac, grandson of a man named ." We have found no evidence that middle names were used in Ireland during our period. We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl ferch Morgan Glasvryn contributed comments and/or research for this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum __________________ References: [1] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983). [4] O'Cuiv, Brian, "Aspects of Irish Personal Names," Celtica vol. 18 (1985).