ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1474
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1474
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11 Jan 1999
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Kegan Cris> is an appropriate name for period Ireland.
This letter is a brief answer to your question.

Unfortunately, neither part of the name is correct for period Irish.

<Kegan> was not a given name in period; it is an inaccurate modern attempt
to re-construct the root of one of the Irish surnames <O'Kegan> or
<MacKegan>.  Both surnames derive originally from the Gaelic masculine
given name <Aodhaga/n>.  The slash represents an accent over the preceding
letter.  That name was pronounced \AY-@-gahn\, where \AY\ is pronounced as
in <hay>, and \@\ is a schwa, the last sound in <sofa>.  English speakers
hearing the surname <mac Aodhaga/in> "son of Aodhaga/n" mistakenly grouped
the \k\ sound in <mac> with the second word, and recorded it as <Mac Kegan>
[1].  In Manx, a similar process created the modern surname <Kegan> from
the Gaelic <Mac Taidhgin> [2].

We did not find any example of the surname <Cris> in period Ireland,
Scotland, or England.  If you can tell us where you found it or what you
intend it to mean, we may be able to discover more information.


We hope this brief letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions.  I was assisted in researching and writing this letter
by Talan Gwynek, Aelfwyn aet Gyrwum., Teceangl Bach, Aryanhwy merch
Catmael, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  11 Jan 1999


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References

[1] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_
(Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.nn. Mac Aodhaga/in, O/
Caoga/in. 

[2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Kegan.