ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1527 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1527 ************************************ 7 Feb 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Irishwoman living between 1000 and 1250. This letter is a brief answer to your question. or is a name found in early medieval Irish records; we're not sure if it was still used by your period, but it's not a bad choice. Gaelic spelling underwent a change around the year 1200. is a later spelling, earlier [1]. Either way it's pronounced \K(y)AIR-@\. The symbol (y) represents a very slight consonantal \y\, like in , that's combined with the \K\ into a single sound. \@\ represents a schwa, the last sound in . is the possessive form of the masculine given name . You do need the possessive form in your surname, but you also need to modify the initial to . This change, called lenition, is required by Gaelic grammar in some circumstances. In particular, it happens in a woman's surname. Thus, before 1200 your name would have been written . Later, it would have been . It was pronounced \K(y)AIR-@ EEN-yen KHOHN-ahl~\. \KH\ represents the rasping sound in Scottish or German , and \l~\ represents the sound of in Spanish or in French words like . 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 and Effric neyn Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 7 Feb 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Cera.