ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1550 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1550 ************************************ 14 Feb 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is a period name, and in particularly whether is an appropriate Highland Scottish name. This letter is a brief answer to your question. As far as we can tell, the name was invented for a character in the X-Men comic books, [5]. We found no example of the name earlier than the appearance of this character. The most similar Scottish woman's given names that we can suggest are or [1]. In English, or is a pet form of , recorded as early as the 13th century. or probably also originated as pet forms of , though all these names were also influenced by the word , the name of a flower that was an important Christian symbol. was used in Scotland in the 16th century, however it is important to note that it was a Scots name, not Gaelic [2, 3]. Scots is a language closely related to English that was spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland from the 14th century. Gaelic was spoken in the Highlands and in Ireland in this period. We found no Gaelic woman's name that sounds similar to what you want. If you would like more help choosing a historically-appropriate Gaelic name, please write us again or consult the articles in the Scottish and Irish sections of our medieval names website: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names The phrase does not appear to be a very likely English or Scots place name. The word was rarely used in place names in these languages. However, we think it is perfectly reasonable to create a name with the same meaning by using the word or one of its variants <-stan> and <-stane> [4]. The Old English word or "sheep" shows up in place names near the Scottish border in the form , and , so we can recommend , , or the like as an invented place name along the border. would be a fine late-period woman's name for this region. 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Teceangl Bach, Alan Fairfax, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 14 Feb 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes & References [1] You may also come across the modern name . We do not recommend using it as a Society name. There was a Saint Leandro, bishop of Cartagena, who lived in the 6th century. The name does not appear to have remained in use in Spain or elsewhere, and we can find no evidence that it was femininized as in period. [2] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). [3] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [4] Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1956), s.vv. sceap, stan. [5] "Lilandra Neramani" (WWW) http://www.geocities.com/~x-master/lilandra.html