ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1594 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1594 ************************************ 17 Mar 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 16th century Scottish Gaelic name. You wrote that you want a name suitable for a Scottish nobleman living in the 1560s, in the Highlands or the Lowlands, from a family that would have sent their son on a tour of the Continent. You said you'd like to keep the first name . This letter is a brief answer to your question. In your period, Scotland was home to two main cultures: Highland and Lowland. The Highlanders spoke Gaelic, the same language spoken in Ireland at the time. The Lowlanders spoke Scots, a language closely related to English. The two languages had different naming systems which were not mixed. Therefore, the culture you choose will determine how your name should be constructed. Lowland culture was the culture of the royal court and of commerce, and was similar in many ways to contemporary English culture. Gaelic culture was separate, less integrated into European culture as a whole, and viewed as backward and somewhat barbaric by outside observers. We usually don't offer advice on our clients' personas, but in this case, we think your requirements for your persona may conflict with your desire to use a Gaelic name. We can't say for sure, but we suspect that the idea of a Gaelic family sending their son to the Continent to study or to tour doesn't fit this period of history. A Lowland, Scots-speaking persona may accommodate your interests better. If you'd like some information on Scots naming, please write us again. We have never encountered . It is appears to be a phonetic spelling of , a modern English form of the early medieval Gaelic name . (The slash represents an accent over the preceding letter.) This name was relatively common in early medieval Ireland. We have found only one example in Scotland, a king of Argyll who lived around 600 AD. In the late Middle Ages, it would have been spelled , but we're not sure it was used in either country after the 10th century or so. Its modern popularity dates to a revival in the 19th or 20th century. The name is a fine choice for an early-period persona, and a plausible choice for a late-period Irish persona, but probably not a good choice for a Scottish persona [1, 2, 3, 4]. If you want a Scottish Gaelic name, it would be better re-creation to use a name that is well-documented in use in period Scotland. You might want to consider the similar name [2, 3, 5]. That name was pronounced \EHGH\ or \#GH\ in your period. \GH\ is the voiced version of the rasping sound in the Scottish word or the German . \#\ represents a vowel that doesn't exist in English; you can produce it by trying to say \oo\ (as in ) with your lips positioned as if you were saying \ee\. For more information about medieval Scottish Gaelic names and for a selection of other given names you might consider, you can read these articles on the web: A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.html Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ If you would like us to suggest some other Scottish Gaelic first names, let us know what first letter or sound you'd like the name to have, and we'll put together a short list of possibilities. A man in 16th century Scottish Gaelic culture was usually known as his father's son. Aodh the son of Domhnall would have been called . The added to the father's name is required by Gaelic grammar. It puts the name into its possessive form, like the <'s> in English . Gaelic grammar and pronunciation are tricky, so once you pick a name for your father, please feel free to write us to verify the details. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 17 Mar 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Aidan, Aed, Aodh. [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [4] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [5] 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