ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1601
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1601
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From: "S Friedemann" 
5 May 1999

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for help creating an authentic Scottish Gaelic feminine name with
<Elene> or something similar as your given name and <inghean Pharthalain>
"daughter of Parthalan" as your surname.  You also asked what the Latin form
of the name would be.  Here is the information we have found.

Starting in the late 14th century, there were two main languages spoken in
Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the
Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic is the same language
spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary
English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the
two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your
persona will determine how your name should be constructed.

<Elene> is a form of the name <Helen>. [3]  It was carried to Scotland by
Norman settlers and remained in use in the Lowlands.  We found an example of
<Elena> in 1411 [4].  As far as we can tell, the name <Helen> was never
adopted into Gaelic; however, we can suggest the name <Ailiono/ra>, which
was a Gaelic adaptation of <Eleanor>. [1] (The slash represents an accent
over the previous letter).  <Eleanor> first reached England in the later
12th century, and only became popular there a century or so later.  It was
borrowed into Gaelic as <Ailiono/ra> in the 15th and 16th centuries; if you
choose this as your given name, we recommend you also choose a later-period
persona.

There is also another similar sounding name: <Aillean>, an early medieval
Gaelic woman's name pronounced roughly \AHL-y@n\, where \@\ is the sound of
the <a> in <sofa>. [1] This name was used by the mother of an Irish king who
died in 943. Since it is an early Irish Gaelic name, it is plausible that it
was also used by Gaelic speakers in Scotland.

The Gaelic surname meaning "daughter of Pharthalan" is <inghean
Pharthala/in>.  <Parthala/n> is indeed a Gaelic adaptation of <Bartholomew>;
in modern Gaelic, it has become <Pa\rlan> [1,2].

A Gaelic woman named <Ailiono/ra> whose father was called <Parthala/n mac
Aodha> would herself be called <Ailiono/ra inghean Pharthala/in>.  The
changes in the spelling of the father's name are required by Gaelic grammar.
This name is pronounced \AHL-y@-NO-r@  IN-yen FAR-@-lahn~\.  The symbol \@\
represents a schwa, the first sound in the  word <about>.  \n~\ is the sound
of the Spanish <n~> in <sen~or> or of the  French <gn> in <montagne>.

Alternatively, you may want to consider a non-Gaelic Scottish name, either
for a Scoto-Norman in the 13th century, or a Scots-speaking Lowlander in
later centuries.  The name <Bartholomew> was used as a surname by these
groups: <Alisaundre Bertholmeu> 1296, <Thomas Barthelmo> 1516 [2].  <Elena
Bertholmeu> would be a fine name for a 13th century Scoto-Norman woman and
<Elena Barthelmo> would be a perfect name for a Lowland woman in the 15th or
16th century.  Before the 15th century, her surname would probably have
meant that her father's first name was <Bartholmeu>, and her name might have
been recorded in Latin as <Elena filia Bartholomei>.

By the 15th and 16th centuries, when <Ailiono/ra> was in use in Scotland,
most records were written in Scots, though a few were still written in
Latin.  <Ailiono/ra inghean Pharthala/in> could have been written in Scots
as <Eleanor neyn Farlan> and in Latin as <Alianora filia Bartholomei>.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not
hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further
questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval
Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Tangwystyl verch Morgant
Glasvryn, and Effrick neyn Kennyeoch.

For the Academy,
--Argangui merch Catmail
     May 5, 1999

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References:

[1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The
Lilliput Press, 1990).

[2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and H
istory_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Macfarlan.,
Bartholomew

[3] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English
Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997)
[URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/].

[4] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish
Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996).
[URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/].