ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1607 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1607 ************************************ 04 May 1999 From: Jodi McMaster Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked whether the given name or was appropriate for an Irish Gaelic man living between 1400-1700 C.E. You also wanted to see if a byname like suggesting a clan affiliation was appropriate for this time. is the English form of a biblical name; we have not found it in an Irish Gaelic context. Although English names were sometimes adapted into Irish Gaelic, this one is unlikely to have been during this period as it was occasionally used in England from the 17th century onward. [1] was a relatively common name in Ireland before 900, but we haven't found examples of its use after 1400. We can suggest as an alternative; it was used in the later middle ages. [2] It is pronounced \NAKHT-ahn\, where the \kh\ is pronounced like the "ch" in or . It is not related to the . is an English or anglicized name. Depending on the circumstances, was derived either from a place in Westmoreland, an English pet name for , or the Irish Gaelic name . [2, 3] (The "/" indicates an accent over the preceding vowel.) Since is an English rather than a Gaelic name, it would not be used with a Gaelic given name. However, is Gaelic, meaning "male descendent of Peata/n." is a diminutive of ; it becomes after as a result of the grammatical requirements of Gaelic. [4] was used in Ballybofey as early as 1178. [5] It is pronounced\oh PET-ahn\ or \oh PAT-ahn\. Therefore, is a fine Irish Gaelic name for a man living after 1400. It is as close as we can get to the sound of the name you asked about. We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Talan Gwynek, Arval d'Espas Nord, and Naitan de Yerdeburc contributed comments and/or research for this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum May 4, 1999 __________________ References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988) s.n. Nathan. [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990) s.n. Neachtan. [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995) s.n. Patton. [4] For more details, see the explanation in http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ [5] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3) s.n. Peyton.