ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1618 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1618 ************************************ 2 Apr 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Renaissance Irishman. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Unfortunately, that name does not appear to be correct. We have never seen the name before. We assume that it's intended as a variant of . was originally a Breton name, carried to England by the Normans [1]. We don't find evidence that it was adopted into Gaelic, though there is a similar-sounding Gaelic name that might interest you: or , pronounced \AH-len\ [2]. It is independent of , but may have been associated with it in period due to the similarity. appears to be an English spelling of a Gaelic surname "son of Giolla Bha/in". That name is recorded in English sources in Ireland c.1600 as and [5]. In Scotland, the same name eventually produced the English form , though that may have derived from other sources [4]. could perhaps also derive from Gaelic "son of Beatha/n" [3]. That name was pronounced \mahk BAY-ahn\ by the end of our period. If you want an Irish Gaelic name, then you might consider , pronounced \AH-len mahk BAY-ahn\ in the last century of our period. It literally means "Ailean son of Beatha/n", and that's how it would have been used in our period: by a man whose father's first name was Beatha/n. It is possible that an English scribe might have recorded this name as . 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, Talan Gwynek, and Tangywstyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 Apr 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. MacBean. [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. MacBain. [5] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. Mac Giolla Bha/in.