ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1724 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1724 ************************************ 3 May 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 15th century Scottish woman. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Your name is a fine choice for a Lowlander. Scotland was divided between two main cultures in your period: Highlanders, who spoke Gaelic, and Lowlanders, who spoke Scots. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at the time; Scots was closely related to English. Scots names and Gaelic names were quite different in form. Your name is a typical Scots name. We have an example of in Scots in the 14th century [1], and it probably continued in use into the 15th century. The final was probably only a scribal addition; it's likely that the lady was actually called . The name is recorded in Scotland in 1296, in 1568 [2]. In the 15th century, the name could have been used either with or without the preposition . We didn't find a period example of the spelling , but we think it is a plausible variant. 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 Effrick neyn Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 3 May 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/ [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Neville.