ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1791 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1791 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "Sara L Friedemann" 23 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if or is an authentic 16th century Irish woman's name. Here is the information we have found. was a common name in early Ireland; in later period, it was spelled . It is a fine choice for your given name, and is pronounced \MEHV\. [1] The correct byname meaning "daughter of Domhnall" would be . (The change in spelling of is a requirement of Gaelic grammar.) , "Meadhbh daughter of Domhnall," is pronounced \MEHV IN-yen DON-ahl\. It is an excellent choice for your name. By the 16th century, most Gaels also had a clan affiliation byname, indicating which clan they belonged to. You can find more information about clan bynames on the web at: "Quick & Easy Gaelic Bynames" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ Gaelic people very rarely used descriptive bynames along with their patronymic bynames (bynames indicating a person's father.) Most of the time, these bynames, when used, reflected physical characteristics, such as coloring or height. We did not find any bynames with a meaning such as "cunning," and suggest that you consider using only a patronym or a clan byname. 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 Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Africa filia Kennoci. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 23, 1999 --------------------------------------- References & notes: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).