ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1793 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1793 ************************************ 20 Oct 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a feminine first name similar to that would be appropriate in combination with the Gaelic household name . In particular, you asked about , , , and . Here is what we have found. You didn't specify what part of the Gaelic world you want your name to fit, but is a Scottish Gaelic name, so we've assumed that's what interests you. Unfortunately, is a _modern_ Scottish Gaelic name that could not have existed in Gaelic in our period. In the modern language, is the feminine form of the family name [1]. However, we have found no example of in period Gaelic. It appears that the word originated in Gaelic sometime after 1600 as a contraction of the phrase "daughter of mac". In modern Gaelic, and are understood to be translations of and . Because many modern Scottish family names are associated with clans, the effect is that the modern Gaelic serves to indirectly identify clan membership. There is no period byname with the same meaning as . Scottish Gaels did not use family names in period or indicate clan membership in their Gaelic names [2]. Women in this society were almost always known as their father's daughters. For example, Raghnailt daughter of Aodh mac Domhnaill would have been called . The word , pronounced \IN-yen\, means "daughter". We should stress that this name says nothing about Raghnailt's clan membership: She could be a member of some clan, but that fact wouldn't have been included in her name the way it is in modern Scotland [3]. Given that we can't suggest a period way to use , we're not sure which direction you'd like us to go. We could research when and where was used and help you build a name around it. Or we could help you choose an authentic Scottish Gaelic name. Or we can give you advice on building a name around one of the given names you asked about. Those names are all fine choices, but they are English names, not Gaelic. , , and are Middle English forms of French names; is a Middle English form of an Old Norse name. All are recorded in English in the late 12th or 13th century [4]. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you'd like us to discuss one of the options we described above. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Tangywstyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 20 Oct 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Calder, George, A Gaelic Grammar; containing parts of speech and the general principles of phonology and etymology with a chapter on proper and place names (Glasgow: 1923; reprinted Glasgow: Gairm Publications, 1980, 1990). [2] Some clan chieftains used titles that resemble modern clan membership surnames. Their daughters were sometimes known by patronymics based on these titles, along the lines of "daughter of [the] Mac Aoidh". [3] For more information about Scottish names, we recommend these articles on our website: Scottish Names 101 http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/scotnames101.html Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.html [4] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/