ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1804 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1804 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 8 Jan 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel. You wrote to us asking whether would be an appropriate woman's name in the Lowlands of Scotland for the mid to late 1500's. In your period, there were two main languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the towns and the royal court. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose will determine how your name should be constructed. You wrote that you want a Lowland name, which would be Scots in your period. is a Lowland Scots form of that we've found recorded in 1539-1548. We also found other spellings, , in 1512 and 1570, and in the early 16th century. It is an excellent choice for your period and culture. [1, 2] is a Scots or English form of the Gaelic byname "son of Cainneach". Both spellings were originally pronounced \mahk-KEN-yee\ [3]. The letter "z" is used modernly to represent the letter "yogh" in Scots. This letter looks sort of like a "3" and is pronounced as a consonantal \y\ sound, for example like the "y" in English "yes". However, we are not certain that was adopted into Lowland Scots before 1600. In Gaelic before the 17th century, bynames were used literally. A man would have been called "son of Cainneach" only if his father's first name was . A woman, being a daughter rather than a son, would not use the byname ; instead, she would use . This means "daughter of Cainneach" and is pronounced \IN-yen KHEN-yee\, where the \KH\ is the harsh, rasping "ch" sound in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach". Note that Scottish Gaels did not normally indicate their clan affiliation in their Gaelic bynames. A woman with the byname or a man with the byname could belong to any clan. By the 16th century, in the Scots-speaking Lowlands most surnames had become fixed and inherited, so a woman's surname would be the same as her father's surname. For example, an who was the daughter of would be . At this time a few Gaelic bynames had been adopted into Scots as inherited family names. A descendent of Gaelic ancestors who had moved to the Lowlands could perhaps have been known as . However, we must emphasise that we do not have evidence that was used this way in 16th century Lowland Scots, so we cannot recommend it as good re-creation. Also, regardless of surname or ancestral origins, Lowlanders did not normally belong to Gaelic clans. To assist you in selecting an authentic surname we recommend you look at _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, by George Black. It has many dated and located names, and is our reference [3]. Some public libraries have copies. Again, beware of names beginning with , as they are unlikely to have been used in a Lowland Scots name in your period. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write to us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. In particular, if you would like us to comment on any Lowland surnames that you are interested in, we would be happy to consult with you further. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Raquel Buenaventura, Effrick neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Arval d'Espas Nord, Amant le Marinier and AElfwyn aet Gywrum. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 08/ Jan / 2000 ________________________________________ Bibliography. [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] Sharon L. Krossa, "Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names" (WWW:Sharon L. Krossa, 1996). http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/acr_1501_womens_name s.html [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. MacKenzie.