ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1842 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1842 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 19 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic medieval Scotsman's name. Here is the information we have found. was a very common Gaelic name, both in Ireland and in Scotland. [1, 2] It is a fine choice for your given name. was also a common name in early-period Ireland, pronounced \MAHN-y@\, where the \@\ represents the initial vowel sound in the word . [1] We did not find any specific evidence that this name was used in Scotland, but early in period, when was popular in Ireland, naming customs in Ireland and Scotland were fairly similar. Therefore, we believe it possible that could have been used in Scotland in early period. In conclusion, , meaning "Cathal son of Maine" and pronounced \KAH-th@l mac MAHN-y@\ is a fine early period Scottish Gaelic name. 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, Juliana de Luna, and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 19, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Cathal, Maine [2] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names", (WWW: Privately published, 18 June 1997), s.n. Maine http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.html