ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1879 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1879 ************************************ 12 Jan 2000 From: Jodi McMaster Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked whether , , , or would be appropriate for a man living in the Scottish highlands between 1150 and 1500. Scottish naming is a bit complicated, and it changes during the years you've indicated. In 12th and 13th centuries, several languages were spoken in the area that is Scotland today. The major ones were: Norse, spoken in the far north and the western isles. English, spoken mainly in the southeast. Gaelic, spoken through much of the country. Norman French, spoken by Norman settlers and their Scoto-Norman descendants, mostly in the south. Starting in the late 14th century, there were two main languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. It is not until this time that the Highlander/Lowlander distinction becomes meaningful. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots was closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the various languages and times, and the styles of naming did not mix. [1] Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. Given your description of your interest as highlander, we are assuming you want a Gaelic name. If this is incorrect, please write again and let us know what culture and language in which you are interested and we'll be glad to help. is an anglicization of the Gaelic , which probably would have been before 1200. [2] The name was pronounced \MAHGH-noos\ before 1200 (the "gh" is like the harsh, rasping "ch" sound in Scottish or German but it is voiced), \MAHN-ahs\ in the 14th century but \MAH-noos\ in the 16th century. is the early version of the name [3], which later became , pronounced \FAIR-ghoos\ in 1200-1400. , spelled with an accent in Gaelic, is the possessive form of the Gaelic name , meaning "Niall's". is one of many English spellings of the Gaelic . [3] It was pronounced \NEE-@l\ (the @ represents schwa, the first vowel sound in ). was a common personal name in the south of Scotland in the twelfth century. [2] It is the contracted form of the Old Norse name which entered the Anglo-Scandinavian name stock. We were not able to find the name in any form in a Gaelic context, so we would not recommend it for a Northern Gaelic-speaking Scot. appears to be an English spelling of a Gaelic surname "son of Gille Bha/in". It was pronounced \mahk GILL-y@ VAHN~\, with \GILL\ having a hard \G\ like the English word "gill", as in the gills of a fish. The name is recorded in English sources in Ireland c.1600 as and [4]. In Scotland, the same name eventually produced the English form , though that may have derived from other sources [2]. could perhaps also derive from Gaelic "son of Beatha/n" [5]. That name was pronounced \mahk BAY-ahn\ by the end of our period. A name along the lines of , or would be a fine choice. We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval Benicouer, Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, and Talan Gwynek contributed comments and/or research for this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum January 12, 1999 __________________ References: [1] For more details, see Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Scottish Names 101 (2nd Edition)"(WWW: Privately published, 20 Aug 1998): http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/scotnames101.html [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. MacManus, MacBain, Macbean, Ulfkil. [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100 [4] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. Mac Giolla Bha/in. [5] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. MacBean.