ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1887 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1887 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 2 Jan 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know the earliest date that the Gaelic masculine name or was used, specifically if it was used in the 6th century. You also wanted to know if this name could be linked to even earlier roots. Here is the information we have found. was probably borrowed into Old Irish from a Pictish source. (The slash represents an accent over the previous letter.) The first example we find is in Ireland as the name of a high-king, , who reigned 724-28. The name appears to have become popular in Ireland after his time. , the first king of Scotland, is the first person in Scotland we find that bears this name. [1] However, since may be of Pictish origin, it is quite possible that a related name was used in Scotland from a fairly early date. There is an excellent article on Pictish names available on-line in our library that may interest you: "A Consideration of Pictish Names" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/pictnames/ 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 Lisa Theriot and Brian M. Scott. For the Academy, ~Sara L. Friedemann January 2, 2000 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). s.n. Cina/ed