ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1893 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1893 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 24 Dec 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is the correct surname for an Irish woman living between 600 and 1400 found. Here's what we've found. Unfortunately, neither is appropriate. To explain why, we need to give you a little background on Irish naming. During the 800-year period you specified, the Irish language changed enormously. Seventh century Irish differs from medieval Irish as much as classical Latin differs from modern French. Naming customs changed, too, so that early medieval Irish names don't resemble late-period names at all. The introduction of the English language and culture into Ireland changed the lingustuic landscape again and had a major impact on the stock of names and on naming practices. The Irish adopted many English names; English settlers adopted some Irish names and naming customs, but also retained some from England. Names were often recorded differently in each language. As a result, in order to help you choose an authentic Irish names, we need to know more exactly what period and culture you want to re-create, what language you want to write you name in, and what you want it to mean. is a modern English spelling of the Gaelic patronymic "son of Diarmaid". In period Gaelic, surnames were used literally: A man was called only because his father's given name was . is the possessive form of , like in English. A woman would never have used any form of this name in Gaelic, since she wasn't anyone's son. Instead, she'd have been called "Diarmaid's daughter": before 1200 or so and later in period [1, 2]. This phrase was pronounced \IN-yen DEER-m@-d@\. \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the in . A 14th century woman, Slaine the daughter of Diarmaid, would have been known in Gaelic as . If her name had been recorded in an English document, it might have appeared as or perhaps even as [3, 5]. In period Gaelic, a woman did not adopt her husband's surname after marriage. The Gaels didn't use surnames in the same way we do today: Their surnames were descriptive and were understood literally. A woman's marriage didn't change her father's name, so it wouldn't make sense for her to use her husband's patronymic surname. In modern usage, the surname often implies membership in a clan. That was not true in most of our period, and we have only a little evidence that it was true even very late in period. We've found a few Gaelic examples of names in which a surname seems to be used as a chieftain's title [4]. The Gaels did use names like (masculine) and (feminine) to indicate clan membership, but we cannot recommend using surnames this way. You can find more information about period Gaelic names in these articles on the web: Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century Irish Names and Naming Practices http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/ We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl ferch Morgant Glasfryn, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, and Maridonna di Benvenuto. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Dec 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Diarmaid [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. mac Diarmada [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century Irish Names and Naming Practices (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). Examples of 14th women's names recorded include (anglicized from ) and (an English given name followed by an anglicized Gaelic patronymic). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/lateirish [4] O/ Clerigh, Lughaidh, _Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Ui/ Dhomhnaill -- Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell_ ed. Paul Walsh, Irish Texts Society, vol. 42 (Dublin: Irish Texts Society, 1948). [5] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. Mac Diarmada. He gives a list of anglicized forms of recorded c.1600: M'Dermody, M'Dermot, M'Dermonde, M'Derby. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 26 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letters 'D' and 'T' do not lenite.