ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1930 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1930 ************************************ 24 Jan 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether "Cillian the hunter" is an appropriate name for an Irish man living between 700 and 1150. You noted that would be an acceptable alternative, and also asked the proper ways to use and surnames and whether animal nicknames were much used. Here is what we have found. The Irish language underwent a substantial change sometime before the late 8th century. Before then, the language spoken in Ireland is called Oghamic Irish because it is recorded only in inscriptions in the Ogham alphabet. Names recorded in those inscriptions are very different from later, Old Irish names. The name you asked about is much more similar to Old Irish names, so we'll focus on the period 800-1150. is an English spelling of at least two Gaelic masculine names: , , and perhaps also . The slash in the names represents a sharp accent over the preceding letter. The first two of these names were pronounced \KILL-yeen\, the last \KELL-ahn\ [1, 2]. Any of them would be a reasonable choice for your period. In your period, an Irish man was most often known as his father's son. Cilli/ne son of A/ed would usually have been called . ( is the possessive form of , just like in English.) Even if he were sometimes identified by some other byname, he would have used a patronymic on formal occasions. We therefore recommend that you choose a patronymic. You can find a list of early Irish men's names and some guidance on how to use them on the web: 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100/ Surnames like came into use around the 10th century. Originally spelled , they were used literally to mean "grandson of Conall", but by the end of your period they had developed into clan names with the more general meaning "male descendent of Conall". If you want a name suited to the last couple centuries of your period, then it would be very appropriate to use a surname of this type. You can build one from the genitive (possessive) form any masculine given name from the list recommended above. For example, Cilli/ne son of Lugaid mac Diarmata O/ Cathail could have been called any of: Cilli/ne mac Lugdach Cilli/ne O/ Cathail Cilli/ne mac Lugdach O/ Cathail If you'd like to verify the pronunciation and correct grammar of any particular name, feel free to write us again. The word does indeed mean "hunter" or "huntsman" [3]. It was pronounced \SHAHL-garr\. We haven't found an example of this word used as part of a man's name. It's not implausible, but we can't recommend it as the best re-creation. However, if you do use it, you should not add the article "the". In Gaelic, occupational bynames were used without the article. As far as we can tell, did not mean "falcon" or "boar", though it might have been used as the name of a particular animal. Animal nicknames were rare in early medieval Gaelic. We don't recommend them. 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 and Tangywstyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Jan 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Cille/ne. [2] is our reconstruction of the pre-1200 spelling of the root of the Gaelic surname , for which see Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [3] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.v. selgaire.