ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2039 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2039 ************************************ 22 May 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 16th century Scottish Lowland man. Here is what we have found. As you know, in your period 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. 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 two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. You said you're interested in a Lowland name, so we'll focus on that culture. The given name is a fine choice for your period. The name has two origins. It was a nickname for , appearing as early as the 13th century [1, 3], and also an English or Scots adaptation of the Gaelic name . It appears in Scottish documents in various forms: (14th C), 1402, 1431 also 1439, 1451 [2, 4]. Unfortunately, we could not justify your surname . You told us that it's your Society household name, constructed from "house" + the diminutive <-an>. By your period, this word would conventionally have been spelled , but we haven't found evidence that it existed [5]. The word does appear in period Scottish Gaelic place names: "house of the sanctuary" is recorded in the Scots forms 1598, 1598 [6]. We found some analogous examples in 15th century Irish Gaelic records: "John's house" 1434, "House of the two Conns" 1461 [7]. doesn't fit the patterns of names we've found, but if you're interested we could construct a Gaelic place name meaning "small house" and suggest how it might have been adapted into Scots. However, this type of byname was not commonly used in your culture and it wouldn't have meant what you want. By the 16th century, the Scots used inherited surnames, much like modern surnames, e.g. Colin who was the son of Robert Bell would have been called . If he held land called , he might also have been known as . If were also his surname (i.e. his father was ) then he might instead be called or [8]. The upshot is that we have to recommend you choose a different surname. If you would like to do so, we recommend you find a copy of George Black, The Surnames of Scotland, which is available in many libraries. It contains thousands of dated examples of Scottish surnames. Avoid the names starting , since you want a Lowland name. If you find a couple names that appeal to you, feel free to send them to us to check that they are appropriate for your culture. We can also send you some information about authentic patterns of naming among people in the same household in the late-period Lowlands. If you're interested, let us know whether you want to model your household after a period household (i.e. people living under the same roof) or an extended family. 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, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gywnek, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Mari neyn Bryan, Julie Stampnitzky, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 22 May 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Collin. [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Colin, Colinson. [3] Nicolaa de Bracton, "A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272", Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings 1995 (SCA Inc.). http://members.xoom.com/nicolaa/names.html [4] Symon Freser of Lovat, "13th & 14th Century Scottish Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottish14/ [5] Dwelly, Edward, _The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary_ (Glasgow: Gairm Publications, 1988), s.n. tigh. is the nominative plural form of "house". [6] Watson, William J., _The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland_ (London: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., 1926), p.247. Watson also cites a number of modern place names of similar form; we suspect at least some of them existed in period: 'the blessed house', a very primitive chapel (263); 'house of peril' (147); 'house of the river-junction or river-mouth' (476); 'moor-house' (406); and 'house of the harp-string' (248 n. 1). [7] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, Ivonne Tummers, ed., "Anna/la Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland., 1997), ss. 1434.8, 1461.12. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/ [8] Research by Effrick neyn Kennyeoch in the manuscript Aberdeen Council Registers, Volumes 8 - 20 (1501-1551), in the Aberdeen City Archives. She found , also sometimes identified without the locative and sometimes as (1512, 1515). Another man is named or (1502).