ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2061 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2061 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "Sara L Friedemann" 19 Apr 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a feminine name that could have been used in Tudor Ireland, and wondered if there was an equivalent to your modern name that was used then. Here is a brief letter with the information we have found. as a feminine given name is a modern invention. It is either an anglicization of the masculine given name or a reuse of the Irish river name. Unlike modern naming practice, and contrary to some romantic views of the past, medieval people rarely were given names from gemstones, flowers, divine figures or, in this case, geographical features. [1,2]. We can, however, recommend a couple of Irish names beginning with that were used in your period: [1] Sadhbh \SIVE\ Siubha/n \SHEEV-ahn\ Sile \SHEEL-y@\ [3] In these names, \SIVE\ rhymes with and , and the \@\ represents the final vowel sound found in or . A Gaelic speaking woman in your period would have been known as her father's daughter. For example, would mean "Sadhbh daughter of Lachlann." The change in spelling from to is a requirement of Gaelic grammar; it is equivalent to vs. . For a source of appropriate masculine names for your father's name, we recommend source [1]; this book is fairly widely available, and you should be able to find it either at your local library or through inter-library loan. If you have any questions about how to form a correct surname with the name of your choice, please write us again and we'll be happy to help. We hope that this brief 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 Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 19Apr00 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press,1990). s.n. Shannon [2] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983) [3] More precisely, is \SHEE-l~@\. \l~\ represents "palatalized" \l\; palatalization means pronouncing the consonant with your tongue arched to touch the roof of your mouth. \l~\ is the sound at the beginning of Spanish and of the in French . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, 5 Mar 2004: Added note [3].