ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2089 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2089 ************************************ 15 May 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) [Corrected a typo, 11 Jun 2000, and another 29 Jan 2001. Arval] Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if we could suggest a Gaelic version of and a form of that would be appropriate for a Scottish woman in our period. This letter is a brief answer to your question. We found no evidence that was adopted into Scottish Gaelic in our period. The name was used in England as early as the 13th century, and was eventually adopted into Irish Gaelic as , but we aren't sure if that happened before 1600 [1, 2]. The slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter. Given the thin evidence, we cannot recommend this name as good re-creation. We can suggest an alternative that might appeal to you. , pronounced \AHN-yeh\, was a popular feminine name in Irish Gaelic from the early Middle Ages to the end of our period [3]. We haven't found it in Scotland, but that's probably just a reflection of the scarcity of sources for Scottish Gaelic women's name. We think it is a reasonable choice for a Scottish Gaelic woman's name through much of our period. The name was invented by Sir Walter Scott for his novel 'Ivanhoe', published 1819. He probably misread the Old English name [1]. There is no way that either version could have been incorporated into a Gaelic name. If you'd like to choose a different name for your father, you can find some lists of possibilities on the web. A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100 Dated Names Found in O/ Corra/in & Maguire's Irish Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/mari/ocm/ For example, "A/ine daughter of Cinead" would be an fine early-medieval Scottish Gaelic name. If you pick out a couple, feel free to check back with us to ensure that you've got the right grammatical form and pronunciation. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Talan Gwynek, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 15 May 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.nn. Anastasia, Cedric. [2] Coghlan, Ronan, _Irish Christian Names_ (London: Johnston and Bacon, 1979), s.n. Anastasia. [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. A/ine.