ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2092 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2092 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 30 May 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Scottish woman living between 1350 and 1600. This letter is a brief answer to your question. is an Irish Gaelic adaptation of . (The slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter.) It is a form of the name that was generally used only before your period, though we have found it recorded as late as 1513 in an Irish source known to use conservative spelling. That source has in 1364, in the 15th century, and in 1513. However, in your period, the name would most often have been spelled [1, 2], and we believe this form of the name was used by Gaels in Scotland [6]. The early form of the name was probably pronounced \MAHR-ghrayg\ and the later form was \MAHR-ghrayd\. \gh\ represents a sound not used in modern English. It is the voiced version of the rasping sound in the Scottish word or the German . Your nickname "red" is a fine choice, well-documented in Gaelic in both Ireland and Scotland [4, 5]. This is an early medieval spelling of that word, typically too early for your period. In your period, the word was usually written and pronounced \ROO-@gh\. \@\ represents the vowel sound spelled in the word . is a modern Scottish Gaelic form of the genitive (possessive) form of the name . Its possessive form was probably most often spelled in Scottish Gaelic in your period [3]. The phrase "Donnchadh's daughter" was pronounced \EEN-y@n DOHN-(@)-khee\ for the first half of your period, and \NEE-y@n DOHN-(@)-khee\ for the last century or so. The middle syllable is pronounced very lightly. \kh\ represents the sound of the in or . 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Mari neyn Bryan, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 30 May 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Ma/rgre/g. [2] 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. 1364.7, 1433.2, 1445.6, 1451.2, 1513.2. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/ [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Macconnachie. The Scots spellings in this entry appear to derive from . [4] Black, op. cit., s.n. Roy 1428, 1550; s.n. Maclae 1509; s.n. Macwilliam 1613. [5] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, Ivonne Tummers, ed., "Anna/la Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997). section 1315.11 , 1485.4 <... d'O/Dhomhnaill .i. Aodh Ruadh ...>, 1495.3 <... les h. nDomnaill .i. Aodh Ruadh mac Neill Gairb ...>, 1536.23 . http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/ [6] Arval Benicoeur, "Some Scottish Gaelic Feminine Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/arval/scotgaelfem/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n' like , the letter 'D' does not lenite.