ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2100 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2100 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 5 Jul 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a pre-1600 Scottish Highlander. If not, you asked us to suggest similar alternatives. Here is what we have found. The primary language spoken in the Scottish Highlands from the Middle Ages to the end of our period was Gaelic, the same language spoken in much of Ireland. We will focus on that language. is a modern English name, not used in our period as far as we've been able to discover. However, it derives from one of several Gaelic names, and we hope one of those will appeal to you. Names marked "early" are recorded in use between the 7th and 12th centuries, inclusive; those marked "late" were recorded later. The slash in several of the names represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter. Cella/n (early) \K(y)EL-ahn\ Cuile/n (early) [1, 4] \KOOL-yehn\, with as in Ca/ela/n (early) [1] \KEY-lahn\, with \EY\ as in Cuilean, Cuilea/n (late) [1, 4] \KOOL-yahn\, with as in Cealla/n (late) [2] \K(y)A-lahn\, with \A\ as in Caola/n (late) [1] \KU-lahn\, \U\ as in In these pronunciations, the symbol \K(y)\ represents the sound at the beginning of . The first name in each set is the best choice, since we have evidence that it was used in Scotland. The other names were recorded in Irish sources; they may also have been used in Scotland, but we're not sure. is the standard Modern English spelling of the Gaelic patronymic [4]. A patronymic is a surname that identifies a person as his father's child. In period Gaelic, patronymic surnames were used literally: A man would only have been called if his father's name was . The practice of using surnames in Gaelic to indicate clan membership is a modern development. Clans existed in period Scottish Gaelic culture, but clan membership was not reflected in peoples' Gaelic names. The extra in is a grammatical requirement in Gaelic; it puts the name into its possessive form, like in English. A name like would be a fine choice for a Scottish Gael from the 9th century onward. was a Gaelic adaptation of the Old Norse name , so it was no doubt more common in the far north of Scotland and the Western Isles, where Norse influence was strongest. In fact, this name would be especially appropriate for a man living in one of these areas of Norse/Gaelic interaction. Just as was borrowed into Gaelic, we know that was borrowed into Old Norse to become [5, 6]. A man living in the Hebrides in the 9th or 10th century, for example, could easily have been known to the Norse as and to the Gaels as . The Norse name would have been pronounced roughly \KU"-lahn LYOATS sohn\; the Gaelic name would have been \KOOL-yehn mahk LYOATCH\. \U"\ represents the sound of the German u-umlaut in words like . \OO\ in the second pronunciation represents the vowel in . If you prefer a later-period Gaelic name, then you might consider (actually a later spelling of the same name), or one of the other given names listed above. 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 Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, and Affrick N'Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 Jul 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.nn. Ca/ela/n, Cuile/n. [2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976), 317 a 16. [3] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. O/ Cillea/in. [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Culen, Macleod. [5] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931), s.n. Ky/lan. [6] Arno/rsson, Einar, ed. _Landna/mabo/k I/slands_ (Reykjavi/k: Helgafell, 1948), p.85. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 11 Jan 2002, Arval: We originally included "Cillea/n (late) [3] \KIL-yahn\" in our list of alternatives to . After reviewing our evidence, we've concluded that we were wrong: We find it used as a given name only in the 8th and 9th centuries. In all our later examples, the name is part of the clan name . See report 2444 for references.