ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2196 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2196 ************************************ From: Lisa and Ken Theriot 8 Mar 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if is an appropriate name for a woman living in Ireland or Scotland between 1200 and 1500. You also inquired about the surname . Here is the information we have found. Unfortunately, the name you've chosen doesn't fit the times and places that interest you. We can suggest some similar names that would be appropriate in various contexts. To start, we need to give you a little background information on languages and naming in Scotland and Ireland. Both countries were home to more than one culture and language in your period. Ireland was inhabited by people who spoke Gaelic or English, Scotland primarily by people who spoke Gaelic or Scots. The Gaelic of Ireland and of Scotland was the same language, though there were some differences in dialect, pronunciation, and naming customs. Scots was a close relative of contemporary English; it was spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland, including the towns and the royal court. In late-period Scotland, Gaelic was spoken in the Highlands and Western Isles. English and Scots naming customs were similar, though not identical. Gaelic naming customs were quite different, though, and the two styles of naming were not mixed together. Your choice of culture, therefore, will determine the type of name that is appropriate for your recreation. You seem unsure as to whether you want a Gaelic name; we'll discuss possibilities in both Gaelic and Scots, since your suggested name has elements from each. First we'll discuss the form of your name, and then we'll look at each name element you asked about. Your suggested name of seems to be composed of two given names and a surname. A second given name, or "middle name" was virtually unknown for your period, and accordingly its use makes a poor recreation. (Often when two given names are recorded together, like , the second name is a patronymic, or a name indicating your father. In this case, Robert is the son of Michael.) We would expect a woman in either Ireland or Scotland for your period to have a single given name and a byname. is a modern English form of the Irish Gaelic name which was recorded in your period as [1]. It was a very popular woman's name in Ireland throughout your period; it was pronounced \MEHV\. We do not find it recorded in Scotland; whether this fact is due to the limited number of surviving Gaelic records, or because the name was not used in Scotland, we can't be sure. We do find the name recorded in a Scots-language document in 16th century Aberdeen [2]; this name may or may not have been influenced by the Gaelic . is the modern English name of one of the Western Isles of Scotland, or the Hebrides. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it probably relates to the Gaelic word whose modern form is 'wing, shield' due to the shape of the island; the early form of the word was . We find it recorded in various forms [3, 4]: Skitis, c. 150 Scii, 708 Skiadh, 1208 Scy, 1266 We don't know when the spelling was first used, but it is a reasonable English version of the Gaelic pronunciation \SKEE-@\, where \@\ represents the sound of in and . The English pronunciation would have been the same as the Gaelic pronunciation at the beginning of your period, but over time it would have shortened to \SKEE\. By the very end of your period, it was shifting to \SKY\ (pronounced like the word ). The use of as a given name dates only to the late 20th century [5]. There is a rare, old Irish Gaelic name ; like the island name, it was identical to the common Old Irish word for 'wing' and 'shield'. We find it recorded in 12th century Ireland; unfortunately, the source is a genealogy and we don't know when the woman recorded as actually lived [6]. It is also the name of an early Irish saint [7]. We have no examples from your period; we don't know how late the name stayed in use, but we do not believe it would be a plausible recreation for any later than around the 10th century. In early use, it was pronounced \SKEE-ahth\; if it remained in use for your period it would have been pronounced \SKEE-@\ (like the island name). As with , we do not find this name recorded in Scotland. Additionally, we have found no bynames based on the placename . It is highly unlikely that anyone was known as in your period; our research indicates that names based on placenames are virtually unknown in Gaelic. We have examples of names of Gaels recorded in English, Scots-language or Latin records that include a byname based on a place; however, these bynames are usually based on an individual's landholding, rather than the area in which they live. (For example, we would expect , recorded in 1256, to be the lord of the baronial lands of Glenesk, as indeed he was.) Many Scots-speaking individuals had bynames based on places, but as Skye is in a Gaelic-speaking region it is unlikely that a Scots-speaker would have been associated with the island [8]. We find no bynames based on in any of our sources, and we do not believe it was used [9]. Your spelling of is not one we recognize; however, there are similar bynames, especially in Scotland. The modern surname derives from a Scots-language word meaning 'large, great'. We find it recorded as in 1431 and as in 1501 [10]. Throughout your period it was pronounced \MIH-k@l\, where \IH\ represents the sound of in . For the early part of your period, it would have been a literal description, meaning that you were a large person. From roughly the late 15th century on, it would more likely have been an inherited surname. would not be compatible with a Gaelic name like ; the Scots and Gaelic given name pools were quite different. If you are interested in finding a given name appropriate for a Scots-speaker, we suggest the following articles: A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/scottownwomen16.shtml Although the names in the second article are dated after the period you specified, any of them should be appropriate for at least the last century of your period. For example, or would work well with ; would be a fine name for a Scots-speaker from the last century of your period. If you intended as a form of , you have other possibilities. The modern surname derives from a patronymic use of ; we find the following forms recorded in Scotland [11]: Michael, 1438 Michell, 1489 Mitsell, 1496 Mitschell, 1524 Mytschell, 1555 Again, these forms are used by Scots-speakers, and would not be compatible with a Gaelic given name; would be a fine name, but and would not work together. If it's more important to you to use a form of , then we can help you choose a Gaelic name. In Gaelic bynames for your period, in both Ireland and Scotland, people were almost always identified as their father's children. Meadhbh, daughter of would have been known as , meaning literally 'Meadhbh, daughter of Brian' and pronounced \MEHV EEN-y@n VREE-ahn~\. The tilde represents the sound of in Spanish and in Italian and French [12]. If you are interested in learning more about Gaelic women's names, we recommend this article: Quick and Easy Gaelic Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ The byname derives from a place called near Berwick. (There was another place called in period, in the northeast, named after the first.) We find it recorded as a byname in 1296 as [13]. Later it is found spelled and [14]. For the early part of your period, a Scots-speaking woman living near Huntlie might be recorded as in Latin documents and known as in vernacular, or spoken, usage. By around the 15th century, the likely form would be , where would be an inherited surname (she might be the daughter of , for example) and would no longer necessarily mean that she lived near Huntly. In summary, we can't recommend any name much like ; this name combines elements from different languages that aren't compatible. Unfortunately, we haven't found any way to use in a name that is authentic for your period. If you want a name that is appropriate for one of the cultures of Ireland or Scotland, then you need to start by choosing the culture you want to re-create. We suggested some possibilities in Gaelic and in Scots, and some resources where you can find alternatives. If you'd like to discuss any of these possibilities further, please write us again. 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 Arval Benicoeur, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Juliana de Luna, Julie Stampnitzky, Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 8 March 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Meadhbh. [2] The manuscript Aberdeen Council Registers, Volumes 8 - 20 (1501-1551), in the Aberdeen City Archives, years 1532-3, Mavis Glenny. This is the only example of the name we have in Scotland, so it was by no means a common name. [3] Field, John, _Place-Names of Great Britain and Ireland_, (London: David & Charles, 1990), s.n. Skye. [4] Watson, William J., _The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland_ (London: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., 1926). p. 39. [5] Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges, _A Dictionary of First Names_, Revised Edition (Oxford University Press, 1997), s.nn. Sky, Skye. [6] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Early Irish Feminine Names from the Index to O'Brien's 'Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae'" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996), s.n. Sciath, [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/obrien/], accessed 8 March 2001. [7] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, op. cit, s.n. Sciath. Saint Sciath's feast day is 6 September. [8] The history of land holding and lordship in Skye was such that Gaels who held land in Skye either held only a part of Skye or else held Skye and a lot more besides. Because locative bynames of Gaels as recorded in Scots and Latin documents strongly corresponded with ownership, and because people throughout Skye's history who have owned land on Skye have owned either more or less than the whole island, we believe it is _especially_ unlikely that anyone would be known as . [9] If you intended as a surname, there are some similar-looking, though unrelated, bynames found in Scotland. We find , a name from the Orkney Islands, recorded as in 1523, as in 1559, and as in 1562 (likely pronounced \SKAY\, rhyming with ). We also find the surname , from Aberdeenshire, recorded as in 1586 (likely pronounced either \SKEEN\ or \SKAYN\ for your period). Either of these names would be appropriate for a Scots-speaker. These spellings are slightly later than the period you asked us about; if either name interests you, please write again. [10] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Meikle. [11] Black, s.n. Mitchell. [12] A patronymic is formed using your given name, followed by 'daughter', followed by your father's name, given in the genitive form and lenited. The genitive is a possessive form, much like from . Lenition is a softening of the consonant sound, usually indicated by placing after the softened consonant. [13] Black, s.n. Huntly. [14] Aberdeen Council Registers, year 1521.