ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2393 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2393 ************************************ 8 Nov 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a man born on the Isle of Man around 1050. Here is what we have found. The name elements you've chosen are well-suited to your culture, but the spellings you've used are probably not. They are both names of Old Norse origin, but you've written them in forms that are not necessarily appropriate for 11th century Man. We have not found any evidence that is a plausible historical spelling of any Old Norse name. The obvious source is the common name <{TH}orfinnr>, but we found no example in which the in that name became [1]. {TH} represents the letter thorn, written like a 'b' with the vertical stroke extended downward; and pronounced here like the in . The name was used on Man, probably in your period [4]. is an abbreviation for used in English-language records. It was not in use as early as 1050. is an anglicized spelling of Old Norse <{TH}orkell>. This name was in use on Man in the Middle Ages: It appears in later records in anglicized Gaelic forms [5]. Early medieval Man was inhabited by a mixture of Gaels and Norse, with both languages in use. A man's name might well have been spoken or recorded in a form appropriate to either language. In an Old Norse context, we would expect to see standard Norse spellings of these names, e.g. <{TH}orfinnr {TH}orkels son>. However, by the 10th century Old Norse may have been in decline on Man, remaining only as the official language with Gaelic supplanting it as the common language [6]. For a Gaelic form of your name, we can turn to Irish Gaelic sources which record the interaction between Gaels and Norse around your period. Very conveniently, we find precisely the right name recorded in 1124 as [7]. We can therefore recommend this Gaelic spelling of your name. The given name might also have been spelled in Gaelic; this is a better representation of the pronunciation in your period. If you particularly want a \v\ sound in your given name, then you might consider the Norse name , recorded in Iceland close to your period [2]. It could well have been used on Man as well. If this name interests you, write us again and we can try to find an appropriate Gaelic spelling. 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 Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Gunnvor Silfraharr, Lindorm Eriksson, Mary neyn Brian, Hartmann Rogge, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 8 Nov 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] In Icelandic and Norwegian, the of <{TH}orfinnr> remained or [2]; in Danish it was or [3]. In Manx records, it disappears by the 13th century [4]. [2] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931), s.nn. {TH}orfinnr, Torfi. [3] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. {TH}orfinnr. [4] Kneen, J.J., _The Personal Names of the Isle of Man_ (London: Oxford University Press, 1937), p.77 s.n. Corran. Examples include 1290, 1293, 1402, 1408, 1422, 1504, 1515, 1515, 1515, 1515. He notes that some of these may perhaps be from Irish , however. [5] Kneen, p.76 s.n. Corkill. 1408, 1515, 1515, 1511, 1532. [6] Quilliam, Leslie, _Surnames of the Manks_ (Peel, Isle of Man: Cashtal Books, 1989), s.n. 130. [7] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "The Annals of Ulster" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), entry U1124.1. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100001/