ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2469 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2469 ************************************ From: Lisa and Ken Theriot 8 Feb 2002 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether the byname or is appropriate for a woman living in Ireland between 1250 and 1500. You asked for the period in which the names were found, what ethnic background they represented, and how they were spelled. Here is the information we have found. In your period, there were several languages spoken in Ireland including Gaelic, spoken primarily by native Irish, and English, spoken primarily by English settlers. These settlers brought their own languages in the 12th century and afterward. Some English given names were imported into the Irish name stock, but many were not. The Anglo-Irish families gradually assimilated into Irish culture, but in general they continued to use English-origin given names, often in Gaelicized forms, rather than adopting native Gaelic given names. It's likely that many people used both Gaelic and English forms of their names, and we have some evidence of the practice from records of this period. It's difficult to tell whether someone considered themselves ethnically English or Irish, even if they had a very English-looking name. The first name you asked about, , has several possible sources, the most likely of which is the Gaelic family name most commonly spelled ; also appears in your period in several similar Gaelic forms [1, 2, 3, 4]. The slash represents an accent over the preceding letter. It appears in English records dating around 1600 in various forms, including , , , , and [1]. Our earliest example of is from 1361, but we believe it is plausible throughout your period [5]. A few examples of the modern Irish surname derive from the English , which was brought to Ireland by English settlers [6]. We find a recorded in England between 1239 and 1253; his surname is also given as , , and [7]. is an English name. It may have been carried to Ireland by English emigrants, but we've found no example of it in Ireland in your period. English examples of the name from your period include in 1365 and in 1379 [7, 8]. The name probably originated as a descriptive term for someone employed at a religious house or convent [7]. The example dated 1365 is the earliest we have for a form of , though it's probable it was used earlier. The simpler byname, , comes from the same occupational source; we find it as and in 1279 and in 1289 [7]. You can build an authentic name using either of the surnames; you could choose a Gaelic name containing a form of , or an English name containing a form of , or . If you want a Gaelic name, then we recommend you read the following article: Quick and Easy Gaelic Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ This article discusses the basic forms of names in period Gaelic and the relevant rules of Irish grammar. The Gaelic surname would be written differently in your period, especially as a woman's byname. The correct form for you is [9]; is the Gaelic word for 'daughter', and the byname means 'female member of the O/ Mo/cha/in family'. It was pronounced roughly \EEN-y@n ee VOE-khahn~\, where \@\ represents the sound of in and , \VOE\ rhymes with , \kh\ represents the rasping sound of in Scottish 'lake' or German 'oh' and , and \n~\ represents the sound of n-tilde in Spanish 'mister' and in French 'mountain' and Italian . If you choose this route, you'll want to use a Gaelic given name. You can find a list of Irish Gaelic women's names used in your period on the web [10]: Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/ If you decide you prefer an English or Anglo-Irish name, then you should choose an English given name. We have a number of articles on English names available at: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/english.shtml You might also be interested in this article, which contains some examples of the names of ethnic English women living in late-period Ireland: Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century Irish Names and Naming Practices http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/ We hope this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. I was assisted in researching and preparing this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 8 February 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. O/ Mocha/in. Citations also include an Anglicized form dated to around 1600, from a spoken form , where the has a similar sound to a ; accordingly, forms of are sometimes confused with the surname . [2] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011. The first four digits represent the year of the entry. The letter is an abbreviation of or , which are forms of . The annals include the following: 1361.3 Benidecht h. Mochan arcideachain Cilli Atrachta 1392.2 Ardespoc Connacht .i. Grigair h. Mochan 1414.4 In Maigester h. Mochan 1460.5 Proatsi Ola Find .i. Ruaidri mac Magnusa h. Mochain 1470.3 Brian mac Magnusa h. Mochan 1471.20 In decanach .i. Aed mac Diarmata h. Mochan [3] Stephen Beechinor, Beatrix Fa"rber, Daithi/ O/ Corra/in, ed., "Annals of the Four Masters, Volume 3" (WWW:CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2000), entries M1172-M1372, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/. The first four digits represent the year of the entry. The annals include: M1361.1 Benidhecht Ua Mocha/in airchindeach Cille h-Atracht [4] Stephen Beechinor, Eoin Dunford, Beatrix Fa"rber, Philip Irwin, Elva Johnston, Julianne Nyhan, ed., "Annals of the Four Masters, Volume 4" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2000), entries M1373-M1493, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005D/. The first four digits represent the year of the entry. The annals include: M1392.1 Grigoir Ua Mochain aird-easpucc Tuama M1395.1 An t-epscop o/cc O/ Mocha/in M1441.4 Domhnall Ua Mocha/in abb manach na Bu/ille M1460.3 Ruaidhri mac Maghnusa Ui/ Mocha/in proaitsi Oile Find [5] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 2", six volumes (WWW: CELT:Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997-98), entries M903-M1171, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005B. The first three digits represent the year of the entry. The annals include: M953.12 Inderghe mac Mocha/in, tighearna Ciannachta The name 'son of Mocha/n' was used literally in period Ireland, i.e., this man's father's name was (the change of to reflects possession, much like changing to ). Clan identifying names like are based on the name of an ancestor. Since we have evidence of a man named in the 10th century it is perfectly plausible that a clan claiming descent from such a man could have been around from the early end of your period. [6] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, s.nn. Moughan, (O) Mohan, Vaughn. [7] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Moon, Houseman, House. [8] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Houseman. [9] The change in spelling of to reflects a softening of the initial consonant that happens often in women's bynames; this process is called lenition. If you are interested in the process, there is a detailed article at: http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotlang/lenition.shtml [10] This list also contains examples of the names of Anglo-Irish women recorded in their Gaelic forms. For example, the woman recorded in 1364 as 'Margaret, daughter of Walter Burke' was probably known in English records as . If you select an English name and you'd like to know how it might have been recorded in Gaelic, or vice versa, please write us again.