Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 251

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 251

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/251

Some of the Academy's early reports contain errors that we haven't yet corrected. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's the information we found on the name "Aine Brecc ingen Walsh," which you would like to use as a 13th century Irish name.

"Áine" is a reasonable name for your period. It was originally used by both men and women but eventually became solely a woman's name (1).

"Brecc" is a reasonable nickname, meaning "freckled." By the 13th century, the spelling had changed to "Brec" or "Breac," and for grammatical reasons the "b" would become a "bh" (becoming "Bhrec" or "Bhreac.") (2)

"ingen Walsh," however, is problematical. "ingen" (which would have been spelled "inghen" or "inghean" in your period) means "daughter of," but was used with first names only. "Walsh" is a English surname, so there are two different reasons it wouldn't be found here.

If you would like to use "Áine Bhrec," you would have a perfectly reasonable name for a 13th-century Irish woman. Depending on the desired meaning of "ingen Walsh," we may be able to find a historically accurate way of including it into your name.

Pedro de Alcazar, Rouland Carre, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can be of further assistance.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel