ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2578 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2578 ************************************ 14 Oct 2002 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Lowland Scottish or English woman, and for what period. Here is what we have found. is a fine choice: It was common in the 16th century Lowlands [1]. is also fine: It appears in this and many other spellings in Scottish records from the late 13th century on [2]. We found no Scottish or English place called , and we don't think it's a name very likely to have existed. was not a common element in English place names and it may not have been used at all in Scottish place names. We have found only one English example in which is combined with a given name, "Hugh's chapel" recorded in 1327, appearing again in 1428 as . This place -- like most place names that include - -- is in the south, not near Scotland [6]. It is therefore not a good model for inventing a name like , combining a southern naming practice with a northern given name. We can suggest an alternative that may appeal to you: There is a Scottish place name which originally had the same meaning, . This Scots name derives from a Gaelic place name "Church/chapel of [Saint] Donnchadh". is the Gaelic name usually anglicized . The name appears as in 1421 [3]. By the 16th century, the spelling is entirely reasonable. is a fine name for your period, but we want to alert you to the way the name would have been used in 16th century Scotland. Locative bynames, i.e. surnames that indicated literally where you lived or what property you held, were common in Lowland Scotland in the 13th and 14th centuries, but they were dying out by the middle of the 15th century. By the 16th century, the Scots used inherited surnames, much like modern surnames. For example, if a 15th or 16th century Lowland woman named were the daughter of , she'd be known as . This name would not necessarily imply any association with property called : William may simply have come from a place called and retained the name, or he might have inherited it from _his_ father. However, the double surname, , would have implied ownership of some place called . Nearly all the examples we've found of this name form, of , indicated some form of overlordship or control, not merely association. Based on our research, we believe that it is highly unlikely that a woman would be known as unless she was herself the land holder or the sole heir to the property [4, 5]. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Julie Stampnitzky, Pedro de Alcazar, Mari neyn Bryan, Ursula Georges, Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 14 Oct 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Sharon L. Krossa (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (WWW: Privately pubished, 1 Nov 2001). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16 [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Campbell. Other 15th and 16th century spellings include , , , . [3] Black s.n. Kilduncan. [4] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names", (WWW: Privately published, 7 December 2001). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ [5] Research by Effrick neyn Kenneoch in the manuscript Aberdeen Council Registers, Volumes 8 - 20 (1501-1551), in the Aberdeen City Archives. She found , also sometimes identified without the locative and sometimes as (1512, 1515). Another man is named or (1502). [6] Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1956), s.vv. chapel(e), capel and s.n. Caple, How and Kings.