ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2658 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2658 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 20 May 2003 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Gaelic-speaking woman living in Ireland or Scotland between 1200 and 1600. You told us that your goal is to have a name that means something like 'Eva, daughter of the pirate who is a member of the clan MacBrady'. Here is the information we have found. Throughout your period, the two main languages spoken in Scotland were Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands and Western Isles; and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots was closely related to contemporary English. English was also spoken in Ireland, having been brought in by Anglo-Norman settlers beginning in the 12th century. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. You specified that you wanted a Gaelic name, so we'll concentrate on the Gaelic naming conventions. We find the name recorded in 13th century Scottish documents written in Latin [1]. One of the women came from a Highland family which probably spoke several languages including Gaelic [2]. We also find the name recorded in Gaelic in 12th century Scotland as (here the slash represents an acute accent over the preceding letter and is pronounced like a ) [3]. It is an excellent choice for a Scottish Gaelic woman for the early part of your period, pronounced \AY-v@\, where \@\ is the sound of in and . We have no evidence of Gaelic women using the name after the 13th century, so the name may have fallen out of fashion among Gaelic speakers; accordingly we are less enthusiastic in recommending it for the end of your period. [We originally wrote:] We have not found this name used by Gaels in Ireland at all. [Subsequent research turned up an example:] We have found one example of used by a Gaelic woman in Ireland. , daughter of a cleric, is mentioned in 1400 in the Annals of Ulster [15]. Your bynames are somewhat problematic. You originally spelled the next phrase of your name , but as we pointed out earlier, that's an error for , which you created from the Irish clan name [4]. The phrase would mean 'daughter of Allmhura/n', implying that your father's given name was . We have found no evidence that was used as a given name: Not all Irish clan names derived from given names. The word is related to 'one from overseas, foreigner' and 'foreigner', both of which could have a secondary sense of 'pirate' [5, 6]; but it is not clear that the clan name itself was understood as 'clan of the pirate' or anything similar. Further, we do not have an example of the clan name used in your period, though we believe the clan did exist prior to 1600 [7]. In short, we don't see any way to justify as a correct Gaelic byname. We have not found any form of the name in Scotland. Unfortunately, we haven't found any way to construct a correct medieval Gaelic byname meaning anything like 'daughter of the pirate' [but see the addendum, at the end of the letter]. Patronymics based on occupation were quite rare in Gaelic culture, and the few examples were based on very common occupations, like from 'son of the smith' and from 'son of the priest' [8, 9]. A Gaelic woman would most likely be known by a patronymic based on her father's given name, regardless of what he did for a living; so we recommend that you choose a given name for your father. You can find a list of choices on the web: Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/ Scottish Gaelic Given Names http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/ The byname is a form of an Irish clan affiliation. We find a woman recorded as , literally 'daughter of MacBrady' but used to mean 'female member of the clan MacBrady', in Ireland in 1381 [10]. (The represents a "long e" character in Gaelic, usually rendered either as or as when using English characters to represent Gaelic words; as you know, this word is typically spelled in your period.) In Scotland, where clan affiliation was generally not shown in Gaelic naming until after our period, a name in this form would imply that your grandfather's name was . Since we don't find any name recorded in Scotland, we don't believe that is plausible as part of a Scottish Gaelic name. [We originally wrote:] In summary, we don't have much to offer you in Gaelic. We have no evidence of used by Gaelic women in Ireland. [Based on new research:] In summary, we have only a few options to offer in Gaelic. We found only one instance of used by a Gaelic woman in Ireland, so we can't recommend it as the best choice, but it is clearly a possibility in the early 15th century. "Eva of the MacBrady clan" would have been a rare name c.1400, but it is appropriate for that period. We cannot justify either byname as part of a Scottish Gaelic name. If you want an authentic 12th century Gaelic name, then we recommend you choose a given name for your father and construct a simple patronymic. The article "Scottish Gaelic Given Names" that we mentioned earlier is an ideal source for a masculine name that is historically compatible with . , for example, is a fine 12th century Scottish Gaelic name [11]. The only way to combine even two of your elements in one name is to switch to Lowland Scots culture. We believe that two of the three 13th c. examples from footnote [1] were non-Gaelic speakers. was in common use by English women from the end of the 12th century [12]; since the Lowland Scots naming pool was more similar to the English naming pool of the same period than it was to the Gaelic naming pool, we believe is a plausible Lowland Scots name through the end of your period. We find recorded as a Lowland Scots surname throughout the 15th and 16th centuries [13]. Lowland Scots is related to Gaelic only through similarity of sound, however. would be a plausible Lowland Scots name for the last half of your period [14]. 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, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Julie Stampnitzky, Mari neyn Brian, Susan Clark, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 20 May 2003 References: [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Eva, Eve. The discussions include the examples Eva, daughter of Alwyn, second earl of Lennox, 1217 and Eva, wife of Robert de Miners, 1256. The first woman may have been a Gaelic speaker, as her brothers had fairly typical Gaelic names; we have no further information about the second. was recorded in 1296; William's mother was almost certainly not a Gaelic-speaker. [2] "Stirnet Families Database" (WWW: stirnet.com, 2003). Accessed 12 May 2003. The mentioned in footnote [1] appears here as child #10 of the union of Alwin, the 2nd Earl of Lennox and his wife, also called , who is listed as the daughter of Gilchrist, Earl of Menteith. is a native Gaelic name; though the ethnicity of early noble Highland families is somewhat of a muddle due to intermarriages with a variety of nobility from other cultures, we believe that the who was the daughter of Gilchrist was a Gaelic-speaker (though it's possible she spoke several languages), and it's possible her daughter was as well. http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/ll/lennox1.htm [3] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names", (WWW: Privately published, 18 June 1997). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml [4] Maclysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985), s.n. (O) Halloran. [5] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.v. allmuir. [6] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 1", six volumes (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997-98), entries to M902.7. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005A Entry M797.12 reads: h-I Choluimb Chille do losccadh la h-allmurachaibh .i. la Nortmanoibh, 'Coluim Cille was burned by foreigners, i.e. by the Norsemen'. The first three digits are the year of the events recorded, i.e. 797 AD. [7] MacLysaght, Edward, _Irish Families_ (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), s.n. O'Halloran. The author says that there are two septs. The Co. Galway sept were chiefs of Clann Fearghaile and "retained their leading position in Iar-Connacht to the end of the sixteenth century". [8] Black, s.nn. Macgowan, Mactaggart. [9] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (3rd Edition)" (WWW: Privately published, 22 Jun 2001). Occupational bynames are discussed under the heading of "vanishingly rare byname styles". The author says, "Note also that while Gaels don't seem to have used occupational bynames, simple patronymic bynames were sometimes formed from the father's occupation rather than his given name. So while there don't appear to be Gaelic bynames describing that individual as a smith or a tailor, there are simple patronymic bynames that identify Gaels as the child of a smith or a tailor. The range of occupations used in simple patronymic bynames, however, appears to be somewhat limited." http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ [10] 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. Entry 1381.19 includes "Raghnailt inghe_n Mhecc Bradaigh bean Meg Dorchaidh". http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005D/ [11] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Scottish Gaelic Given Names", (WWW: Privately published *in progress*, last updated 18 March 2003). http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/ [12] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Eva, Eve. The name is a Latinized form and generally appears in Latin documents; we believe was the common spoken form. [13] Black, s.n. Brady. [14] It's outside the scope of our services to research Scottish piracy for you, but if the name and a connection with piracy are of paramount importance to you, a Lowland Scots name might be a better option for you. The most famous Scottish pirate was a Lowlander; Captain William Kidd was born in Greenock, at the mouth of the Clyde. You might be interested in this article on the web: "Bremen Piracy and Scottish Periphery: The North Sea World in the 1440s" http://www.deremilitari.org/ditchburn1.htm Note the named Scottish captains are Johnson, Joysson and Howieson; these are all Lowland Scots names. Admittedly, they weren't the pirates here, but most pirates seem to have been known by the name they were born with, and most of them (like Kidd) were honest captains before they turned to piracy. We haven't found a Lowland name specifically related to piracy either, though the source at [1], [8] and [13] above records the following name s.n. Pirret: in 1640. This name is a pet form of Peter; it has nothing whatsoever to do with piracy. [15] 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 1400.10. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, Arval, 7 Feb 2004: In research for report 2828, we came across the Irish patronymic (whence English ). Woulfe derives it from a given name and derives that name from a word meaning "plunderer"; he cites a 12th century Archbishop of Cashel . That man is mentioned in the Annals: Four Masters (B) M1131.1 Maoil Iosa Ua Foghladha, aird-epscop Caisil Another example: Four Masters (B) M1047.5 Ciar Caille, mac Foghladha O Corrain and Maguire lists a given name , , which they derive from a word meaning "one who is proclaimed an outlaw". O Brien's index shows a name normalized as . Dinneen's Gaelic dictionary has "marauder, plunderer, pirate". DIL s.v. foglaid defines the word as "one who commits depredations; a plunderer, reaver, often meaning little more than a man at arms. We don't know if the patronymic was based on a byname or on a forename that derived from the noun. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, Arval, 22 Jul 2004: Mari turned up an example of as a given name in Ireland. U1400.10 Eua, ingen in comarba h-Ui Taichligh, nobilis puella, obiit. Eva, daughter of the Superior Ua Taichligh, a noble damsel, died. I added discussion of this, with note [15], and modified the conclusions appropriately.