ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2710 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2710 ************************************ 22 Mar 2003 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 15th or 16th century Scottish man. This letter is a brief answer to your question. We have found no evidence that was used as a given name before modern times. The earliest examples we've found are in unreliable sources: One is a late 18th century person of unknown gender. The others are in the United States in the mid-19th century, e.g. born 1859 in Georgia [1]. We're not sure where came from, but we think it might well be an example of a surname used as a given name, a pattern that was common in the 19th and 20th centuries [2]. is one of many spellings of a Lowland Scots surname ultimately derived from , a pet form of . The earliest Scottish examples we have are from the 16th century, spelled , , , , , , and others. In England, the surname is 1277, 1301, 1342, 1473. The particular spelling may not have developed until the 18th century [5, 6]. In one of the 16th century spellings, this is a fine part of a Lowland Scots name. Note that Lowland Scots was very similar to contemporary English, and quite different from Gaelic. You can find more information about 16th century Lowland names, including a list of given names that you might consider, in the article: Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Adelaide de Beaumont, Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 22 Mar 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Examples of appear in genealogy websites at: http://home.sprintmail.com/~hawstom/mooreweb/d0000/g0000090.htm#I346 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~smokymtnman/mont/index3.htm http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sloans2/index3.htm [2] might have been a form of the anglicized Irish family name , which was also adapted to English as , , , , etc. The original Gaelic form of this surname was (where the slash represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter) [3, 4]. might also derive from the Lowland Scots surname , which in turn derives from a place name in Fife [5]. Note however that we have not found evidence clearly linking the modern given name to either of these sources. [3] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. Darcy. [4] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. O/ Dorcaide. [5] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Beattie, Darsie. [6] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Batey, Beaty.