ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2810 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2810 ************************************ 8 Feb 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for an Irish mariner living in the late 1500's. Here is a brief letter with the information we have found. Both and are English-language names. In your period, a Gaelic man would have spoken Gaelic, but his name could have been recorded in either Gaelic or English. We can therefore suggest both Gaelic and English forms of your name. The English name was adopted into Gaelic as , pronounced just like the English name. [4] was fairly popular in the 16th century [1], and we have evidence that Gaelic men named were recorded as in English-language documents, including [3]: William O'Bardan 1570 William ffitz Donell O'Ferrall 1570 William Mc Donkaye O'Fferrall 1570 William O Dowyn 1576 William O'Banane 1576 William Mc Teige 1576 William O'Karrell 1576 As we noted in our original letter, is a modern English form of the Gaelic family name . [2] As far as we can tell, is a modern form. English forms of that were used in the late 16th century include , , , , and . [2] Any of these is a fine choice for your byname. In formal circumstances, you also would have been identified by a patronymic byname (e.g., one indicating your father's name). For example, if your father was named , you could appear in formal documents as: meaning 'Uilliam son of Toma/s Mac Giolla Ruaidh'. (Here, the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter, and the change from to are requirements of Gaelic grammar). You would also sometimes be known informally as . If you would like to pick a name for your father, we recommend this article: "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/ The subsection "Masculine Given Names: 1501-1600" will contain names appropriate for your period. Once you've picked a name for your father, we would be happy to tell you the correct spelling and pronunciation of your patronymic byname. In conclusion, a name like is a fine English form of a Gaelic . We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Juliana de Luna, Mari neyn Brian, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael Caermyrdin, 08Feb2004 -- References: [1] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2002). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/ [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). s.n. Mac Giolla Ruaidh [3] _Annala Rioghachta Eireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the Earliest period to the Year 1616_ edited from MSS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy and of Trinity College, Dublin with a translation by John O'Donovan, VII Volumes (Hodges, Smith, and Co: Dublin, 1854). vol. 5, pp. 1651-1652, 1690- 1691 In these records, was recorded with the superscripted. [4] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). s.n. Uilliam