ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2863 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2863 ************************************ 24 Aug 2004 From: Marianne Perdomo Machin Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote about a name appropriate for a man from lowland Scotland, but with strong Highland ancestry, living in the late 16th century. You were interested in the name . As we discussed earlier, there were two main languages spoken in 16th century Scotland: 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. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. A native of one area who settled in the other would have been known locally by a form of his name adapted to fit the local naming customs. Therefore, the culture and circumstances you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. The overall form of the name you chose is Scots: is a Scots name, and Gaels almost never used surnames based on placenames. Surnames in were originally Gaelic, but since Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in Scotland, they were often written in Scots forms. Some passed into Scots as inherited surnames as Gaels settled in Scots-speaking areas. Thus, your name might have been used in the late 16th century in two circumstances: * The name of a Highlander recorded in the Scots language. The same man would have been known in Gaelic by a Gaelic form of his name, which could have been quite different from the Scots form. * The name of a Lowlander with Gaelic ancestors. You told us to focus on the second possibility. The name was moderately common in the Lowlands in your period. We found in Aberdeen in 1549 and 1550 [1]; and 16th century surnames , , [2], as well as and based on a pet form of the name[3]. or are fine choices for your persona. The modern Scottish surname is a modern, anglicized descendent of an Irish Gaelic clan name, or . It belonged to family of fighting men brought over from Scotland by the O'Donnells of Tirconnell in the fifteenth century [4]. In Ireland, the former name was recorded and, in late 16th century English-language records, as [5]. We have not found an early Scottish example of the name, so we can't say whether is an appropriate spelling. We do find in late 16th century English-language records from Ireland, but there it represents a different Gaelic clan name, [6]. On balance, we cannot recommend as a likely spelling in 16th century Scotland. We found, however, some late-period Scots forms of the two names that might be the source of the Irish name that eventually became . These are: Form Date 1556 [7] 1559 [7] 1476 [8] 1476 [8] 1550 [8] 1376 [8] 1477 [8] 1504 [8] 1541 [8] 1555 [8] 1578 [8] 1600 [8] We recommend that you choose one of these instead. Alternatively, we recommend that you choose a name with a similar sound, like [9]. The word is the English name of the tree also known today as and . In Scots, it was called in 1623 or in 1566-7 [10]. It is therefore very unlikely that was used as a placename in Scotland. We have found in use as an English surname, based on the name of a type of tree. Some period examples of this are: de Blackthorn 1276 [11] Blakethorn 1379 [11] Blakthorn 1442 [11] blacke-thorn 1496 [12] blacke thorne 1578 [12] blacke-thorne 1634 [12] Either or seems appropriate for your period. (When written as a single word, the name is unlikely to have retained the <-e> at the end of .) An Englishman who settled in Scotland might retain the surname , but a man of Gaelic ancestry is not likely to have immigrated from England. Putting it all together, is a fine name for a 16th century Scottish Lowlander of Gaelic ancestry. is a plausible name for a Lowlander of English ancestry. The combination of a Gaelic-derived surname like and the English surname is not plausible, so we recommend you avoid it. If you especially want to use as a place name, then you might consider choosing an English surname to replace the Gaelic-origin one, e.g. . 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, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Adelaide de Beaumont and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Leonor Martin 24 Aug 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (WWW: Privately published: 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.nn. , , . [3] Black, op. cit., s.nn. Michie, Michieson. [4] Black, op. cit, s.n. MacQuillan. [5] Woulfe, op. cit., p. 325 s.n. Mac Caili/n. [6] Woulfe, op. cit., p. 413, s.n. Mac Uidhili/n. [7] Names derived from . Black, op. cit., s.n. Maccallien. [8] Names derived from . Black, op. cit., s.n. . [9] We found this name in use in 1558. It probably comes from the Irish . Black, op. cit., s.n. MacQuilly. [10] Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, Dictionary of the Scots Language, University of Dundee, 2004, s.n. slae. http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/ [11] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Blackthorn, Blackmore. [12] _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.vv. blackthorn, hawthorn. The latter word was c.1450, and c.1632.