ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3008 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3008 ************************************ 5 Mar 2005 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for a Lowland Scots woman living between 1000 and 1600. The linguistic history of the area that became modern Scotland is very complex. In the 8th century, the area that is now Scotland had several different cultures speaking different languages: * Cumbric (a Brythonic language closely related to Welsh) in the southwest; * Old English in the southeast; * Pictish in the north; and * Gaelic in the west. The Norse settled in the north in the 9th century, changing the lingustic map: * Cumbric (a Brythonic language closely related to Welsh) in the southwest; * Old English in the southeast; * Pictish in the northeast; * Norse in the north; and * Gaelic in the west. By the 12th century, Pictish and Cumbric had virtually disappeared, but Norse, Gaelic, and English were still being spoken, joined by Norman French, distributed roughly as follows: * Norse, spoken in the far north and the Western Isles; * English, spoken mainly in the southeast; * Gaelic, spoken through much of the country; and * Norman French, spoken by Anglo-Norman settlers and their Scoto-Norman descendents, mostly in the south. >From around the 14th century, 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. Norn (a form of Norse) as well as Scots was spoken in the Northern Isles through the 16th century. The languages were very different and had different naming customs. There was some mixing of names from the different cultures, but most names were not adopted into all of the cultures. Because you expressed interest in a Lowland Scots name, we have focused on names appropriate for this culture from the 14th century (before the 14th century, it doesn't make sense to speak of the Scots language). is a modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic feminine form of , a medieval Gaelic adaptation of . [6] We have not found any evidence for before the 19th century [1], and we would be surprised to see it before then: The Scottish tradition of adding <-ina> or <-ena> to most any male name to make a female name began in the 18th century, well after our period. [5] Furthermore, even if was found before 1600, because it is a Gaelic name it would not be appropriate in a Scots name. If you would like to consider a name more appropriate for your time period and culture, we can recommend the following [2,3,4]: Agnes 1503, 1506, 1509, 1511, 1513 (7), 1515, 1517, 1520 (5), 1524, 1543, 1546, 1548 (4), 1549 (2), 1565, 1567, 1573, 1578, 1582, 1594, 1594 Alesone 1492 Alesoun 1528 Alicia 1374 Alisoune 1540 Alisson 1590 Allok 1520 Amy 1402 Anabelle 1410 Annabell 1548, 1589 Annabill 1501, 1517, 1520 (2), 1538, 1548 (2), 1549 (2), 1550 (2) Annapill 1520 Anne 1529, 1586 Anny 1408, 1500 (3), 1505, 1506 (2), 1509 (2), 1510, 1513 Other given names can be found in references [2,3,4]. We found one instance of the Scots surname in 1567. [2] We can therefore recommend as a fine choice for a Scots woman living in the 16th century; this spelling is also possible from as early as the late 14th century. [7] 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 Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 05 March 2005 -- References: [1] Martinus Draco Byzantios, email to the SCAHRLDS list, 28 April 2003. http://listserv.aol.com/archives/scahrlds.html [2] Friedemann, Sara L. "Names of women mentioned in the Perth Guildry Book 1464-1598" (WWW: Self-published, 2003) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/scots/perth.html [3] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [4] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (WWW: Privately published: 2001). http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16 [5] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). pp.xxxv-xxxvi [6] Coghlan, Ronan, _Irish Christian Names_ (London: Johnston and Bacon, 1979). s.n. Alastrina [7] Robinson, Mairi, ed., _The Concise Scots Dictionary_ (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987). s.vv. black, wuid.