ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3233 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3233 ************************************ 29 Nov 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for a Gaelic man living in the second half of the 16th century. Here is what we have found. With a minor change, you've chosen an excellent name. was a common name in the early Irish period (when it was spelled ), but we have found one example of it during your period, in 1582. [1] is an English form of (where the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter). is the modern Irish spelling of a name which was spelled during your period [2]; we find recorded in 1576, 1580, 1581, 1589, and 1592, so it's a good choice for your father's name. The correct byname meaning 'son of Domhnall' is . [3] We'll also be recommending a slightly different pronunciation than what you've been using. The name was never pronounced \KEH-lee\; this pronunciation comes from the spelling , which is the genitive (possessive) form of . During the 16th century, the name would have been pronounced roughly \K(y)AL-l@kh mahk DOHV-n@l^\, where the \(y)\ is very lightly pronounced \@\ is the sound of in or \kh\ is the sound of in Scottish or German , \l^\ is the sound of in Italian 'of the'. 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 Talan Gwynek and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 29 November 2006 -- References: [1] Fa"rber, Beatrix et al. (CELT team) ed., "Annals of Loch Ce/ A.D.1014-1590" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2003), LC1582.11 http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100010B/ [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Domnall [3] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2006). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/