ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3242 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3242 ************************************ 5 Feb 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing an authentic pre-1600 Gaelic feminine indicating that you are a member of the MacGregor clan. Here is what we have found. Originally, you said you were interested in a Scottish Gaelic name, but then later said that what it was most important to you to have a name associated with the clan. During our period, Scottish Gaels did not include references to their clans in their names. [1] Hence, if you'd like to indicate clan membership in your name, then we recommend that you develop an Irish persona. The given name you've chosen, , is an Irish Gaelic name found in the 14th and 15th centuries. [2] (Here, the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter.) During this period, it was pronounced roughly \FEE-n^@-bhahn^\, where \n^\ is the sound of in , \@\ is the sound of in or , and \bh\ is the sound of and in Spanish 'wolf' and 'grape'. [3] Because the given name you've chosen was used in the 14th and 15th centuries, we've researched 14th and 15th century forms of your byname. An Irish woman in this period who was a member of the MacGregor clan could have used the byname . [4] The pronunciation of this byname in your period is not straightforward. Our best guess is that it was pronounced, very roughly, \EEN-y@n v@k-RIH-@-g@r\, where the last two words run together to become one. During your period, women often used bynames indicating their father's name, either alone or in conjunction with a clan byname. For example, a woman named who was the daughter of a man named could have been known as or . (The change from to is a requirement of Gaelic grammar; it is analogous to the change from to in English.) [3] If you'd like to chose a given name for your father, the article in [3] is a good source. You also wanted to know if an English woman named could have married a Gaelic man, and, if so, how her name would've been rendered in Gaelic. We do have evidence of intermarriages between English women and Gaelic men, as well as examples of how their names were recorded in Gaelic, including: [2] Mairgreg inghen Uate/r A Burc ben Aodha mic Feidhlimidh Ui/ Concobhair (1364) 'Margaret daughter of Walter Burke wife of Aodh son of Feidhlimidh O Connor' Onara inghen Uilliam Burc ben Ui/ Mhechair (1383) 'Annora daughter of William Burke wife of O Meagher' Sile inghen mec Siurta/in ben Ricaird a Burc (1485) 'Cecilia daughter of Mac Jordan wife of Richard Burke' What we haven't found is any examples of Anglo-Norman women using their husband's clan byname as their own after marriage. We have found one example of the name , in 1202. It is a short form of some Welsh name beginning with the element . [5] While it is possible that an English woman named could have moved to Ireland and married a Gaelic man, it is very unlikely. The Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland at the end of the 12th century, but it wasn't until the latter part of the 13th century that we first see records of Anglo-Norman women in Ireland. [2] We therefore recommend that you do not use this as your given name. 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, Maridonna Benvenuti, Ursula Georges, and Mari ingen Briain. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 05 February 2007 -- References: [1] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (3rd Edition)" (WWW: Privately published, 22 Jun 2001) http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ [2] 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/ [3] If you have trouble pronouncing the \bh\ sound (which is not found in native English words), it can be approximated with \w\. [4] This spelling our best guess at a normalized form of the examples from the Irish Annals in [7,8,9,10], combined with the is based on the header forms and in [6]. [5] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [6] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [7] 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) http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100010B/ LC LC1216.7 Grighair mac Gilla na n-Angeal, ar manach Erenn LC2 LC1392.1 Ard-espog Connacht .i. Grigoir Ua Mochan LC2 LC1400.7 Grigoir mac Tanaidhe .H. Mael Chonaire [8] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997) http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100011/. Co 1392.2 Ardespoc Connacht .i. Grigair h. Mochan Co 1400.8 Grigoir mac Tanaide h. Mailconaire [9] Beechinor, Stephen, Eoin Dunford, Beatrix Fa"rber, Philip Irwin, Elva Johnston, Julianne Nyhan, ed., "Annals of the Four Masters, Volume 4" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2000), entries M1373-M1493. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005D/. D M1392.1 Grigoir Ua Mochain aird-easpucc Tuama D M1400.3 Grigoir mac Tanaidhe Ui/ Maoil Conaire D M1432.15 Gregoir mac Seaain Ui Mhaoil Conaire [10] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, & Beatrix Fa"rber eds., "The Annals of Ulster" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2003) http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001C/. U3 U1432.15 Grighair, mac Seaain h-Ui Mail Conaire