|
Greetings,
Here's the information we found on the name "Brianna mac Innis."
Before reading this letter, we recommend that you read the Web page "Scottish Names 101," which gives an introduction to issues in Scottish naming practices that will clarify many of our comments. The URL is
http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html
Even though it's been registered many times (and, in fact, can still be registered), "Brianna" is not a period Scottish name. "Brianna" is a modern feminine form of the name "Brian," but there's no evidence that it was used until modern times.
Latin names often turn male names into female names by changing "-us" to "-a" (as in Julius/Julia, Claudius/Claudia). Because "Brian" was sometimes written in Latin as "Brianus," it was thought that there could be a female name "Briana." However, with more research it was discovered that only Latin and Germanic names were feminized in this way--Celtic names like "Brian" weren't. So, it's now clear that "Brianna" wouldn't have been used in period. Because "Brianna" has been allowed for so long you can still register it, but it definitely isn't a medieval name.
"mac Innis" is, as you discovered, a later form of "mac Aonghius," meaning "son of Angus." Since "mac" means "son of," it wasn't used by women--the appropriate form is "inghean Aonghuis," "daughter of Angus." You should be aware that this name means that you're a daughter of someone named Angus, not a woman who belongs to the "mac Innes" clan. Clan names as used today were invented after our period.
So, "<name> inghean Aonghuis" (pronounced, "neyn AN-iss") would be a medieval name. Names which describe where you're from are very rare in Gaelic, and we recommend using "inghean Aonghuis" without adding a place-name.
The most likely Scots form of your name would be "neyn Aneiss." "Innes" and other spellings beginning with "I" appear to be post-period.
Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter.
We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel