Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 358

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 358

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/358

Some of the Academy's early reports contain errors that we haven't yet corrected. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's the information we found on the name "Connal MacLaomuinn." Before going on, we recommend that you read the Web page "Scottish Names 101" at

http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html

This gives background information on Scottish naming practices, and we'll assume that you read it.

Your name has the form of a Scottish Gaelic name. However, based on your persona, it may make more sense for you to use a Scots name. Both languages were spoken in southwest Scotland during your period, so you could use either language as a basis for your name.

We do not know for certain whether or not "Connal" was in use in this part of Scotland in your period. One reference suggests that a Saint Conall was venerated in south-west Scotland [Black, under Conghal], but we have not found an example of the name in actual use. It is certain that most people in that region used the same names that were popular in contemporary England, and this was especially true of the nobility. In England at that time, the most common men's names were William, John and Thomas [Withycombe, introduction]. For a more detailed picture of given names that your persona might have used, we suggest you examine the history of Scottish noble families from that time and place. You might try Burke's Landed Gentry or a history of Scotland.

Various forms of "Lamont" and "MacLamond" were in use in your period. "MacLaomuinn" is a Gaelic form of the name, but that doesn't mean that this form was ever used in period. Many Scots names that never had Gaelic forms were rendered into Gaelic in modern times. We did not find any evidence that this spelling was used in period.

The name "Lamond" derives from the Old Danish and Old Swedish word "Lagman." "Lagman" was used as a personal name, and also as a word for "lawyer" or "chief judge." By the 16th century, it was the name of an important Argyllshire family. It is recorded in that century and the following one in several forms:

Recorded examples of "MacLamond" are a little more scarce. They include:

"Vc" is a genitive form of "Mc". "VcClymont" literally means "of McClymont".

None of these citations is clearly from south-west Scotland, but many of them are recorded in our source [Black] without a location.

In summary, "Connal" was certainly in use in south-west Scotland at one time, but it is possible that it had dropped out of use by the 16th century. "MacLaomuinn" is not recorded in our references, but many other forms of that surname were used in our period. We did not find an example clearly placed in your time and place, but we cannot say for certain that the name was not used there. In general, we recommend looking at the names of historical Scottish nobility to see what names were used in your period.

Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Alan Fairfax, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter.

In service,
Arval D'Espas Nord
Academy of S. Gabriel