Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 546

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 546

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/546

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 can give you on the name "Hamish the Black."

"Séamus" ("the "é" represents an accented "e") isn't exactly the predecessor of "Hamish." Rather, "Hamish" is the Anglicised form of the vocative case of "Séamus." The "vocative case" is what you use when talking directly to someone. "Séamus" is a form of "James," and "Hamish" is something like "Yo, James!"

"James" wasn't used in Scotland at all until the 1200's, and it was very rare until the 1300's. It's unlikely that "James" would have been brought into Scottish Gaelic until 1400 or later. Thus, this name is appropriate only after 1400.

You could use "Dubh," meaning "black," as your byname. There are very few names in Gaelic which don't mean "son of," but "Dubh" is one of the more common ones. Thus the simplest name for you would be "Séamus Dubh" (pronounced something like "SHAY-mus DOOF")

Virtually all Scottish records from 1400 or later were written in Scots, so it's helpful to know how your name would have been recorded in Scots. The most likely forms are "James Duff" or "James Black," depending on how much Gaelic the person writing it knew.

Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Talan Gwynek 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