Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 628

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 628

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/628

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

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for suggestions for a 10th or 11th century Irish name. Here is what we have found.

You asked us to suggest some given names which begin with a \t\ or \k\ sound. Here are a few possibilities with their pronunciations [1]. Pronunciations are shown between backslashes; the capitalized syllable is accented. In a pronunciation, \dh\ represents the "th" in "this", while \th\ represents the "th" in "thin". A vowel followed by a slash (like "á") represents that vowel with a sharp accent. All of the 'C' names listed here were fairly common in early medieval Ireland. There were fewer 'T' names to choose from and none of them were as common as the most common of the 'C' names. For each letter the more common ones are listed first.

  Cairebre      \KAHR-bray\         Tadgán     \TAHDH-gahn\      
  Cenn Faélad  \kenn AY-lahdh\     Taithlech   \TAHTH-lahkh\     
  Cáelbad      \KALE-vahdh\        Tomaltach   \TOME-ahlt-ahkh\  
  Cormacc       \KOR-mahk\          Tairdelbach \TAR-dhel-vahkh\
  Colm/an       \KOHL-mahn\         Tipraite    \CHIB-reed-jeh\   
  Crimthann     \KREEV-thahn\
  Cáirthenn    \KAHR-thahn\
  Carthach      \KOHR-thahkh\
  Cernach       \KYAR-nahkh\
  Cithrúadh    \keeth-ROO-ahdh\
  Cobthach      \KOHV-thahkh\
  Commán       \KOHM-ahn\

You chose <Sean> as your father's name. Unfortunately, that name was not in use until after your period. <Sean> is an Irish form of the Norman name <Jehan>, and did not exist until after the 12th century Norman settlement in Ireland. In your period, the Irish used <Eoin> \OWN, like the English word "own"\, a cognate name borrowed directly from the Latin <Iohannes> [1, 2]. If your name were <Cathal> and your father's name were <Eoin>, you would have been known as <Cathal mac Eoin>, pronounced \COH-hal mahk OWN\.

In your period, the Irish often wrote in their own language. Most other western Europeans wrote in Latin. So, in Ireland your name could have been written in the Irish form we've given above. Elsewhere, it would have been written in a latinized form. The given name would have been modified to fit Latin grammar -- <Cathal>, for example, was recorded as <Cathalus> and <Cathaldus> [3]. The patronymic would have been translated, and the full name might have been written <Cathalus filius Iohannis>. If you lived outside Ireland, then your name might have been adopted to the local language for everyday speech with the natives; or you might have used the Latin form. An Irishman living elsewhere in Europe very well might have been known by the byname <Scotus>, Latin for "Irishman". Thus, you might have been called <Cathaldus Scotus>. If you can tell us more specifically where your persona lived, we might be able to make other suggestions.

I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl ferch Morgant Glasfryn, Talan Gwynek, and Effrick nin Kenneoch.

For the Academy,

Arval Benicoeur


References

[1] O Corrain, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, Irish Names (Dublin: The

Lilliput Press, 1990).

[2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae (Dublin: The

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976).

[3] Woulfe, Patrick, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames

(Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation).