ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 669 http://www.s-gabriel.org/669 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our suggestions for a 14th to 16th century Scottish Gaelic feminine name, the given name beginning with A or C and your father's name beginning with M or L. Here is what we have found. Examples of Gaelic names from the last centuries of our period are fairly sparse. We know only a few feminine names that were used at that time. Here's our list, with spellings and pronunciations appropriate to your period. Most of these spellings are not attested in Scottish sources, but they are the expected Gaelic spellings for late period (12th to 7th century). A slash following a vowel, like 'i/', represents an accent on that vowel. The character \#\ in the pronunciations represents a sound similar to the 'u' in "push". The upper-case syllables in the pronunciations should be stressed. Aifric \AHF-rick\ or \EHF-rick\ [3,4] Beathag \BAY-ahk\ [3,5] Caitri/ona or Caitrina \KAHT-ree-nah\ (Gaelic borrowing of Katherine) [3] Ealusaid \EHL-uhs-ahtch\ [1,4] (Gaelic borrowing of Elizabeth or Elisot) Maol-Mhuire \M#L VUR-reh\ [3] ("servant of [Saint] Mary") Marsaili \MAR-se-lee\ [3] (a form of ) Sitheag \SHEE-ahk\ [3] Tyock \TEE-ahk\ [3] (non-Gaelic spelling of an unidentified Gaelic name) Raghnailt \R#-niltch\ [3] Far more evidence is available in Ireland. The Gaelic of Scotland and Ireland were the same language in period, and although not all given names were shared between the two countries, in the absence of better evidence we can look to Ireland for guidance. Here are some Irish feminine names with their pronunciations [2, 4]. \kh\ in the pronunciations represents the hard, rasping 'ch' sound in the German "Bach" or "ach". Unless otherwise noted, \oo\ represents the vowel sound in "hoot". Aodhnait \#gh-nitch\ Aoibhinn or Aoibheann \EE-vin\ Ailbhe \AHL-veh\ A/ine \AH-nyeh\ Ailis \AH-lish\ (a Gaelic form of ) Caoilfhionn \K#L-in\ or \K#L-yun\ Caointighearn \K#N-chee-yehrn\ Cai/reach \KEER-yahkh\ Ciar \KEE-ar\ Ciarnait \KEE-ar-nitch\ Comnait \KOOM-nitch, the OO as in "book"\ Cre/dh \KRAY\ Evidence of masculine Gaelic names is more abundant, since many masculine names gave rise to surnames that survived to modern times. Here are some masculine names beginning with M or L [3]. Quite a number of Gaelic men bore names formed from and the name of a saint. \M#L\ means "servant", and the combination meant "servant of Saint X". Some examples are given below. Maghnus \MAH-noos\ Maol Mhuire \M#L VUR-eh\ (servant of Saint Mary) Maol Bhri/ghde \M#L VREE-jeh\ (servant of Saint Bridget) Maol Mhicheil \M#L VEE-chill, the 'ch' as in the German "ich", not the 'ch' in "church"\ (servant of Saint Michael) Murchadh \MOOR-a-khagh\ Muireadhach \MOOR-eh-ahkh\ or \MOOR-ehgh-ahkh\ Leo\d \LYOAT\ Lachlann \LAKH-lahn\ Laghmann \LAGH-mahn, 'gh' is a voiced 'kh'\ Labhrann \LOW-rahn, 'ow' as in 'cow'\ (A Gaelic borrowing of Laurence) Lu/ca/s \LOO-kahs\ To form a complete name, you'll choose given names for yourself and your father, and form a patronymic byname from your father's name with the word , pronounced \NEE-yen\, which means "daughter". For grammatical reasons, your father's name will need to be modified slightly. It must be put in the genitive case (i.e. as opposed to ) and it may have to be lenited. Lenition is a softening of the initial consonant. Here are patronymics formed from each of the masculine names above: inghean Mhaghnuis \NEE-yen VAH-nish\ inghean Mhaoil Mhuire \NEE-yen V#L VUR-reh\ inghean Mhaoil Bhri/ghde \NEE-yen V#L BREED\ inghean Mhaoil Mhicheil \NEE-yen V#L VEE-chill\ inghean Mhurchaidh \NEE-yen VOOR-a-khee\ inghean Mhuireadhaich \NEE-yen VOOR-eh-eekh\ or \NEE-yen VOOR-ehgh-eekh\ inghean Leo\id \NEE-yen LYOATCH\ inghean Lachlainn \NEE-yen LAHKH-lahn\ inghean Laghmainn \NEE-yen LAGH-mahn, 'gh' is a voiced 'kh'\ inghean Labhrainn \NEE-yen LOW-ren, 'ow' as in "cow"\ inghean Lu/ca/is \NEE-yen LOO-kahsh\ If your name were written down, it would have been written either in Latin or in Scots. Scots was the language of the Lowlands in your period. It was closely related to contemporary English. Once you choose a name, we'll be happy to suggest Scots and Latin forms that might have been used. 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 Effric nin Kennyoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript. [2] Donnchadh O'Corrain and Fidelma Maguire, Irish Names (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). [4] Woulfe, Patrick, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [5] Morgan, Peadar, Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 26 Mar 2002, Arval: Removed , a modern spelling we've not yet found in period sources. See Scottish Gaelic Given Names, http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven.