|
Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel!
You wrote asking whether "E/rennach ingean Sion" was an appropriate construction for a 12th century Irishwoman.
The first name of "E/rennach" and the connector of "ingean" (although "ingen" is more likely) for "daughter of" are fine for a 12th century Irishwoman. [1] As you suspected, "Sion" is a problem. This form of "John" is an Anglo-Norman borrowing that did not come into Ireland until after the 12th century. However, there is an older form of "John," "Eoin," that was in use in Ireland during the 12th century. [2] If you use that form of "John," you would end up with "E/rennach ingen Eoin" (pronounced \AIR-en-nahkh IN-yen Yone\, where the "kh" is a hard rasping sound as in the Scottish "loch" or the German "Bach," and "Yone" to rhyme with "lone"). This would be an excellent name for a 12th century Irishwoman.
We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval d'Espas Nord, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasfryn, and Effric niin Kenyeoch vc Harrald contributed research and comments to this letter.
For the Academy,
AElfwyn aet Gyrwum
[1] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "Feminine Names from the Index to O'Brien's 'Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae'" (WWW, Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996), which can be found at
[2] O/ Corráin, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).