ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 835 http://www.s-gabriel.org/835 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 23 Mar 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help forming a 13th century Scottish Gaelic name using or as your given name. Here is what we have found. is a Latin name, of course, which was apparently carried to the British Isles by the Normans. We find in 1177 (the initial was a common way to record the \V\ sound) and in 1296 [1]. Unfortunately, we do not find any evidence that the name was adopted into Gaelic nor any evidence that it was used in Scotland. is an anglicized form of the Irish surname or , which mean "male descendent of Riagan or Re/agan" [2]. (The slashes represent accents on the preceding vowels.) We did not find examples of in use in Scotland, but it could perhaps have been used: Irish and Scottish Gaelic were the same language in your period, and many names were shared between the two countries. However, I should stress that we cannot prove that was used in Scotland and it would be better re-creation to use a name that we know to have been used. In your period, several languages were spoken in Scotland. The two main ones were Scottish Gaelic, which was identical to Irish Gaelic at this time; and Scots, a language closely related to contemporary English. Each language had its own system of naming and the two systems did not mix. To add to the complexity, there was a third naming system used by the Scoto-Normans, descendents of the Normans who settled in Scotland in the 12th century. To choose a period Scottish name, you need to know both when you want to set your persona and what language he spoke. You wrote that you want a Gaelic name. In Gaelic, men were primarily known as their father's sons: "Re/agan son of Domnall". This sort of naming is called "patronymic". Some men also used descriptive bynames like "black", but they all used patronymics for formal identification. You can find detailed information about Gaelic names in these articles on the web: Scottish Names 101 http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~his016/scot_names_101.html A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~his016/simple_sc_gaelic_names_12.html Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~his016/quick_gaelic_bynames.html The second article discusses 12th rather than 13th century names, but is reasonably applicable to your period, too. If you want to use the name , then a Gaelic persona is not appropriate. However, it would be a fine name for a 13th century Englishman or perhaps for a 13th century Scoto-Norman. Scoto-Norman names were very similar to Anglo-Norman names: Most often they consisted of a given name followed by a patronymic, occupational, or locative byname. For example: "Virgil son of Reginald", "Virgil of Chesnes". Very often, especially in writing, names were completely or partially latinized, e.g. "Virgil son of Reginald". 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 Arianwy ferch Cadfael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). [2] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3). 29 Mar 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! We wrote to you last week to answer your questions about your name . Since then, we have discovered some more information that we'd like to give you. There is a Gaelic form of . It is recorded in Ireland, not in Scotland, but it is possible that it was also used by Scottish Gaels. The name is or , pronounced \FEER-yill\. The name is recorded only in early medieval Ireland where it was a clerical borrowing from Latin [1], so it is still something of a stretch to use it for your persona in 13th century Scotland. However, it is possible and we wanted you to have all the available information. 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 Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).