ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 872
http://www.s-gabriel.org/872
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
*       contain errors that we haven't yet      *
*       corrected.  Please use it with caution. *
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* NOTE: Later research turned up additional     *
*       information relevant to this report.    *
*       See the end of the letter for details.  *
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From: 
5 Apr 1998

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked us about <Muirgheall Kennedy> as a Scottish woman's name between
1150 and 1300. 

To begin with, your request <Muirgheall Kennedy> mixes languages.  The
name <Muirgheall> is Gaelic, while <Kennedy> is a Scots or English form. 
You will recall from reading _Scottish Names 101_ that Scots is a language
related to Middle English.  Gaelic is a language spoken in Ireland and
Scotland, and is quite different from English.  The peoples who spoke
these two languages used different naming conventions, and these
conventions seldom mixed. 

Not knowing whether you prefer a Gaelic or Scots form, we have commented
on each of the elements you included, and suggest forms.

<Muirgheall>, pronounced \MEER-eel\, is a later spelling of the Gaelic
<Muirgel> and was originally an Irish name [1].  Both spellings occur in
the 9th century. 

<Miriel> is recorded in northern England from an early date [2], and so is
likely to have been in Scotland early on as well.  <Muriel> (in various
spellings) seems to have been a very popular name in Scotland in the 12th
& 13th c. [3].  Though most of the examples we found are not Gaelic, we
did find a <Muriella filia Coneval> 1284, which looks like an exception. 

The spelling <Kennedy> is definitiely not Gaelic, and we found evidence
for several "Anglicized" forms in Scotland [3]:

  <Gilbert mac Kenedi>      c. 1165-1214
  <Gillescop MacKenedi>     c. 1214-1249
  <Gillescop filius Kenedi> c. 1214-1249
  <Maldouen Macenedy> or <Mackenedi> c.1240-48

Your name <Muirgheall Kennedy> thus combines a Gaelic first name with a
non-Gaelic byname.  We recommend that you use an entirely Gaelic version
for your selected period.

Gaelic forms would be [3,4]:

  <Muirgheal inghean Chinne/idigh>
  <Muirgheal inghean Chinne/ide>

And a Latin form (for official documents) would be:

  <Muriella filia Kenedi>

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.
Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Livia Montgomery, AElfwyn aet Gywrum,
and Effrick neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte contributed to this letter.

In service,
--Walraven van Nijmegen
Academy of S. Gabriel

[1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. _Irish Names_. 
    (Dublin : The Lilliput Press, 1990)

[2] P.H. Reaney & R.M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
    (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)

[3] George F. Black, _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and
    History_ (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986)

[4] Patrick Woulfe, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_
    (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation)

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Arval, 30 Sept 2005: Fixed a typo (in the name of one of the consultants)