ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 885 http://www.s-gabriel.org/885 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: 6 Apr 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us whether you could use , from , as a last name meaning "victorious", and about the feminine Irish name or . The epithet 'victorious, triumphant' was used by Conall son of Amorgin [1], so this probably could be used as an early byname. However, the most common means of forming a byname is to use the name of your father. derives from , a diminutive of , pronounced \KYAR-nahkh\. This is a given name which was "much favored in early period" but "later fell into disuse" [2]. If your father were named , your byname would be , pronounced \EEN-yen HYAR-nahkh-ahn\. The intrusive 'h' and 'i' in the byname are the result of Gaelic grammar. We could not find the spellings or , but the name , later spelled \EE-vyahl\, is quite close in pronounciation and may be the name you were thinking of [2]. The form is likely an Anglicized spelling, not compatible with the time during which could be used as a byname. We would therefore recommend one of the following, all appropriate for early period: \EE-vyahl HYAR-nakh\. \EE-vyahl EEN-yen HYAR-nikh\ [3] \EE-vyahl EEN-yen HYAR-nahkh-ahn\ We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicouer, and Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel [1] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language_ (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983) [2] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin, The Lilliput Press, 1990) [3] The \kh\ here is the sound of in German and .