ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 885
http://www.s-gabriel.org/885
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
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From: 
6 Apr 1998

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked us whether you could use <Cearnach>, from <O Kernaghan>, as a
last name meaning "victorious", and about the feminine Irish name <Aeval>
or <Aebhel>.

The epithet <cernach> '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.  <O Kernaghan> derives from <Cernacha/n>, a diminutive of
<Cernach>, 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 <Cernacha/n>, your byname would be <ingen Chernacha/in>,
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 <Aeval> or <Aebhel>, but the name
<Ai/bell>, later spelled <Aoibheall> \EE-vyahl\, is quite close in
pronounciation and may be the name you were thinking of [2]. The form
<Aeval> is likely an Anglicized spelling, not compatible with the time
during which <Chernach> could be used as a byname.

We would therefore recommend one of the following, all appropriate
for early period:

  <Ai/bell Chernach>            \EE-vyahl HYAR-nakh\.  
  <Ai/bell ingen Chernaich>     \EE-vyahl EEN-yen HYAR-nikh\ [3]
  <Ai/bell ingen Chernacha/in>  \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 <ch> in German <ich> and <nicht>.