ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 892 http://www.s-gabriel.org/892 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 13 Apr 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us to suggest a 15th or 16th century Scottish Gaelic woman's given name beginning with that you could combine with the byname . Here is what we have found. Because very few records were written in Gaelic in period Scotland, we have very little direct evidence about Scottish Gaelic women's names. But by happy chance, we know more names beginning with than any other letter. Here they are with pronunciations and origins: Muirgheal \MEAR-eel\ A native Gaelic name; in Scots, in Latin [1] Marsaili \MAR-se-lee\ Gaelic form of Scots and Latin [1] Maol Mhuire \MUL VUR-eh\ the vowel in \MUL\ as in . Gaelic "servant of (Saint) Mary", Scots or Latin form [1] All of these names are appropriate for your persona. Scots is a language very different from Gaelic, but closely related to English, which was spoken in the Lowlands in your period. A Gaelic-speaking woman in the Highlands in your period would have been known as her father's daughter. Your byname is a good choice for that purpose, but we do have a small suggestion. is a Scots spelling of the Gaelic masculine given name , which is pronounced \GILL-yeh EE-sa\. This name is recorded in various spellings in Scots documents [1]: Gilise 1160 Gylis 1264 Gelyse 1376 Gylleis 1492 Gelis 1526, 1576 Gilleis 1538, 1596 Although we didn't find an example of the spelling , it is entirely reasonable given the variation shown above. The word is the Gaelic word for "daughter", which you have correctly used in your byname; but Gaelic and Scots spellings were not mixed in a single name. A woman of your period may have used her name in both Gaelic and Scots contexts, but she would have used only one language at a time. The Gaelic form of your byname is "daughter of Gille Iosa". The change in spelling from to is forced by Gaelic grammar; it results in a softening of the initial sound, so that the byname is pronounced \NEE-yen YILL-yeh EE-sa\. The same phrase might have been recorded in Scots as , by analogy to these examples [1]: Behag Nijn Sorle vic Ilvrid Effric neyn Corgitil, c.1470 Putting it all together, your name might be in Gaelic, in Scots or Latin. By your period, we find that patronymic bynames were no longer being translated into Latin, but rather recorded phonetically just as they were in Scots. 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 and Effrick neyn Kennyeoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Gillies, Macphail, Scapa, Macgillies, Kettle, Maccohenane, Gray, Fuktor, Mackessok, Nin, Africa, Beathag. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -