ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 901
http://www.s-gabriel.org/901
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
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From: 
18 Apr 1998


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked us about the name <Bebhinn ni Cleirigh> as an Irish woman's name
prior to the 11th century, and especially the 5th to 8th centuries.  You
also asked about the appropriateness of <ni> or <ingean ui>, and the
correct spelling and pronunciation of your name.

We would like to begin by complimenting you on the research you have
already done.  It is rare to see a request that is this literate and
intelligent.

The modern name <Be/bhinn> comes from a contraction of <Be/> + <Find>
(meaning "white woman"), which appears fairly early as <Bebinn>, <Be/
Find>, and <Be/ Fhind> [1,2].  We recommend the spelling <Be/ Find> [3],
pronounced \BAY-veen\.

<Cleirigh> is fine to use in your byname, though the appropriate spelling
for your period seems to be <Cle/rech> or <Cle/irech> [4].  Based on known
spellings, any of the following grammatical forms could be used for your
byname.  All are pronounced \KHLAY-rich\, with 'soft' \ch\ as in German
<ich> or <nicht> and 'hard' \KH\ as in German <Bach> or Scottich <loch>.
All these forms have undergone spelling changes associated with using them
in a woman's byname:

  <Chle/rig>, <Chle/rich>, <Chle/irig>, <Chle/irich>

As you discovered, <ni> is indeed much later than your period; it is even
later than the Society's period.  It is a post-period contraction of the
phrase "ingen ui/", pronounced \EEN-yen ee\ and literally means
"daughter of the (male) descendant".  In practice, it was used to
describe the daughter of a man who used a byname <Ua {something}>.  For
example, the daughter of a man named <Ua Cle/irech> would be called
<ingen ui/ Chle/irich>.  If you want a byname meaning "daughter of
Cle/irech", you should use <ingen> \EEN-yen\, as in <ingen Chle/irich>.  

To summarize, we recommend using any one of the following names:

  <Be/ Find ingen Chle/rig>    <Be/ Find ingen ui/ Chle/rig>
  <Be/ Find ingen Chle/rich>   <Be/ Find ingen ui/ Chle/rich>
  <Be/ Find ingen Chle/irig>   <Be/ Find ingen ui/ Chle/irig>
  <Be/ Find ingen Chle/irich>  <Be/ Find ingen ui/ Chle/irich>

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. 
Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicouer, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Teceangl
Bach, Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin, and Antonio Miguel
Santos de Borja 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] Although <Be/ Find> is written as two words, it is a single given
    name; there are a number of these known in Irish.  The "/" in each
    name in this letter represents an accent over the preceding vowel.

[4] M.A. O'Brien (ed.), _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The
    Dublin Institute for Advance Studies, 1976)