ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 921 http://www.s-gabriel.org/921 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 22 Apr 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about , which your client wants to use as a Scottish Gaelic name. Here is what we have found. As best we can determine, is a modern Gaelicization of . It is occasionally used in modern Scottish Gaelic [1], but we don't find evidence that it was used before 1600. and , pronounced roughly \RISH-cherd\ and \RICK-ard\, were late-medieval Irish adapations of [2]; it is possible that they were also used by Scottish Gaels. is indeed a place in the highlands of Scotland. The modern Gaelic form of that name is ; the Scots spelling was recorded in 1528 [3]. (Scots was a language closely related to contemporary English; in late-period Scotland, it was spoken mostly in the Lowlands. Gaelic was spoken mostly in the Highlands.) If your client uses one of the documented Gaelic forms of , then all the elements of his name will be correct; but the name is not constructed consistent with period Scottish naming practices. In Scottish Gaelic, people didn't name themselves for the places where they lived. Locative bynames (place-name based descriptions) were quite common in Scots, but we have found no evidence of them in Gaelic. When Gaelic names were written in Scots documents, they were sometimes recorded with locatives; but Gaelic-speaking men were almost always known as their father's sons. For example, if your client's father's name were , he would generally be known in Gaelic as \RISH-cherd mahk KOH-nahn\. The additional in puts the name in the genitive (possessive) case, like the <'s> in . In a Scots context, he could be called or perhaps [4]. Alternatively, your client may be interested in an somewhat earlier-period Scoto-Norman persona. The Scoto-Normans were the 12th and 13th century descendents of Norman settlers in Scotland. They intermarried with both Scots and Gaelic speakers, and their names reflected this mixed heritage. is a typical name for this culture [4]. 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 Margaret Makafee, Talan Gwynek, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, and Affrica filia Cenneci. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 14 Apr 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] Johnston, James R., _Place-Names of Scotland_ (London: John Murray, 1934). [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), passim. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -