ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 948 http://www.s-gabriel.org/948 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: 1 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel. You asked for information on the Scottish-Gaelic feminine name and whether it is appropriate for the 16th century. If is not suitable, you asked for information on the Gaelic of . In the 16th century, there were two major languages in Scotland: Gaelic, which was spoken in parts of Scotland and in Ireland, and Scots, a language closely related to contemporary English. Generally, Gaelic was the language of the Scottish Highlands, while Scots was the language of the Lowlands. Gaelic was rarely written in Scotland in your period; most records were in Scots. So although a person had a Gaelic name, it would most likely have been recorded in Scots. Since Gaelic and Scots have completely different spelling rules, when we construct a Scottish-Gaelic name, both a Gaelic and a Scots form are appropriate. Scots and Gaelic spellings were not mixed in a single name. The feminine given name is a later spelling of the early (pre-10th century) Irish name . [1,2] We can find no evidence of this name being used in Scotland in the 16th century, or at any other time in our period. In fact, there are very few examples of Gaelic women's names in surviving Scottish records. Here is a list of given names you may want to consider that we believe were used in Scottish Gaelic. Name Pronunciation Aifric \AHF-rick\ or \EHF-rick\ [1,3] Allasan \AHL-a-sahn\ [4] Beathag \BAY-ahk\ [3,4] Caitri/ona or Caitrina \kaht-REE-nah\ [3] (Gaelic borrowing of Katherine) Cairistiona \kah-ris-CHEE-na\ [3] (Gaelic borrowing of Cristiana) Ealusaid \EHL-uhs-ahtch\ [1,5] (Gaelic borrowing of Elizabeth or Elisot) E/va \AY-vah\ [3,5] Greudach \GREE-a-takh\ or \GREH-takh\ [4] Maol-Mhuire \MUL VUR-reh\ (\U\ as in "pull") [3] ("servant of [Saint] Mary") Marsaili \MAR-se-lee\ [3] (a form of ) Muirgheal \MYOOR-yeel\ [3] (a form of ) Sitheag \SHEE-ahk\ [3] Tyock \TEE-ahk\ [3] (non-Gaelic spelling of an unidentified Gaelic name) Raghnailt \RU-niltch\ (\U\ as in "pull") [3] In the names, a slash represents an accent on the preceding vowel. In the pronunciations, \kh\ represents the hard, rasping "ch" sound in the German "Bach" or the Scottish "loch". In your period, Scottish-Gaels did not use inherited surnames in the modern style. They used true patronymics--that is, names were still constructed from an individual's given name and his/her father's given name, so a person was known as her father's daughter or his father's son. Two people having the same patronymic would either be siblings or were unrelated and just coincidentally had fathers with the same given name. So a Gaelic-speaking woman in the Highlands would have been known as her father's daughter. For example, you would have been known as the daughter of a man with the given name Fionghuine. The patronymic byname , indicating that the bearer is the daughter of a man called Mac Fhionghuine, is almost correct. is a post-period contraction of the phrase , which strictly means "daughter of [the] son"; if you want to say that your father's name is , then you should used , which simply means "daughter". The masculine given name is a late-period spelling of the Irish name . [6] In Scotland, we found the patronymic forms and , which ultimately became the Scottish surname . [3] However, these are most likely modern forms of the name; is probably closer to a period form. Since this name refers to the son of a man named Fionguine, it will need a bit of adjustment to be suitable for you. If you were, for example, Raghnailt the daughter of Fionguine mac Eion, your name would be , pronounced \RUH-niltch NEE-yen IN-an\. The in should be pronounced like the in "pull." The extra in is a requirement of Gaelic grammar. In some circumstances, the sound of the initial letter of a word softens when it is used in a compound. This softening, called "lenition", is often represented by adding an after the letter. is essentially silent. You'll notice that some of the Scots spellings given below, like , show evidence of this lenition: The is silent. In other forms, like , the is pronounced, suggesting that lenition didn't always occur in this name. Lenition usually didn't occur in masculine patronymics, but always occurred in feminine patronymics. Since most records in your period were written in Scots, not Gaelic, you will want a Scots form of your name as well as the Gaelic form. We found several Scots forms of in your period. Makkynine 1506 Makenone 1536 Makkynnon 1536 Mackiynnan 1545 McFyngoun 1557 Makfingoun 1560 McYnun 1577 McKynnand 1586 Makkynnane 1587 [3] In a purely Scots setting, a woman could use any of these, even though techinically they are masculine patronymics. However, a genuine Gaelic name most likely would have retained the term for "daughter". We have a few examples of Gaelic feminine names recorded in Scots. Behag Nijn Sorle vic Ilvrid Effric neyn Corgitil [3] In these names has been reproduced in Scots as or ; the given name might be either given a Scots spelling or an equivalent might be used. So, by analogy, in Scots might be or . Please note, it's unlikely that a Gael would have ever used the Scots form of her name; the Scots form would have mostly likely been used in written records. We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if you have any more questions or if any of this letter has been unclear. Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Effrick neyn Kenneoch contributed research and commentary for this letter. For the Academy, Livia Montgomery & Alan Fairfax _________________________ [1] Woulfe, Patrick. _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_. Kansas City : Irish Genealogical Foundation, 1992. [2] O/Riain, Pa/draig, ed. _Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae_. Dublin : The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985, p. 87, 127. [3] Black, George F. _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History_. New York : New York Public Library, 1946, s.n. Africa, Beathag, Fuktor, Muriel, Sitheag, Tock, Mackinnon. [4] Morgan, Peadar. _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottich Gaelic Names for Children_. Isle of Skye, Scotland : Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989. [5] A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript. [6] O/ Corrain, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. _Irish Names_. Dublin : The Lilliput Press, 1990, s.n. Finguine. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 26 Mar 2002, Arval: Removed , a modern spelling we've not yet found in period sources. See Scottish Gaelic Given Names, http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven.