ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 949 http://www.s-gabriel.org/949 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: 1 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel. You asked for information on the Scottish-Gaelic masculine 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. Gaelic and Scots have completely different spelling rules which were not mixed in a single name. Since both forms of your name are relevent, we're going to discuss both. The masculine given name is almost correct. The modern Scots Gaelic form is . This spelling is found in period Ireland, and is also a reasonable as a late-period Scots Gaelic spelling. [1,2] We also found the somewhat earlier spelling . [3] In your period, Scottish-Gaels did not use inherited surnames in the modern style. They used true patronymics, i.e. names were still constructed from an individual's given name and his/her father's given name, so a person was known as his father's son or her father's daughter. 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 man in the Highlands would have been known as his father's son. For example, you would have been known as the son of a man with the given name Fionghuine. The masculine given name is a late-period spelling of the Irish name . [4] In Scotland, we found the patronymic forms and , which ultimately became the Scottish surname . [5] However, these are most likely modern forms of the name; is probably closer to a period form. So Raibeart the son of Fionguine would be , pronounced \RAH-bairt mahk IN-en\. 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. 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] Any of these would be appropriate for you to use in a purely Scots setting. Please note, it is unlikely that a Gael would have ever used the Scots form of his name; the Scots form would have most likely been used in written records. So in written records your name might have been spelled or . You'll notice that some of the Scots spellings, 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. Presumably, therefore, you could write your name in Gaelic with or without the lenition, and pronounce it with or without the . 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] Dwelly, Edward. _The illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary_. Glasgow : Gairm Publications, 1988, orig. pub. 1901-1911, p. 1026, Robert. [2] Morgan, Peadar. _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottich Gaelic Names for Children_. Isle of Skye, Scotland : Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989. [3] 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. [4] O/ Corrain, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. _Irish Names_. Dublin : The Lilliput Press, 1990, s.n. Finguine. [5] Black, George F. _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History_. New York : New York Public Library, 1946, Mackinnon. ________________________