ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 966 http://www.s-gabriel.org/966 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * 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. * * * ************************************************* 24 May 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 12th century Scottish Gaelic name, using as your first name and as your father's first name. You also said that you want to show some connection to the Graham clan. Here is what we have found. The name was certainly used in your period, but this spelling may not be the right one for your persona. In your period, several languages were spoken in the region we think of as Scotland, including Gaelic, but also including Old English and Norman French. Nearly all written records were in Latin. There was some sharing of names among these different languages, but each one had its own spelling conventions. is an English spelling of the Gaelic name , , or . (The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter.) Of these spellings, the one appropriate for your persona is . Gaelic spelling underwent a change around 1200. is the older spelling and the later one; is an intermediate form which probably existed around the 12th century, when you set your persona [1]. At this period, we believe the name was pronounced roughly \AYN-gh@s\, with \AY\ rhyming with , \gh\ rerpresenting the voiced version of the harsh, rasping sound in Scottish or German , and \@\ being the first vowel sound in . As we wrote you earlier, is not a suitable choice for your father's first name. wasn't used as a first name (or "given name") in your period, but only as a family name (or "surname"). The modern given name originated well after our period, when it became fashionable in britain to use family names as given names for boys. Before that, was a surname [2]. The medieval noble family took its name from a place called or in Lincolnshire [3]. Early examples of name include 1127 and 1141, 1243, 1298 [4, s.n. Graham]. is a fine 12th century Gaelic given name, as you discovered from our article [5]. It could be pronounced \GEER-ick\, with a hard \G\. In Gaelic in period, men were primarily known as their father's sons. They didn't use "clan names" as part of their own names, as people do in modern Scotland. Some clans existed, but clan membership was not indicated in peoples' names. A name such as was used literally, to mean "A/engus son of Giric". This name would be a fine choice for a 12th century Scottish Gaelic persona. If you want your persona to be a member of the 12th century Graham family (which was not at that time considered a clan), then you'll want to have a Scoto-Norman persona rather than a Gaelic persona. The Scoto-Normans were Normans from England and Normandy who had settled in parts of Scotland. They spoke Norman French as well as Gaelic and Old English, and their names tended to look very much like contemporary Anglo-Norman names, as you can see from the early examples of that I included above. However, they did adopt some Gaelic names, so a name like is a possibility for a man of this culture, though it would definitely not have been typical [4, passim]. 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 nin Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 May 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. O/engus. [2] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Graham. [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Graham. [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). [5] Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Bynames", (WWW: Privately published, 18 June 1997) http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/simple_sc_gaelic_names_12.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, 30 Oct 2001: More information about is available in report 2376. The name was rare in the 12th century.