ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1187 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1187 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 20 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be appropriate for a late 13th, early 14th century Scottish feminine persona. Here is the information we have found. In your period, there were several languages spoken in the region we now think of as Scotland. The important languages were Gaelic, the same language spoken in Ireland; English, spoken mostly in the southeast; Norman French, still used by the Scoto-Norman descendents of 12th century Norman settlers, mostly in the south; and Norse, spoken in the north and in the western isles. After your period, the English of the Lowlands of Scotland evolved into Scots, a new language. All these languages formed names in different ways, and although there was overlap in some areas, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. , which we find recorded in 1567, is a Scots form of [3], which in turn is a feminine form of the name . We have no evidence that it was used in the 13th or 14th century, and suggest that you consider the alternate feminine forms of that we found: 1304 or 1329-34. [3] These would both be appropriate for an English or Scoto-Norman persona. is a shortened form of the Irish patronymic byname (a nickname based on the father's name) , meaning literaly "son of Dubdarach". [1,2] We have no evidence that or were ever used in Scotland, so we are unable to suggest any appropriate feminine form. Even if it was used in Scotland, as a Gaelic patronym it would not be used with an English or Scoto-Norman name. As it stands, is not an authentic name. is a 16th century Scots name. is a shortened form of an Irish patronym. These two would not have been used together at any time in period. If you want to keep , then we recommend you move your persona to the 16th century and into Scots (Lowland) culture. If you want to keep , then you'll want a Gaelic-speaking persona, ideally from Ireland. If you want to keep your persona in Scotland around 1300, then your name should fit one of the cultures of that period. We can help you construct a name appropriate to any of them. Write us again if you'd like help pursuing any of these options. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Talan Gwynek and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael --------------------------------------- References: [1] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). [3] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). . http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/scottishfemearly.html