ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2208 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2208 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 09 Feb 2001 From: Judith Phillips [This message is best viewed in a fixed-width font such as Courier.] Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us whether the name would be appropriate for an Irish woman living between 1000 and 1600. Here is the information we found. The Gaelic language underwent major changes during the time span you gave us. In the following discussion we've tried to indicate which spellings and pronunciations of your name would have been typical at different times. is an early variant of [1]. Later, the name was probably spelled [2] or even , the modern spelling [1]. We didn't find any evidence that was used as a name in your period -- it is best known as the name of a fairly obscure saint [1] -- but we think that it's plausible. The name was pronounced \KY-lahn~\ early in your period, \KEL-in~\ in the early 13th century, and \KAY-lin~\ by the end of your period. (The notation \y\ represents the sound of in sky. \n~\ is pronounced like in French or Italian or like in Spanish .) Your byname needs a minor correction which may require some explanation. Gaelic women were usually identified as their fathers' daughters. Their names were most often constructed in the form [3]. The word means "daughter." The genitive case shows possession (e.g. "John's daughter" rather than "John daughter"). Just as the English becomes to show possession, so a Gaelic name will change in ways determined by Gaelic grammar. Lenition is a softening of the initial sounds of words that is required by Gaelic grammar in some circumstances. When it is indicated in writing it is represented by placing a dot over the letter or an following the letter.[4] is the genitive form of , a later spelling of , which was a moderately common masculine Gaelic name [5]. In your name, needs to be lenited. Your byname would have been spelled or before 1200 or so and afterwards [6]. Again, the pronunciation varied as well; we think your byname was pronounced \EEN-y@n CHEL-eych\ early in your period, \EEN-y@n CHEL-eygh\ around 1200, and \EEN-y@n CHEL-ee\ by the end of your period. (The last is indeed very similar to modern , which is ultimately derived from , not .) The notation \@\ represents the sound of in or . \CH\ is the soft German sound in German ; it is similar to a strongly articulated \hy\, as in . \GH\ is the voiced version of \kh\, which is the hard sound in or . That is, \gh\ is produced by vibrating the vocal cords while saying \kh\; \gh\ is related to \kh\ in the same way as \g\ to \k\ or \v\ to \f\. The pronunciations of your full name are below: early period: \KEY-lahn~ EEN-y@n CHEL-eych\ ~ 1200: \KEL-in~ EEN-y@n CHEL-eygh\ late period: \KAY-lin~ EEN-y@n CHEL-ee\ You asked about the meaning of your name. We can certainly tell you the etymological roots of the parts of your name, but we can't be sure how much significance those meanings had to the people who used those names in the Middle Ages. , the original form of , is a compound of , meaning "slender," and , meaning "fair(haired)" [1]. is now thought to have meant "bright-headed," although it was traditionally thought to mean "frequenter of churches."[5] However, we must stress that once a word came to be used as a name, it pretty much lost its meaning. We don't expect a woman named to have any of the characteristics of the plant . Early in your period, the origin of the name would have been recognizable in the same way; but later in period, it would simply have been seen as a name. In other words, your name really means nothing other than "Ca/elinn daughter of Cellach." I hope that this letter has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if any part of it has been unclear or if you have any further questions. I was assisted in writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Adelaide de Beaumont, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Juliana de Luna, Julie Stampnitzky, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Adeliza de Saviniaco 9 February 2001 ------------------------------ References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). s.n. Ca/elfind [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). s.n. Caoilfhionn [3] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (Draft 3rd Edition)", (WWW: Privately published, 27 Aug 2000) [URL:http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/]. [4] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Lenition in Gaelic Orthography", (WWW: Privately published, 27 Aug 2000) [URL:http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotlang/lenition.shtml]. [5] O/ Corra/in and Maguire, op. cit., s.n. Cellach [6] Gaelic spelling conventions underwent some changes during your period. The spelling changed to around 1200. The written representation of lenition of some sounds changed at about the same time. For example, before 1200 a woman named whose father's name was would have been recorded as . is the genitive form of ; in this case the lenition is indicated only in the pronunciation and not in the spelling. After 1200, her name would more likely have been recorded as . Lenition of was shown even in very early documents, so the lenition of your name does not change regardless of the date. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, Mar 2004, Arval: Later reports on were less optimistic about it being used by anyone other than the saint. See reports 2526 and 2718.