ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1105 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1105 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "S Friedemann" 29 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a 12th century Scottish Gaelic feminine name. You wanted your given name to be or , or a name starting with or , and you wanted your father's name to be or . Here is the information we have found. Although is widely used as a woman's name in the modern world and in literature, it was not a feminine name in our period. It is an English spelling of the masculine name . (The slash represents an accent over the previous letter). The feminine form of is , which is pronounced \ROO-a-nitch\. [1] is a variant spelling of , the name of a Welsh goddess. We have no evidence that it was used by humans in period, either as a Welsh name or as a Gaelic name. We strongly recommend that you avoid this name, since it is not an authentic choice. Very few records in period Scotland were written in Gaelic. As a result, we know very little about Scottish Gaelic women's names. We have a short list of names that we've found, and it includes only one name each beginning with and : (recorded in 1166 as ), and [2]. However, the Gaelic of Scotland was the same as the Gaelic of Ireland in your period, and many names were found in both countries. We can therefore look to Irish records for names that were probably also used in Scotland. Here are a few of the more common Gaelic women's names starting with D or R are [1,2]. Da/irine \DAH-ree-nyeh\ Delbnat \JAHLV-nitch\ Derba/il \JAHR-vahl\ Derbiled \JAIR-vil-lyeh\ Der Erca \DAR-ark-a\ Der Bforgaill or Dearbhorgaill \JAHR-vor-gill\ [3] Dianaim \JEE-ahn-iv\ Doirend \DAR-ahn\ Duaibsech \DOO-ahv-shahkh\ Dubchoblaig \DOOV-khohv-lee\ Dub Essa \DIV-ahs-a\ Du/nlaith \DOON-la\ Raichbhe \RAH-veh\ Ri/oghnach \REEN-ahkh\ Ro/s, Ro/is \ROWS\ Ro/isi/n \ROW-sheen\ Ro/nnat \RONE-itch\ Rathnat \RAW-nitch\ is a Scots or English spelling of the Gaelic name or [2,1]. (The slash represents an accent over the previous letter.) , "Raghnailt daughter of Donnchadh," would be an excellent name for your period. It is pronounced \RU-niltch IN-yen DOHN-khee\. The \U\ is pronounced as in . \kh\ represents the harsh, rasping sound in Scottish or German . is found in this spelling in 1131. In the 12th century, it is also spelled and . [2] Any of these are excellent choices for your father's name. In your period, your name would normally have been written in Latin. was occasionally Latinized as [1], though it could also be or [2]. The entire name would then be , "Raghnailt daughter of Duncan," or , "Raghnailt daughter of Ruadri." 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 Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael July 29, 1998 ---------------------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.nn. Deirdre, MacCartney, MacNair [3] The in this pronunciation is a hard , as in . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letter 'D' does not lenite.