ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1157 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1157 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 18 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 14th to 16th century Scottish Gaelic man's name, with your given name starting with \AH\ or \D\ and your father's name starting with the letter or . Here is what we have found. We noticed that your mundane middle name is , and we thought you might want to use the Gaelic name or , which was often associated with the English in period [1, 2, 3]. could be pronounced \AH-len\. Here are lists of some of the common Gaelic masculine names beginning with the letters A, C, and D [1, 2, 3]. We've given two forms of each name: the nominative, which is the form used for a given name, and the genitive (possessive), which is the form used in a patronymic. A patronymic is a surname that identifies you as your father's son. For example, if your name were and your father's were , you would have been called "Ailene son of Alpan". is the possessive form of , analogous to vs. . In the list of names, a slash represents an accent on the preceding letter. Each name is followed by a rough guide to its pronunciation in your period, shown \between backslashes\. Except as noted here and in the list, the pronunciation guides should be read as if they were standard American English, with the stress on the syllable written in UPPERCASE. \kh\ represents the harsh, rasping sound in German or Scottish . \gh\ is the voiced version of the same sound. \#\ represents a vowel that doesn't exist in English; you can produce it by trying to say \oo\ (as in ) with your lips positioned as if you were saying \ee\. \@\ is a schwa, like the first vowel in . *** Note: In reviewing this report, we realized that we had relied on ref. [3], which is a dictionary of modern Scottish Gaelic names, for some late-period spellings. Without further research, we can't say which of the late-period are reliable. Nominative Genitive Ailpean \EL-pen\ Ailpein \EL-pen\ Alpan \AHL-p@n\ Alpain \AHL-pen\ Aonghas, Aonghus \#N-@s\ Aonghusa \#N-@s-@\ or Aonghuis \#N-ooish\ or Aonghais \#N-@sh\ Alasdar \AH-l@s-t@r\ Alasdair \AH-l@s-tair\ Alaxandair \AH-l@k-SAHN-dair\ Alaxandair \AH-l@k-SAHN-dair\ Ailene, Ailean \AH-len\ Ailin, Ailein \AH-len\ Adhamh \AHGH-@v\ Adhaimh \AHGH-ev\ Adam \AH-d@m\ Adaim \AH-dem\ Adaidh \AH-dee\ Adaidh \AH-dee\ Aindreas \EN-dr@s\ Aindreis \EN-dresh\ Anndra \AWN-dr@\ Anndrais \AWN-dr@sh\ Aodh \#GH\ Aodha \#GH-@\ or Aoidh \#ee\ Artair \AR-tair\ Artair \AR-tair\ Artuir \AR-tooir\ Artuir \AR-tooir\ Cairbre \KAHR-breh\ Cairbre \KAHR-bree\ Cailean \KAH-len\ Cailein \KAH-len\ Cathal \KAH-hahl\ Cathail \KAH-hahl\ Ceallach \KELL-ahkh\ Ceallaigh \KELL-ee\ Ceanntighearn \KEN-tee-yairn\ Ceanntighearn \KEN-tee-yairn\ Cessa/n \KESS-ahn\ Cessa/in \KESS-ahn\ Ceaso/g \KESS-ogue\ Ceaso/ig \KESS-ohg\ Cionaodh \KIN-oogh\ * Cionaoidh \KIN-ee\ (* \oo\ pronounced like the in ) Coinneach \KEN-nyahkh\ Coinnich \KEN-neech\ * (* \ch\ in the genitive pronounced as in German ) Conan \KOHN-ahn\ Conain \KOHN-ahn\ Corc \KORK\ Cuirc \KOO-ihrk\ * (* In the gen. the isn't really two syllables, but a dipthong.) Cormac \KOR-mahk\ Cormaic \KOR-mahk\ Diarmaid \JAR-mahtch\ (no genitives needed since you Domhnall \DON-ahl\ want the names for yourself Donnchadh \DON-khahgh\ rather than your father.) Dubh [4] \DOOV\ Dubhghall \DOO-ghahl\ Dubhsidhe [5] \DOOV-shee\ or \DOO-shee\ Dubhthach \DOOV-akh\ Dunghal \DOON-ghahl\ You can choose any given name in these lists for yourself and for your father, and then combine them as in the example above: mac . In your period, Gaelic was only rarely used as a written language. Records were kept in Latin (at the beginning of your period) or Scots (later in your period). Scots was a completely different from Gaelic, quite closely related to contemporary English. Once you pick your name, please feel free to contact us for the correct written forms. 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. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 18 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Kessna, Conghal, Maccaw, MacAlpin, Alpin, Elphin, Angus, Angusson, MacAlaster, Alexander, Alan, Andrew, MacAdam, Andrew, Aodh, Arthur, and elsewhere. [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). Note that spellings taken from this source, like , are modern Scottish Gaelic and not necessarily appropriate for our period. [4] Ewen, C. L'Estrange, _A History of Surnames of the British Isles_ (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1931; Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1968), p.210. He cites 1603-4. represents the genitive form of . It's not clear that this name was also used in Scotland, so this is probably not the best choice. [5] Black s.n. Dusey. Black says: "From G. _Dubhsidhe_. Dusey McFee was tenant of Bar in Islay in 1541 (ER., XVII, p. 616). Dubhsi/dhe, 'black of peace', was _fer-le/ighinn_ of Iona in 1164 (AU.)." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, 6 Jun 2002: Added notes [4] and [5] to support the names and , which Aryanhwy and Adelaide had noticed aren't in O'Corrain and Maguire. Correction, Arval, 3 Mar 2003: Added references to note [3] (which was there but not referenced) and added the note in [3] warning that Morgan is not the best of sources; and the warning above the list of names in the body of the letter.