ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1247
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1247
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1 Oct 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for information about the name <Aidan mac Suileabhain>, which
you'd like to use for an Irish male persona before 1500.  Here is what we
have found.

<Aidan> is a modern English spelling of the early medieval Gaelic name
<A/eda/n>.  (The slash represents an accent over the preceding letter.)
This name was relatively common in early medieval Ireland.  In the late
Middle Ages, it would have been spelled <Aodha/n>, but we're not sure it
was used after the 10th century or so.  Its modern popularity dates to a
revival in the 19th or 20th century.  The name is a fine choice for an
early-period persona, and a reasonable but less clearly authentic choice
for a late-period persona [1, 2, 3, 4].

In the 10th century, <A/eda/n> was probably pronounced \EHDH-ahn\, where
the \DH\ represents the <th> sound in <this>.  Over time, the initial vowel
sound became \AY\ in many dialects, and \#\ in Scotland.  \#\ represents a
vowel that doesn't exist in English; you can produce it by trying to say
\oo\ (as in <woo>) with your lips positioned as if you were saying \ee\.
Later in period, when the name was spelling <Aodha/n>, the \DH\ sound would
have softened to \GH\, which is the voiced version of the rasping <ch>
sound in the Scottish word <loch> or the German <Bach>. Toward the end of
our period, the <dh> might have been silent, so that the name would be
\AY-ahn\ or \#-ahn\.

<Su/ileba/n> was a given name in early medieval Ireland, and it is the root
of the modern Gaelic family name <O/ Su/ileabha/in> (anglicized <O
Sullivan>).  The byname <mac Su/ileba/in> means "son of Su/ileba/n".  It
appears that the given name was not used after 1200 or thereabouts, so it
wouldn't be a good choice for your father's name if you want to set your
persona much after that date [4, 5].  If you want an early-period persona,
then <Ae/da/n mac Su/ileba/in> is fine name; it's pronounced \EHDH-ahn mahk
SOO-ly@-vahn\.  \@\ is a schwa, like the first vowel in <about>.

If you want a later-period persona, you might want to consider <Aodha/n O/
Su/ileabha/in>, which means "Aodha/n of the O Sullivan clan" and is
pronounced \AY-ahn oh SOO-ly@-vahn\. In a very formal setting, you might go
further and identify your father as well as your clan.  If your father were
named <Aodh O/ Su/ileabha/in>, you could be called <Aodha/n mac Aodha ui/
Su/ileabha/in>, pronounced \AY-ahn mahk AY-a ee SOO-ly@-vahn\.  The changed
spelling of your father's name is the possessive form, like <John's> in
English.


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 Barak Raz, Talan Gwynek, 
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Affrick nin Kenneoch.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  1 Oct 1998


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References

[1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_,
3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). 

[2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Aidan.

[3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The
Lilliput Press, 1990). 

[4] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_
(Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). 

[5] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976).

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