ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2701 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2701 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 19 Jun 2003 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether a name meaning "Aleyn son of Maghnus" is appropriate for an Ulsterman living between 1250 and 1350. You mentioned that you were attempting to reflect a mixed English/Irish parentage, and that you were specifically interested in a name appropriate for a musician. Here is the information we have found. In your period, there were several languages spoken in Ireland including Gaelic, spoken primarily by native Irish, and English, spoken primarily by English settlers. These settlers brought their own languages in the 12th century and afterward. Some English given names were imported into the Irish name stock, but many were not. The Anglo-Irish families gradually assimilated into Irish culture, but in general they continued to use English-origin given names, often in Gaelicized forms, rather than adopting native Gaelic given names. It's likely that many people used both Gaelic and English forms of their names, and we have some evidence of the practice from records of this period. It's difficult to tell whether someone considered themselves ethnically English or Irish, even if they had a very English-looking name. As we mentioned in earlier correspondence, is a fine English name for your period. We find it recorded in a Latinized form in 1284, and we find a man recorded as "Richard, son of Aleyn" in 1309 [1, 2]. We have not specifically found it used in Ireland, but we believe it is a plausible name for an English-speaker in Ireland. For a Gaelic speaker in Ireland, the situation is more complex. There was a native Gaelic name similar to that has been equated with it, although it is in fact etymologically unrelated. Usually spelled or , it was used in early medieval Ireland but seems to have fallen out of fashion by your period: The latest example we have is dated 1091, spelled [3, 4]. (The slash represents an acute accent over the preceding letter.) It's possible the name was still in occasional use in your period, but we have no evidence that it was. English-speakers named in Irish Gaelic records usually have names transcribed into Irish forms. For example, the man who appears in 1324 as would probably have written his own name as in English [5]. It's entirely possible that an English speaker named would have been recorded in Gaelic as or , given the similarity in sound between the two names. You mentioned that you chose for your father's name. We find the name recorded in England in 1207; it's possible that the name was used later, as there was a church dedicated to Saint Magnus in London [1]. An Englishman named who was the son of might have appeared in English records as [2]. A Gaelic-speaking man in your period would typically be known by a patronymic, or a byname based on his father's given name. was quite common in Ireland during your period; it is an excellent name for your father [6]. The correct form of the Gaelic byname meaning "son of Maghnus" for your period is . A man named who was the son of might have been recorded in Gaelic in your period as , pronounced \AH-len mahk MAH-noos-@\ where represents the sound in and \@\ represents the sound of in and . We don't recommend you combine the English spelling of your given name with the Gaelic spelling of your byname : Although a man's name could have been recorded in either language, we have found no evidence that elements of two languages were combined. Since English and Gaelic used significant different spelling systems, it is especially unlikely that they would have been mixed. You asked whether this name is appropriate for a musician. It is: There is nothing about this name that is inappropriate for a musician. If you want your name to say specifically that you are a musician, then we can suggest some alternatives. Here are some historical examples of English musicians' names [7, 8]: Henry le Harpur, 1273 Ralph le Harpur, 1273 Nicholas le Harpur, 1273 Reginald le Harper, 1275 Lucas le Syngere, 1296 William le Syngur, 1297 Adam le Harper, c. 1327 Thomas le Harpour, c. 1327 Robert le Sangar, c. 1327 Thomas le Sanggere, c. 1327 For example, would be a fine English name for your period, and we believe it is plausible for an English-speaker living in Ireland as well. A Gaelic-speaking man in your period would typically be known by a patronymic; bynames indicating an occupation were quite rare in Gaelic [9]. There are a few patronymics which are based on the father's occupation rather than his given name, though a byname like "son of the bard" would indicate that your father was a poet or musician, not necessarily that you were [10, 11]. We are not aware of any Gaelic descriptive byname used in your period which identifies the individual as a musician [12]. A man who appeared in English records as might still appear in Gaelic records as . We 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 Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Galiana de Baiona, Mari neyn Brian, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 19 June 2003 References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.nn. Al(l)an, Magnus. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Allain, Magnus. A man appears in 1114 as . [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Aille/n. [4] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "The Annals of Ulster" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997). Entry 1019.1 includes a reference to . The first four numbers indicate the year of the events recorded. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001/ [5] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997). Entry 1324.2 mentions ; the first four digits are the year of the events recorded. The English translation of the document (created by modern scholars) lists the man as . http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100011 http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100011/index.html [6] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2002 http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine [7] Reaney & Wilson, s.nn. Harper, Singer. If these bynames don't describe the type of music you perform, please write again and we may be able to find a more specific byname for you. [8] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.nn. Harper, Sanger. [9] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (3rd Edition)" (WWW: Privately published, 22 Jun 2001). Occupational bynames are discussed under the heading of "vanishingly rare byname styles". The author says, "Note also that while Gaels don't seem to have used occupational bynames, simple patronymic bynames were sometimes formed from the father's occupation rather than his given name. So while there don't appear to be Gaelic bynames describing that individual as a smith or a tailor, there are simple patronymic bynames that identify Gaels as the child of a smith or a tailor. The range of occupations used in simple patronymic bynames, however, appears to be somewhat limited." http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ [10] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. (Mac) Ward. [11] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. . The author notes that the surname is very common, found throughout Ireland, and mentions three families of that name. [12] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Descriptive Bynames" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001). We find two bynames in Irish Gaelic documents which concern the bardic arts: a 7th century man is described with the byname "harper", and two 16th century men are described as "of the poetry". Because these examples occur so far outside your period, we can't recommend them as good choices for you, especially the early which we have only found applied to a single person. The early annals contain references to many legendary figures, and their bynames are often unique to that individual. is a common Gaelic word, however, so it is not impossible that the word could have been used to describe any musician, but we have no examples of its use as a byname besides this one 7th century man. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/DescriptiveBynames