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| Last updated 2 Jun 2005 | Copyright ©2003-2005 by Sharon L. Krossa |
This is a draft edition! Only names in quotes in the examples below should be interpreted as period names and spellings (though even then, be cautious of quotes from Black).
The Scots language names of sixteenth century Gaels were sometimes very different from their Gaelic names. Note only could an entirely unrelated Scots language given name be used as the equivalent of a Gaelic given name (for example, Gaelic <Gille Eascoip> becoming <Archibald> in Scots), the Scots language byname of a Gael was sometimes completely unrelated to their byname in Gaelic. Even when the Scots language byname of a Gael looks like a phonetic rendering of Gaelic, it may not represent the Gaelic byname it seems to mimic. Interpreting the evidence is further complicated by the fact that some non-Gaels had Scots language bynames that look like the Scots language bynames of Gaels (for example, a Lowlander with a Gaelic great-grandfather might have a MacX style byname).
To determine the actual significance of the Scots language byname of a Gael, and its relationship to the Gaelic bynames of that Gael, additional context is needed. Useful context includes:
Below are examples of some of the patterns found in the Scots language names of Gaels in the 16th century, along with discussion of their significance and/or their relationship to Gaelic bynames. Examples in quotes are period spellings (except perhaps some from Black), but the capitalization in most examples reflects modern editorial practice and not necessarily the capitalization found in the original manuscripts. Note that in the period examples the spacing (between <Mac>, <Neyn>, etc., and what follows) sometimes varies from that shown in the the abstracted patterns. In the discussions below:
Keep in mind that some of the examples quoted below may not actually be Gaels! Some may be native Lowlanders who have Highland paternal ancestors and so inherited family surnames of the form <MacZ>. This is especially true of the examples from Black which do not have sufficient context to clearly identify the individual as a Gael. (Those with literal patronymic bynames using neyn/nic/mac/vic, however, are almost certainly either Gaels or bi-cultural.)
These patterns are grouped because so far for all cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> Neyn <father's given name> <father's byname>
which can also be described as
<given name> Neyn <father's full name>
However, no examples have been found where the context makes it clear whether the father's byname, when in the form <McZ>, is the father's literal patronymic byname (and so corresponds to his Gaelic byname) or a Scots language inherited family surname. Based on the significance of the men's name patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ>, it is likely that in some names the father's byname is a literal patronymic and in others it is an inherited family surname.
Other women’s names that follow this pattern include:
Note that there is some question how following <Neyn> affects the form or spelling of the father’s given name in this name construction in Scots. For example, the name of the father of <Crystane Nyne Ane Ross> would most likely appear independently as <Johne Ross> and the name of the father of <Christan Neyn Ane McThomas> as <Johne McThomas> -- it appears the form <Ane> is only found in bynames in the published Inverness burgh court books and elsewhere. Likewise, the name of the father of <Jonat Neyn Aye McRobert> would most likely appear indepentently as <Hugh McRobert>. It appears that, at least in some cases, the form of the father's given name is based on a phonetic representation of how his Gaelic given name would be pronounced after <inghean> in a Gaelic byname -- much like the father's given name in the byname of men's names with the patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ> is based on a phonetic representation of how his Gaelic given name would be pronounced after <mac> in a Gaelic byname -- rather than on the normal Scots language equivalent for that given name.
Similarly, there is some question whether the <Mc> found in the father’s byname after <Neyn> is an abbreviation for <Mac> or for some representation of an underlying Gaelic genitive form of <Mac> (i.e., a Scots representation of Gaelic <mic> or <mhic>). <Mc> is consistently used in the father’s byname in the examples from the Inverness burgh court books and in parallelly constructed men's names ( with the pattern <X MacY McZ>) from the same source.
This is just a variation of the above <X neyn Y McZ> patterns where instead of <Mc> there is more clearly a phonetic representation of the underlying Gaelic lenited genitive <mhic> that would be expected in a Gaelic byname with a similar pattern.
So far no examples have been found where there was sufficient context to confirm the signicance of this pattern. However, based on the literal meaning of <neyn> in the < X neyn Y McZ> pattern, it is likely that this pattern is at least sometimes:
<given name> Neyn <father's given name>
Examples that might be this pattern include:
For some such names, the following pattern would make more sense (though again, there isn't sufficient context to really tell if this is literal):
Examples that might be this pattern include:
A variation on <X neyn Y>, with a phonetic representation of a different pronunciation of the source Gaelic <inghean>.
So far, in cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> Nyc<father's MacZ byname without the Mac>
However, no examples have been found where the context makes it clear whether the father's <McZ> byname is the father's literal patronymic byname (and so corresponds to his Gaelic byname) or a Scots language inherited family surname. Based on the significance of the men's name patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ>, it is likely that in some names the father's byname is a literal patronymic and in others it is an inherited family surname.
"It" [Nic] "also appears in 1522 as Nek in NekLachlan." (Black, s.n. NIC)
So far, in cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> <father's byname>
(This is the same as the standard Lowland name pattern in the 16th century, e.g., Agnes Buchan is the daughter of Robert Buchan, etc.) Examples of this pattern:
These patterns are grouped because only by context can their different significances be distinguished.
In some cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> Mac<father's given name>
Examples of this pattern:
In other cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> <father's byname>
(This is the same as the standard Lowland name pattern in the 16th century, e.g., Johne Cuthbert is the son of George Cuthbert, etc.) Examples of this pattern:
Ambiguous examples:
Note that the last example above really is ambiguous -- the <McAne> in <Patrick McAne> may represent a literal patronymic, "son of Johne", or may represent a byname inherited from Johne McAne.
Note that the form of the name (whether father's given name or a more remote ancestor's) following <Mac> is usually consistent with a phonetic representation of how the Gaelic form of the given name would be pronounced after <mac> in a Gaelic byname, rather than just being the normal Scots language equivalent for that given name. See, for example, <Thomas McConquie>, son to <Duncane McLauchlin>, above.
So far for cases where sufficient useful context existed to determine the significance of the byname, the significance of the pattern turned out to be:
<given name> Mac<father's given name> <father's byname>
which can also be described as
<given name> Mac<father's full name>
However, no examples have been found where the context makes it clear whether the father's byname, when in the form <McZ>, is the father's literal patronymic byname (and so corresponds to his Gaelic byname) or a Scots language inherited family surname. Based on the significance of the men's name patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ>, it is likely that in some names the father's byname is a literal patronymic and in others it is an inherited family surname.
Note that there is some question how following <Mc> affects the form or spelling of the father’s given name in this name construction in Scots. It appears that, at least in some cases, the form of the father's given name is based on a phonetic representation of how his Gaelic given name would be pronounced after <mac> in a Gaelic byname -- much like the father's given name in the byname of women's names with the patterns <X neyn Y McZ> and <X neyn Y B> is based on a phonetic representation of how his Gaelic given name would be pronounced after <inghean> in a Gaelic byname -- rather than on the normal Scots language equivalent for that given name.
Similarly, there is some question whether the <Mc> found in the father’s byname after <Mac> is an abbreviation for <Mac> or for some representation of an underlying Gaelic genitive form of <Mac> (i.e., a Scots representation of Gaelic <mic> or <mhic>). <Mc> is consistently used in the father’s byname in the examples from the Inverness burgh court books and in parallelly constructed women's names (with the pattern <X neyn Y McZ>) from the same source.
{There are known examples, they just haven't been included here yet.}
So far in all examples of this pattern the first byname has been a Scots language phonetic rendering of a Gaelic descriptive adjective byname, which almost certainly represents a byname used in the Gaelic form of their name and so a personal rather than an inherited byname.
So far no examples have been found where there was sufficient context to confirm the signicance of the <MacY>, <MacZ>, or <MacO> of the second byname in this pattern. However, based on the significance in the men's name patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ>, it is likely that in some names the byname is a literal patronymic and in others it is an inherited family surname. So in some cases, the whole pattern would be:
<given name> <descriptive adjective byname> Mac<father's given name>
or
<given name> <descriptive adjective byname> Mac<father's occupation>
While in other cases, the whole pattern would be:
<given name> <descriptive adjective byname> <father's byname>
Ambiguous examples:
So far in all examples of this pattern the first byname <B> has been a Scots language phonetic rendering of a Gaelic descriptive adjective byname, which almost certainly represents a descriptive adjective byname used in the Gaelic form of their name and so a personal rather than an inherited byname.
So far no examples have been found where there was sufficient context to confirm the signicance of the <MacY> of the second byname in this pattern. However, based on the significance of the <MacY>, etc., in the men's name patterns <X MacY> and <X MacZ> and that so far all examples of <C> have been Scots language phonetic renderings of Gaelic descriptive adjective bynames, it is most likely that the <MacY> in this pattern normally represents a literal patronymic rather than an inherited byname.
So the whole pattern would be:
<given name> <descriptive adjective byname> Mac<father's given name> <father's descriptive adjective byname>
which can also be described as
<given name> <descriptive adjective byname> Mac<father's full name>
Examples of this pattern:
| Black | Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1993. Original edition, The New York Public Library, 1946. NYPublic Library 1999 hardback at Amazon.com - Birlinn 1996 hardback at Amazon.co.uk |
| Mackay | Mackay, William, and Herbert Cameron Boyd, eds. Records of Inverness, Volume I. Burgh Court Books: 1556-86. Publications of the New Spalding Club, vol. 38. Aberdeen: New Spalding Club, 1911. |
I would like to thank the members of The Academy of Saint Gabriel for their assistance with the preparation of this article, especially Kathleen O'Brien (who provided many of the quotes from Black). Any errors are my own and despite their best efforts!
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