A formal Gaelic language name consists of a given name and a surname. First names are either native or nativized (i.e. borrowed and made to fit the Gaelic sound system). Surnames are generally patronymic, i.e. they refer to a historical ancestor. The form of a surname varies according to whether its bearer is male (e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacDhòmhnaill "MacDonald") or female (e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: NicDhòmhnaill "MacDonald") though for some surnames the adjectival form of a name such as Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnallach (adjectival form of MacDonald) can be used for both men and women. However, when used in the female form the first letter is lenited (if possible).
Gaelic first names chiefly hail from 5 linguistic layers, Goidelic and 4 others, coinciding with the main languages of contact: Latin, Norse, Anglo-Norman and Scots.[1] Unusually, male first names outnumber female first names by about a factor of 2:1.[2]
This layer can be broadly split into three main types:[1]
The first two categories were no longer productive for the most part towards the end of the Old Irish period but the last type persisted, reinforced by the coinage of ecclesiastical names following Christianization.[1]
Quite a number of names still common hail from the period of Norse contact:[1] [2]
Names from this layer include:[1] [2]
Scots names which have been borrowed into Gaelic include:[1] [2]
Names which were borrowed from Latin include:[2]
A fair number of Gaelic names were borrowed into English or Scots at different periods (e.g. Kenneth, Duncan, Donald, Malcolm, Calum, Lachlan, Alasdair, Iain, Eilidh), although it can sometimes be difficult to tell if the donor language was Irish or Scottish Gaelic (e.g. Deirdre, Rory, Kennedy, Bridget/Bride, Aiden). On occasion, the same name was borrowed more than once due to misinterpretation of Gaelic morphology. For example, the names Hamish and Mhairi are derived from Gaelic Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Seumas in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈʃeːməs̪/ and Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Màiri in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈmaːɾʲɪ/ but rather than borrowing the root forms, the English/Scots forms are based on the Gaelic vocative case forms Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Sheumais in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈheːmɪʃ/ and Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Mhàiri in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈvaːɾʲɪ/.
Some names which did not acquire currency outside the Gaelic-speaking world were roughly transliterated into English, such as Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Gorm(sh)uil which is often rendered as "Gormelia".
Others with no cognate were often equated with English/Scots names which bore some similarity to the Gaelic name in order to obtain "English equivalents". This includes Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Oighrig which was equated with Euphemia or Henrietta, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dìorbhail with Dorothy, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Beathag with Rebecca or Sophie.
The majority of Gaelic surnames in the Highlands and western parts are patronymic in nature and of Goidelic extraction, although epithets, geography or occupation and borrowings also occur in some surnames.[1] However, many surnames are derived from topographical features or place names, Such surnames include Caddenhead/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Cionnchadach, Cadell/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Cadalach, Cleghorne/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Clagarnach, Dalzell/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dailghileach, Dalrimple/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ruimpealach, Elphin/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ailbhinneach, Inverbervie/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Biorbhach, Kelty/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Cailtidheach, Learmonth/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Learmonadhach, Ochiltree/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ochailtreabhach and many more.
Campbell/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Caimbeul "crooked mouth" and Cameron/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Camshron "crooked nose" are two examples of surnames based on epithets, while Fraser/Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Frisealach is an example of a borrowing (from Anglo-French Fresel).[1]
The usage of patronymic surnames was much more varied than is generally assumed. Historically, clan surnames were used by the descendants or dependants of an ancestor but not generally by everyone in the clan territory.[1] Only with the advent of a non-Gaelic speaking administration were clan surnames applied en-masse to people in a clan's territory.[1]
Patronymic surnames for men feature either the word Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: mac "son" (e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacDhòmhnaill, lit. son of Donald) or the nominalizing suffix (e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnallach). In the case of women, the word is used, a shortening of the full phrase "daughter of the son of").[3] Various other morphological changes (such as lenition or slenderization) may apply in Gaelic, so the surname MacDonald for example may appear as Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacDhòmhnaill, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MhacDhòmhnaill, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MhicDhòmhnaill, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: NicDhòmhnaill depending on the grammatical context.
In Classical Gaelic culture, clans could also feature the word Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ua (alt. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ó) "grandchild, descendant" (spelled ogha /pronounced as /oə// in Modern Gaelic), e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ua Dhuibhne "Duibhne's descendant", the original surname of the Campbells (Duibhne was a Celtic goddess). In speaking, ua/ó in names became reduced to [ə], as happened also in Northern Irish and Manx, and disappeared from Anglicised forms. With the break-up of Classical Gaelic culture, ua/ó disappeared from Scottish surnames, sometimes replaced by Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: mac.
As a result of misspellings, one Gaelic surname often corresponds to numerous English/Scots forms, e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacDhonnchaidh "son of Duncan" may appear as: Donagh(y), Donnagh, Dono(u)gh, MacConachie, MacConachy, MacConaghy, MacConchy, MacConechie, MacConkey, MacConnachie, MacConnechie, MacConnichie, MacConochie, MacConoughy, MacDona, MacDonachie, MacDonachy, MacDonaghy, MacDonaugh, MacDonnach, MacDonnagh, MacDonnoghie, MacDonogh, MacDonoghue, MacDonough, MacDunphy, MacKonochie, MacOnachie, MacOnechy, MacOnochie, Donohue or Donohoe (ignoring the Mac/Mc variation).
Scottish Gaelic does not put a space between the Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Mac/Nic and the second element, whereas in Irish, there is a space:[4] [5]
| Scots Gaelic | Irish | English/Scots |
|---|---|---|
| Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacAonghais | Irish: Mac Aonghasa | MacInnes et al. |
| Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacDhòmhnaill | Irish: Mac Domhnaill | MacDonald et al. |
| Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacEòghainn | Irish: Mac Eoghain | MacEwen et al. |
| Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: MacMhàrtainn | Irish: Mac Máirtín | MacMartin et al. |
Nicknames (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: far-ainm, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: frith-ainm) in Gaelic operate similarly to those in other languages and usually indicate a physical characteristic, an occupation, a location or an incident the person is associated and so forth.[6]
Some examples
Due to the relative paucity of names and surnames in Gaelic, the official name of a person (i.e. first name plus a surname, in Gaelic or English/Scots) is rarely used in Gaelic speaking communities as, with a small number of surnames usually predominating in an area, there are usually several people who go by the same combination, for example John MacLeod might apply to several people in the same village.[1] [6] In everyday life, this is usually solved by using the first name of a man, followed by the first name of his father in the genitive case or by using the first name plus an epithet.[6] So a man called James (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Seumas) with a father called Neil (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Niall) would become Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Seumas Nèill or Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Seumas a' Ghlinne ("James of the glen").[6] In the case of married women, the convention is normally to use Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: bean ("wife") plus the husband's first name and father's first name, in our example resulting in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Bean Sheumais Nèill ("the wife of Neil's James"). The (fictitious) family tree below illustrates this custom.
Historically, such an identifying name would take the Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: mac "son" element, e.g. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall mac Sheumais mac Nèill ("Donald son of James son of Neill") but in modern usage, this is usually dropped, resulting in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall Sheumais Nèill.[1]
Identifying names sometimes use female reference points, for example if a local woman marries an outsider, this may result in the children being identified via the mother. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall Chiorstan ("Kirsten's Donald") for instance would indicate a son called Donald with a mother called Kirsten.[14]