De-Anglicisation of Names

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit!

Hume: There probably still is a legitimate connection to the MacDuffs. It may be a matter of intermarriage with Danes or adoption of a separate name. Who knows? Your point about Danes being referred to as "dark" is certainly valid. Dubhghall, for instance, means "dark foreigner" and referred specifically to someone of Danish ancestry. Conversely, those of Norwegian origin were referred to as "fair." THus, Fionnghall would mean "fair foreigner."

Wemyss: Wymss is anglicised from Uamhais, which means "at the cave." It would really have been pronounced OO-AV-ISH or OO-OW-ISH but was likely rendered this way by an Anglophone scribe.

OK, the next list (which was kinda long...)

Stringer: I'm stumped, to tell you the truth. My guess would be English. A Gaelic transliteration would Stringéir (STRING-YAIR)

Keith: From Old Brythonic "coed" meaning "woods." This was later Gaelicised as Caith (pronounced KAY).

Teasley: Probably English. The last part is probably from leigh, Anglo-Saxon for "meadow" or "field." A Gaelic transliteration would be de Tíoslaidh (DE TEES-LAY)

Boyer: Probably English, and likely derived from Bowyer=bowmaker. A Gaelic translation would be Mac an Boghaire (MAC AN BOY-ER-EE) "son of the bowmaker."

Cole: If English, this is a diminutive of Nicholas. If Irish, it is anglicised from Mac Giolla Chomhghaill (MAC GILL-A COLE) meaning "son of the servant of St. Comhghall."

Lane: If English, the meaning is just as it appears, someone who lived by a lane. If Irish, it is anglicised from Ó Laighin (OH LY-IN) "descended from Laighean." Laighean was a personal name meaning spear. See Lyons from a previous post.

Rathburn: This name is really a combination of Gaelic and Lallans. The first element is from the Gaelic "rath", a circular fort. The second is the Lallans word for stream. So, it could be interpreted as "one who lived at the circle fort at the stream(?)."

Whew! I have noticed that a number of people are posting names which are most certainly English (or other). While I can decipher many of these, it is certainly not my area of expertise. I studied the etymology of Celtic names, not Germanic or Romance (via Norman-French). But I will still try!

[gilmore]

Dia Dhuit!
Boyer: Probably English, and likely derived from Bowyer=bowmaker. A Gaelic translation would be Mac an Boghaire (MAC AN BOY-ER-EE) "son of the bowmaker."

It is a French occupational name, literally means "archer," they served as something like policemen in medieval and Renaissance France.

[Bill]

Thanks very much for your previous answers and the hard work you are putting in here on our behalf.

I have one more for you it is my wife's maiden name which is Holland. It is known that the Hollands came from Ireland but it is not known from what part. I thought that if the entomology were known that the information might give us some clue as to where.

A tremendously BIG THANK-YOU!

Bill

[slohairt]

If pronounced BOY-YAY, and of French/Norman-French origin, than yes I would say this is the etymology. If looking at an English source I would still say Bowyer "bowmaker." The French word for archer IS archer, though pronounced ARR-SHAY.

And now, a note on what I actually meant by De-Anglicisation of names.

The first nations the English/Normans/Anglo-Normans (whatever you choose to call them) decided to conquer were the Celtic nations. At first, the invaders were generally assimilated into the native population. This was particularly true in Ireland which lead to the phrase "More Irish than the Irish themselves" regarding the Normans who lived there. This was not quite the case in Scotland. While Gaelic was, for a time, the primary language of Scotland, it quickly gave way to Anglic languages and was pushed northwest to the Highland line. The Lowlanders and Highlanders largely regarded each other as separate people. This did not mean that they didn't influence each other. It does, however, mean that Scottish Gaelic was under pressure and in decline before Scotland was even part of the U.K.

In time, these Celtic lands were eventually conquered completely. (Scotland, many would say, technically wasn't. It joined England/Wales through the Act of Union in 1707. I won't bother debating this point as it will inevitably open a HUGE can of worms!) Naturally, the conquerors demanded that the conquered learn their language and adopt their customs. Such is almost always the case in human history. For the natives, there was also a practical need to learn English. Thus, some chose to anglicise their names to assimilate, while others had their name forcibly changed. This was a systematic attempt to destroy a culture. I'm not blaming anyone today, nor am I deliberately trying to make a politically charged statement. It's a simple fact of history, I'm afraid.

So, when I meant De-Anglicisation, I meant taking a name that had its roots based in the Gaelic language (whether Irish or Scottish, or even Manx) and reverting it to its original form, bypassing the myriad of anglicisations and mispellings that later occurred. This would also include names which, although not originally Gaelic in origin, were well established (and assimilated) during the Gaelic period of these nations. The Gaelic badge was cultural not ethnic, and once someone was assimilated into their culture he or she was considered one of them. This was especially true of the Norse and Normans.

To a lesser extent, I studied the effect of Anglicisation on Cornish and Welsh naming practices, as well as the Gallicisation(?) of Breton names. Unfortunately, there is much less written about this than there is on the Gaelic languages.

I'm happy with the response I've gotten from this thread and I'm glad that what I have learned has been of use to others. Whatever one may think, wearing the kilt is a promotion of Gaelic culture to some extent, and it would benefit us all to learn something of that culture in case it disappears forever.

So, enough with the soapbox. Bring on more names!

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit, A Bill!

Holland: Yes, Holland is Irish. It also has nothing to do with the Netherlands!
It is an anglicisation of Ó hAoláin (OH HAIL-AWN) meaning "descended from Aolán." Aolán is a corruption of Faolán which means "little wolf" and would denote someone who is cunning. Occasionally it was anglicised as (O')Whelan, though this particular anglicisation usually refers to the name Ó Faoláin.

Other anglicisations include: O'He(a)lane, O'Hayllane, O'Hil(l)ane, O'Hylane, O'Heolane, O'Hoolan, O'Holane, O'Hollan(d), Heelan, Helen, Hillan(e), Holan, H(e)yland, Hiland, and Holand.

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit Arís!

This is something else I should have wrote about awhile back. The Gaelic surname system reflects the gender of the bearer. This is much like Icelandic names, except they do not change with each succeeding generation.

The modern anglicised forms of Gaelic names represent only the male form. Gaelic surnames in their original form identify whether the bearer is a man, a single woman, or a married woman.

Example 1:
O'Donnell (anglicisation)
Ó Dónaill (male form) OH DOAN-ILL
Ní Dhónaill (female unmarried form) NEE GOAN-ILL
Uí Dhónaill (female married form) EE GOAN-ILL

Example 2:
MacMahon (anglicisation)
Mac Mathúna (male form) MAC MA-HOON-A
Nic Mhathúna (female unmarried form) NICK VA-HOON-A
Mhic Mhathúna (female married form) VICK VA-HOON-A

This system does not apply to Gaelic names that are not patronymics.

Hope this is interesting, especially for our female posters.

[macwilkin]

Gents,

Before this turns "personal", I would remind you of one of the forum rules:

Please try to be courteous to all members. Please treat others as you would like to be treated (unless you are a masochist, then treat all others as you would treat your Mom).

Civil discourse is one thing. Let's all step back and take a breather, please, or else the thread will be off to the penalty box.

Regards,

Todd

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit!

If anyone is still interested in this topic, please feel free to PM me. I cannot guarantee I will respond immediately but I will do my best. I DO promise that I will treat you with the dignity and courtesy you deserve as a fellow forum member. I enjoy the special sense of community Xmarksthescot provides and do not want to see it sullied by cynicism and personal attacks.

Go raibh maith agat (thank-you)

P.S. Americans are some of the finest and most intelligent people I have met and deserve greater credit than they have been given here. Disparaging your fellow citizens within your own country is one thing, disparaging them to a foreigner such as myself within an international arena is shameful.

[gilmore]

Dia Dhuit, A Bill!

Holland: Yes, Holland is Irish. It also has nothing to do with the Netherlands!
It is an anglicisation of Ó hAoláin (OH HAIL-AWN) meaning "descended from Aolán." Aolán is a corruption of Faolán which means "little wolf" and would denote someone who is cunning. Occasionally it was anglicised as (O')Whelan, though this particular anglicisation usually refers to the name Ó Faoláin.

Other anglicisations include: O'He(a)lane, O'Hayllane, O'Hil(l)ane, O'Hylane, O'Heolane, O'Hoolan, O'Holane, O'Hollan(d), Heelan, Helen, Hillan(e), Holan, H(e)yland, Hiland, and Holand.

If you are of British descent and named Holland, it is far more likely that your patrilineal ancestors are of English origin than Irish. It is a surname of place name origin, likely from one of 3 location there in Essex, Lincolnshire and Lancashire. In 1881 most Hollands were in the English midlands. http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLn...y=GB&type=name

If you really want to know who your ancestors actually were, rather than who you would prefer them to have been, there really is no substitute for the laborious process of tracing them backward in time, one generation at a time, as did my Holland cousins.

[slohairt]

Before I decide to stop posting on this thread, I wish to reiterate something: The point of this thread was to provide the etymology of anglicised names of Gaelic origin.

British origin? What exactly is that? Technically speaking, there are no British people (unless you consider the ancient Britons). As a citizen of the sovereign Irish Republic (and given its turbulent history), I find your insinuation and equation of British and Irish to be borderline offensive. I can assure you, my other 4 000 000 countrymen would agree. Irish is as different to English as Russian to Italian.

Concerning Bill's post, you seem to conveniently forget that he stated his Holland ancestors came from Ireland. Why would you then suggest that his ancestors came from the English midlands? That makes little to no sense. There exists the slim possibility that they were English "planters" but the odds are against that. What he asked were the Irish origins of the name Holland, not the prevalence of an English surname of the same spelling!

As I stated before (and apparently must state again) in a previous post, I am simply informing people of the original Gaelic spelling of their name if one exists. For example, if your name is Smith, and you are descended from people from Ireland, there is a strong chance that your name is translated from Mac Gabhann. Is it possible it is from the English Smith? Possibly, but probably not.

If a Gaelic origin does not exist for a poster's name, I simply provide a transliteration or translation for amusement's sake. Nothing more. I am not trying to track down peoples ancestors. It would take more than your humble scribe and/or an English county search engine.

After writing this, I have changed my mind. All of this talk of ire(land) has indeed got my ire up. I undertook this thread for amusement and it is now far from amusing. I do not need to be insulted and refuted at every corner, so I will simply stop posting here.

Tá brón orm, mo charaí.