De-Anglicisation of Names

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit!

I wasn't sure which forum to stick this in, so I decided it be would Heraldry. The following is a repeat of something I posted a few days ago and forgot to respond!

This goes out to all kilties: When I was in school, one area I excelled at was "de-Anglicisation" (a term affectionately coined by one of my professors) meaning I'm good at taking modern-day anglicised Celtic names & surnames and reverting them to their original form. At one time I used to do this for a heraldry company. Given alternate spellings and such, it can sometimes be difficult. My own last name is anglicised as O'Hart, O'Harte, O'Hairt, Hart, and Harte. So, if anyone wants to know the original form of their name, post it, and I'll give it a try for fun. Even if it isn't Celtic I could tell you a "gaelicised" version - i.e. "Fisher" = Mac an Iascaire!

So here is what you've given me so far:

Thank for giving me the hard one first!

WAGES Hmm, that's a tricky one. As for its origins in Wallace, who knows? Wallace itself, however, is not a Gaelic name. The Lowland surname Wallace comes from the Anglo-Saxon Wealisc meaning foreign. (Incidentally, this is where the word Wales comes from!) The surname indicates the ethnic origin of its bearer. The early Anglo-Saxon settlers in the Lowlands would have used it to refer to the ancient Strathclyde Britons. The Gaelic equivalent would be Breathnach (pronounced BRAN-AKH) meaning Briton.

DAVIS Davis (also Davies) is one of the most common names in Wales. (McClef could testify to this for sure!) It means son of David and would be Ap Dafydd (pronounced AP DAV-ITH) in Welsh. (Ap corresponds to Mac) So, the Gaelic version would be Mac Daibhidh (pronounced MAC DAV-EE), which is the Gaelic form of the Scottish surname Davidson, though of course, no connection. Mac Daibh as you wrote, was probably a misspelling somewhere of Mac Daidh. Daidh (pronounced DAY or DYE) is a pet form of Daibhidh.
P.S. Gordon is Gòrdanach (pronounced GORD-AN-AKH)

BUNT Hmm. Could be Cornish (that's a little out of my area, though). A Gaelic rendering would be de Bunnt (IRISH) or Bunnd (SCOTTISH GAELIC). You might want to look up Bond, too. They're probably the same name.

GRAHAM Ah, this is my paternal grandmother's maiden name! It's origins are widely disputed. Some say its Pictish, some say it's from the Anglo-Saxon Grantham...who knows? Whatever the origin, the Gaelic form is Gréamach (IRISH) and Greumach (SCOTTISH GAELIC). Both are pronounced GRAEM-AKH.

A Ghréamaigh (Irish) or A Ghreumaich (Scottish Gaelic) is how you address someone in Gaelic. Basically, it goes like this: "A" is placed before the name and if the name begins with the letters B, C, D, F, G, M, P, S, or T, then an "h" is placed after, thus changing the sound. This is called lenition. Lastly, the name is put into the possessive form (often by adding an "i" before the lact consonant)

Examples:
Seán (John)=A Sheáin (pronounced A HyAWN)
Séamas (James)=A Shéamais (pronounced A HAMISH)
Tomás (Thomas)=A Thomáis (pronounced A HOM-ISH)
Mícheál (Michael)=A Mhíchíl (pronounced A VEE-HyILL)