De-Anglicisation of Names

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit, mo charaí!

Sorry I didn't answer all day, but life outside the X called!

I see much has gone on since I last checked. Let's begin.

RICH Yes, I believe that Rich could be a shortened form of (M(a)c)Ritchie, son of Richie = pet form of Richard. I don't know what the original Scottish Gaelic form of Richie was, but I do know that the Scottish Gaelic form of Richard is Ruiseart. So, perhaps the name is Mac Ruiseirt (the spelling has changed to signify possession). Pronounced MAC RISH-ERT. This is just an assumption on my part, but Richie could have possibly been rendered Ruisidh thus making Mac Ruisidh (pronounced MAC RISH-EE)

WALKER This again! Ah, my friend you misunderstood what I meant. I meant the etymology of the name Walker/Waulker itself is Lallans (i.e. Anglic) not the bearers who would be of varying origins. Many Highland clans have names which have no basis in the Gaelic language. Gunn, MacLeod, and Lamont come to mind. In fact, their progenitors were Norse! Does this mean that they are not full-blown Gaelic clans? Of course, they are! To suggest otherwise would be to tell a Fitzgerald or a Burke that he is not Irish!

CAIG I will assume this is the Scottish name. In which, the original Scottish Gaelic form could be one of two possibilities: Mac Caog (pronounced MAC CAYG) son of the conniving one? (probably an unlikely etymology) or Mac Thaidhg (pronounced MAC CAYG), son of Tadhg a personal name meaning poet.

HUME From everything I have read this name was interchangeable with Home. Indeed, this was the usual spelling until the Scottish philosopher David Home changed his name to Hume. It is of Norse origin, from holmr meaning island or water meadow. This is the same origin of the English surname Holmes. Uamh, the Gaelic word for cave is pronounced OO-AV or OO-AW (depending upon which dialect is used). The letter "h" at the beginning is a somewhat unique characteristic of the Gaelic languages. "H" is really considered an accent and not a letter. The "h-" is placed at the beginning of Uamh because it begins with a vowel and the word preceding it ended in one.

OREN Hmm... The only thing that comes to mind is the Gaelic name Odhrán (pronounced OI-eR-AWN) meaning pale green. St. Odhrán was the patron saint of Port Láirge (Waterford) in Ireland. So, perhaps it was Gaelic after all, and spelled: Mac Odhráin?

MACPHEE Not quite as simple as it looks! MacPhee (also, M(a)cFie) can be one of these two Gaelic surnames: Mac a' Phì = son of the ? (pronounced MAC A FEE) or Mac Dhuibhshith (MAC IV-HEE) meaning son of the dark faerie.

GILMORE/MORRISON Gilmore and Morrison and its variant anglicisations represent a small number of unrelated Gaelic names both Irish and Scottish. Gilmore is an anglicisiation of Mac Giolla Muire (IRISH) or Mac Gille Muire (SCOTTISH GAELIC). Both are roughly pronounced MAC GILL-A MWER-A. The name means son of the servant of the Virgin Mary.
Morrison was used by the Clann Mhic Ghille Mhoire of Lewis. This was done because of the similarity of sound between Moire and Morr-. The -son suffix, of course, is just a translation of mac.
Also, Morrison can represent the Scottish Gaelic name Mac Mòirein (pronounced MAC MORE-IN) son of Mòirean = great one?
Confusing? So, if you are Scottish, and your name is Gilmore, chances are it was Mac Gille Muire.

STEEVES/STIEFF I read some of what you wrote earlier about your name. A Gaelic transliteration would be Stiabhas (pronounced STEE-UV-US) or Stiabh (pronounced STEE-UV)

PROSSER Yes, it is Welsh. Originally it was Ap Rhosier meaning son of Roger. A Gaelic translation would be Mac Roistir (pronounced MAC ROSH-CHER). When Welsh names were anglicised the "p" from "ap" was often merged with the root. From this, we get names like Probert (Ap Rhobert), Price (Ap Rhŷs), or Pritchard (Ap Rhisiart).