De-Anglicisation of Names

[slohairt]

I have really enjoyed reading these post, I was wondering if you could tell me about my Great Great Grandfather's name which was Guilkey??

GUILKEY: Possibly English, cognitive with Wilky, a diminutive of William? William in French, of course, is Guillaume, and I suspect the Norman version was similar. That could explain the initial "G." A Gaelic translation/transliteration I guess could be Guilcidh (GWILL-KEE), or Mac Guilcidhe, if you prefer a patronymic.

[slohairt]

just a quick post to say how much I've enjoyed reading this thread....again! Thanks, Slohairt.

Bryan...Williams and Rose and Douillet and Atwood...

Dia Dhuit, Flyv65,

BRYAN: Ultimately of Gaelic origin; Brian (properly pronounced BREE-UN, not BRY-UN), this name can be from any Celtic or even Anglo-Saxon/Norman source. Hard to say, without knowing more. Ó Briain (IRISH), Mac Briain (IRISH & SCOTTISH GAELIC)

WILLIAMS: Ah, this is my wife's maiden name. Welsh, of course! From "Ap Gwilym" meaning "son of William."

ROSE: If this is the Scottish surname, it would be Ròsach (pronounced ROSE-AKH).

DOUILLET: French, meaning "snug" if I remember from school correctly? A Gaelic transliteration would be Duadh (pronounced DOO-AY).

ATWOOD: Anglo-Saxon, meaning one who lived at the woods. "Ag an Choille" would be a rough Gaelic translation. Not very pretty looking! Sorry!

[The Wizard of BC]

My last name "Ashton" is totally English. The family took the name From the midlands town of Ashton upon Tyne some time around 1780 prior to embarking for the colonies.

Which leads me to 1) Family left Scotland for some reason requiring a name change. 2) Arrived in the new world and settled in first NC, IN and finally IL. 3) I left the US and moved to Canada. 4) My line has been kicked out of virtually everywhere.

So can you come up with a Scottish sounding name meaning "A town with an Ash tree"?

[MacHummel]

How about Hummel ?

[slohairt]

How about Hummel ?

Dia Dhuit, MacHummel,

Hummel is German, right? Topographical? If so, it could be rendered "de Humal."
The prefix "de" was almost always applied to foreign names in Gaelic Ireland. It means "of" or "from" just as it does in French.

However...the "h" sound disappears when said quickly so maybe we should stick to the Mac prefix and make it a pseudo-patronymic: Mac Humail.

P.S. I went to school with some Hummels in the Clinton (Huron County) area. Are you related to them?

[MacHummel]

I might be I have meet many Hummels in my day.

[MysticMead]

if you feel up to it...

West or Billingsley

[slohairt]

if you feel up to it...

West or Billingsley

Dia Dhuit, Mystic Mead,

Billingsley: As in Barbara Billingsley? Definitely Anglo-Saxon and topographical in origin. Ley (or Leigh) means "field" or "meadow." So, we have Billing's Field. (Whoever Billing was). A Gaelic transliteration would be de Billínslidh (pronounced DE BILL-EENS-LEE).

West: Obvious meaning, "one who is from the West." Iarthar (pronounced EE-UR-HAR) is the Irish word for "west." Iartharach (EE-UR-HAR-AKH) means "westerner." Two pseudo-patronymic could be created: Mac an tIarthair meaning "son of the West" (MAC AN TEE-UR-HER), or Mac an tIartharaigh "son of the westerner" (MAC AN TEE-UR-HAR-EE).

[The Wizard of BC]

It's been a lot of fun reading through this thread. Thank you.

And just because no one has brought it up we have an X Marks Clan motto that needs turning into something that is a transliteration to Gaelic.

Give this a go

"By Choice, Not Blood".

or simply

"By Choice".

[slohairt]

It's been a lot of fun reading through this thread. Thank you.

And just because no one has brought it up we have an X Marks Clan motto that needs turning into something that is a transliteration to Gaelic.

Give this a go

"By Choice, Not Blood".

or simply

"By Choice".

In my opinion, a Gaelic translation (both Irish and Scottish) would be "Leis an dTogha, Chan Fuil" (pronounced LESH AN DOY-A KHAN FWIL) or simply, "Leis an dTogha."