De-Anglicisation of Names

[TatterDel]

Unfortunately, my knowledge of Welsh is rather limited. I only studied it briefly at school. I studied Irish, Scottish Gaelic (briefly), and Welsh (briefly).
Sláinte!

WOW! Where did you study? What school? How amazing to have such an opportunity!
I know there is a Gaelic school in Nova Scotia, Canada. They also have a number of music classes there, i.e. pipping, harp...
I would love to send my husband there some day. Maybe when I become independently wealthy (hey, a girl can dream).

Thank you again for so much help. I was wondering which dictionary you used?
I had found the words on http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/search.html using MacBain's and Mac Farlane's dictionaries as I do not own a book.
MacFarlane's said:
"aidmheil
nf. pl.+ean, faith, religion, confession
leabhar aidmheil a' chreidimh
the book of the Confession of faith"
Not quite what I was looking for. I meant spiritual belief-faith/ trusting in God- faith.
"miadh
nm.ind. honour, esteem, respect, demand
mòralachd
nf.ind. greatness, majesty, honour"
I guess I should have used miadh according to this.

"meanmna
nm. g.v. +idh, spirit, mettle, magnanimity, bravery, courage
misneach
nm. g.v. -ich, courage, fortitude, spirit"
But here, I was referring to the courage and fortitude of the spirit.

I hope that clarifies things for others following this thread. I'm still not sure how I should correct my signature so it reads better.

[Rob]

As for Leatherwood, is there any Welsh words (or celtic or gaelic) that may have been Anglicized that could have been miss-interpreted as Leatherwood?

There is a Welsh word "llethr", which means "steep", if that is any help, but I am not sure about the "wood" part of the name.

Rob

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Years ago I knew a gentleman named Gorski who was actually a Gordon. His family had settled in Danzig in the late 17th century whilst engaged in the Baltic fir trade, and had taken the name "Gorski" as an expedient to doing business with the Poles.

[bjproc]

hi slohairt, do you have anything for Alan (first name)


thanks

[highlander_Daz]

Its strange you say your parents were reluctant to speak the language, My Grandfather would get into serious trouble for speaking Scots Gaelic at school, and he also had a good command of Irish Gaelic, he would often use a word that sounded like

ALI - COO- SAH (ali as in ali baba, coo as in shoe, and sah as in bar) Ive no idea what it means but i suspect in maybe slang or profanity

can you shed any light?

[slohairt]

Its strange you say your parents were reluctant to speak the language, My Grandfather would get into serious trouble for speaking Scots Gaelic at school, and he also had a good command of Irish Gaelic, he would often use a word that sounded like

ALI - COO- SAH (ali as in ali baba, coo as in shoe, and sah as in bar) Ive no idea what it means but i suspect in maybe slang or profanity

can you shed any light?

Not so strange, really. A fairly common attitude in Ireland, especially among their age-group. They are very fluent Ulster dialect speakers and, in fact, my mother could not speaker English until she went to school. They were mainly reluctant to teach it to my sister and I, as they felt it would be of little use here in Canada. It was of little use to them in Ireland as well. Despite the numerous attempts to restore Irish as a practical language, English is, and will always be, the language of business and economic opportunity. We are from a Gaeltacht region, and those areas were especially deprived during the 1940s and 1950s. Once you left the Gaeltacht, you had to speak English 99% of the time.

As for your suspected Irish profanity: I'm not really sure. I can't think of any terms that would remotely resemble that in sound. I'd have to see it written.

[slohairt]

hi slohairt, do you have anything for Alan (first name)


thanks

Alan (or Allen, Allan, Alain, etc.) is a personal name which occurs in all six Celtic languages. Various etymologies abound, but many believe it means noble one.

The Scottish Gaelic version is Ailean.

[bjproc]

Alan (or Allen, Allan, Alain, etc.) is a personal name which occurs in all six Celtic languages. Various etymologies abound, but many believe it means noble one.

The Scottish Gaelic version is Ailean.

thanks solhairt, just now googling it

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

Hello Slohairt!

Great thread you have here! I was wondering if you could help me out? I always assumed that my mother's surname, Potts, was English. My uncle recently told me it was of Gealic origin. Could Potts be an anglicized version of MacFilib? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Slainte!
David

[slohairt]

Hello Slohairt!

Great thread you have here! I was wondering if you could help me out? I always assumed that my mother's surname, Potts, was English. My uncle recently told me it was of Gealic origin. Could Potts be an anglicized version of MacFilib? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Slainte!
David

A Dhaibhidh,

POTTS This name is of English etymological origin, derived from Philpott, a pet form (probably Norman) of Phillip. Of course, this could mean it is found in the Lowlands of Scotland as well as in England. However, etymologically speaking, it is not of Gaelic origin. Occasionally, Potts can also be an occupational name, much like Potter.

Mac Fhilib, means son of Phillip, and is usually Anglicised as MacKillop. I am often leery of sept lists which place names together of differing locale and linguistic origin. Just because they have a similar root (albeit from two different languages) does not mean they are connected.