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| Last updated 3 May 2007 | ©1996-2006 by Sharon L. Krossa. All rights reserved. |
Here are some names articles, lists, and resources prepared by myself and others. Some of them are specifically prepared for people involved in historical re-creation or re-enactment, such those involved with Renaisance Fairs or the SCA.
If you are trying to recreate a medieval Scottish name, be aware that medieval Scotland never had a single common vernacular language or culture in the Middle Ages, and that names are very dependent on language and culture. (Medieval Scottish names didn't mix and match freely from different languages and cultures -- not even from different Scottish languages and cultures -- as people do modernly.) For more information on the complexities of names in Scotland, see Scottish Names 101.
Articles hosted by this website can be searched.
Please get the permission of the appropriate author before redistributing any of these files!
Index to This Page:
Scottish Names 101 (Draft 3rd Edition)
by Sharon L. Krossa
An introduction to basic Scottish naming concepts. This is a partially revised edition, now more useful than the 2nd edition. (Text in black has been revised. Text in grey is still awaiting further revision and may be in error.)
Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (3rd Edition)
by Sharon L. Krossa
The purpose of this article is to explain how to form the most common styles of Irish and Scottish Gaelic name & byname. (Keep in mind that not all Irish and Scots were Gaels, and so a Gaelic name & byname would not be appropriate for all Irish and Scottish personas/characters.)
A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names by Sharon L. Krossa
The information in this guide is taken from the 12th century Gaelic Notes in the Book of Deer. It includes lists of the given names of a number of men and a few women who lived in Scotland, primarily in the north east of Scotland, in the 11th and early 12th centuries. This guide will show you how to construct a "typical" Scottish Gaelic name of this period. However, not all 12th century Scots were Gaels, and thus a Scottish Gaelic name would not be appropriate for all Scottish personas/characters of this period.
Scottish Gaelic Given Names (Draft in Progress Edition)
by Sharon L. Krossa
This is the beginnings of an article on given names used by Scottish Gaelic women and men before 1600. At the moment it is mainly just quotes of evidence for various names, with little or no interpretation. This article should be used with caution and only after reading the cautions and disclaimers at the start of the article and the introduction. Note that the information in this article will be changing often as more is added and corrected.
Historical Name Generator: Sixteenth Century
Irish and Scottish Gaelic Names
by Sharon L. Krossa
This is a simple historical name generator suitable for selecting a Gaelic language name for a 16th century character or persona who is an Irish or Scottish Gael. No knowledge of Gaelic grammar is necessary — the generator takes care of everything automatically! It now includes links to specific documentation for each name and, for many names, pronunciation guides.
Medieval Gaelic Clan, Household, and Other Group Names (Draft Edition)
by Sharon L. Krossa
Basic information about the construction of names of medieval Gaelic clans and households.
Lenition in Gaelic Naming Step by Step
by Sharon L. Krossa
Resource for when grammatical lenition occurs in Gaelic names and how lenited consonants are spelled and pronounced in Gaelic in different periods.
Scots Language Names of Gaels in the Sixteenth Century
by Sharon L. Krossa
Discussion of various different forms of names used for Gaels in Scots language contexts in the 16th century, which were often quite different from their names in Gaelic.
Names from Papers Relating to the Murder of the Laird of Calder
by Gretchen Beck (at her website)
This article contains names taken from Scots language documents
dating from 1591-6 concerning the murder of the Laird of Calder. Many of those named were Gaels (Gaelic speaking Highlanders). Note that the Scots language names of Gaels, such as those in this article, were different -- sometimes very different -- from their Gaelic names.
Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names by Sharon L. Krossa
These given names and surnames are appropriate for early 16th century, Scots-speaking Lowlanders, based on data from the town of Aberdeen from 1500-1550. They are not appropriate for Gaelic-speaking Highlanders! (This article supersedes an earlier article "Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names", which has been removed.)
Names of Women Mentioned in the Perth Guildry Book 1464-1598
by Sara L. Friedemann
at Sara L. Friedemann's web site's A Small Collection of Medieval Onomastic Articles
These given names and surnames are appropriate for late 15th and 16th century, Scots-speaking Lowlanders, based on data from the town of Perth from 1464-1598. They are not appropriate for Gaelic-speaking Highlanders!
A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records by Brian Scott
at the Medieval Names Archive web site
This lists many but not all of the medieval women's personal names in Black's The Surnames of Scotland. The names come from several Scottish cultures, including but not limited to Scoto-Norman, Lowland Scots and (a very few) Gaelic. Be warned, however, that the list does not indicate which names come from which naming culture, nor does it indicate in which language the documents from which the names were extracted were written. It does, though, indicate where to find the names in Black, so that further information may be traced.
13th & 14th Century Scottish Names
by Bryan J. Maloney
at the Medieval Names Archive web site
This lists the personal names and designations of the individuals mentioned in Barbour's epic, The Bruce, which was written in Scots and dates from circa 1376. It therefore gives the late 14th century Scots forms and spellings of late 13th and early 14th century names from several Scottish naming cultures, including Scoto-Norman and (a very few) Gaelic, and from several non-Scottish naming cultures, including English. Be warned, however, that the list does not indicate which names come from which naming culture. These names are mainly those of noble men. Although some of the comments in the article are sound and accurate, some of are not. Approach with caution.
In the early Middle Ages the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) were inhabited by Picts (see Pictish Names), but by the late 10th century they had been settled by the Norse (see Norse Names). Although the Northern Isles were not acquired by Scotland (from Denmark) until 1468-9, the Scots language and Lowland influences arrived earlier, in the late 14th century, via the Scottish Sinclair Earls of Orkney. However, Norn (the local dialect/language descended from Norse) continued to be spoken in the Northern Isles into the 17th century. (Note that the Northern Isles were never Gaelic speaking.)
Names from the Shetland Isles
by Sara L. Friedemann
at Sara L. Friedemann's web site's A Small Collection of Medieval Onomastic Articles
These given names and bynames, apparently recorded in Scots language documents, date to 1602-4 and are appropriate for late 16th century Shetlanders. They are not appropriate for Gaelic-speaking Highlanders!
A Consideration Of Pictish Names by Heather Rose Jones
at the HeatherRoseJones.com web site
A comprehensive look at what is known about Pictish names. The Picts were mainly in the north and later northeast of what is now Scotland but essentially disappeared from record after the Pictish and Scottish kingdoms merged over the course of the 9th and 10th centuries.
In the early Middle Ages several kingdoms in the south and southwest of what would later become Scotland, such as Gododdin, Strathclyde, and Rheged, spoke Cumbric, a Brythonic language closely related to Old Welsh.
Names of Women of the Brythonic North in the 5-7th Centuries
by Heather Rose Jones
at the HeatherRoseJones.com web site
Names of Cumbric-speaking women from what is now northern England and southern Scotland.
The First Thousand Years of British Names
by Heather Rose Jones
at the HeatherRoseJones.com web site
Although the Old Welsh names are taken mainly from sources from southern Britain, because of the linguistic and cultural similarities between Brythonic-speaking cultures, many of these Old Welsh names are probably also suitable for early medieval Cumbric speakers from northern Britain.
People identified as "Egyptians" first appeared in Scotland (in the Lowlands) in the early 16th century.
The Irish Names section of the Irish and Manx Names article index at the Medieval Names Archive
web site
Note that although Ireland has many similarities to Scotland with regard to languages and cultural influences, its particular history is different enough that Irish names (without more direct Scottish evidence) are not a reliable guide to Scottish practice beyond the very early Middle Ages.
The Manx Names section of the Irish and Manx Names article index at the Medieval Names Archive
web site
Note that although Man has many similarities to Ireland and Scotland with regard to languages and cultural influences, its particular history is different enough that Manx names (without more direct Scottish or Irish evidence) are not a reliable guide to either Irish or Scottish practice.
A Brief, Incomplete, and Rather Stopgap Article about European Household and Other Group Names Before 1600 by Sharon L. Krossa
The kinds of names used for organized groups of people in the Middle Ages and early Early Modern period varied hugely depending not only on the kind of group (household, ruling noble family/dynasty, craft guild, military unit, etc.) but also on the specific time period, culture, and language. Naming patterns used in one time and culture were not necessarily also used in another time and culture, and within the same time, culture, and language, naming patterns used for one kind of group were not necessarily also used for another kind of group. This article seeks to provide at least a brief discussion, with relevant evidence, of some naming patterns known to be used for some organized groups of people within some specific times, cultures, and languages within Europe before 1600. Where a more comprehensive article is known to exist, whether for a naming pattern, time, culture, and/or language, that article is linked to from the article in lieu of any discussion.
Medieval Gaelic Clan, Household, and Other Group Names (Draft Edition) by Sharon L. Krossa
Basic information about the construction of names of medieval Gaelic clans and households.
Problem Names Project
The articles in the Problem Names Project discuss various names and
naming practices about which there are common misconceptions concerning
their use in the Middle Ages or Renaissance. For example, some names and
naming practices that many people today believe to be medieval are
purely modern. Other names and naming practices which were used in one
medieval culture are now mistakenly believed to have been used in
others. Other common misconceptions concern the medieval pronunciation
of a name or whether it was used by men or women in the Middle Ages. If
there are common misconceptions about any aspect of the pre-1600 use of a
name or naming practice, it may be a "Problem Name".
The Tale of Tangwystyl, or It's Your Name and You Can Change If You Want To
at the HeatherRoseJones.com web site
by Heather Rose Jones
Real life (or should that be Society life?) example demonstrating that you can change your SCA name, even after long use, many awards, and even Known Worlde wide fame.
CENU:
The Campaign to End Name Uniqueness (One Blanket Permission to Conflict At a Time)
by Sharon L. Krossa
A practical, step-by-step plan for how to end the name uniqueness requirement in SCA names registration, including what you can do right now to help bring it about.
SCA Conflict Clearing for Highland Names
by Sharon L. Krossa
How to clear SCA conflict while keeping a name both medieval and Highland by adding historically plausible elements to Highland names.
These articles explain what information needs to be included with a name submission to the SCA College of Arms. Note that the same information is needed both on/with the submission form and on the Letter of Intent (LoI): namely, an original write-up demonstrating, with quotes of evidence and citation of sources, that the submitted name is registrable with the SCA. If the documentation (that is, original write-up) included on/with the submission form is done well, it should not need to be either summarized or expanded for the LoI, but ideally simply copied verbatim (preferably electronically!)
How to Document a Name (to within an inch of its life)
at the HeatherRoseJones.com web site
by Heather Rose Jones
An excellent article explaining, with examples, how to document a name for SCA registration. Note that the article was first written in 1993, when we didn't know as much about certain specific names as we do now, so some of the examples make claims and draw conclusions about specific names that, while correct to the best of the SCA's collective knowledge in 1993, we now know to be flawed. However, the general principles of name documentation explained and illustrated in the article remain sound. (All of which is to say, this is an excellent article about the process of documenting names, but not a good article to use for specific evidence for a specific name.)
"From Pelican: On Summarizing Name Documentation" in September 2004 Letter of Acceptances and Returns Cover Letter
An explanation from Pelican of the information that should be included in an LoI. Note that although Pelican uses the term "summarizing", the process is rarely summarizing anything. If the submitter or consluting herald has done a good job documenting the name, the submissions herald should need only copy that documentation into the LoI. If the submitter or consulting herald has not done a good job, then the submissions herald usually does not summarize anything but rather writes themself (or, in some cases, expands) the original write-up that the submitter/consulting herald should have written, demonstrating, with quotes of evidence and citation of sources, that the submitted name is registrable with the SCA.
Languages section of the Scottish Medieval Bibliography
Lists both web and paper published resources for the different languages that were spoken at one time or another during the Middle Ages in the area that is now Scotland, including some that explain some of the necessary grammar needed to recreate medieval bynames, such as:
Lenition in Gaelic Naming Step by Step
by Sharon L. Krossa
Resource for when grammatical lenition occurs in Gaelic names and how lenited consonants are spelled and pronounced in Gaelic in different periods.
Medieval Names Archive
The most complete index of reliable web articles about pre-1600 names, concentrating on European names.
Medieval Scotland is published by Sharon L. Krossa (contact). Shopping online? How you can support this site.
© 1996-2008. All rights reserved. Copyright of individual articles belongs to their authors. Please do not copy or redistribute without proper permission!
http://MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/index.shtml
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