Aulay is a Scottish masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

. It is an

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); which can be Anglicised as ''Auliffe'' and ''

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

''. The Old Irish personal name ''Amlaíb'' is a

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...

form of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

'' Óláfr'', and is recorded in the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

as being introduced into Ulster by "Amlaíb, son of the king of Lochlann" In the 9th century, ''Óláfr'' may have been pronounced more like the Old Norse ''Áleifr''. A

Classical Gaelic Classical Gaelic or Classical Irish () was a shared literary form of Gaelic that was in use by poets in Scotland and Ireland from the 13th century to the 18th century. Although the first written signs of Scottish Gaelic having diverged from Iri ...

form of this Old Irish name is ''Amhlaíbh''. The older Irish Gaelic names ''Amalgaid'' and ''Amhalghaidh'' (pronounced "owl-ghee"), were borne by an early

king of Munster The kings of Munster ( ga, Rí Mumhan), ruled from the establishment of Munster during the Irish Iron Age, until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the '' Book of Invasions'', the earliest ...

, and an early

king of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

. Even though these names were of a different origin than the above Gaelicised Norse names, they were "totally confused" in the later Middle Ages with them. In later times, ''Amalgaid'' and ''Amhalghaidh'' were Anglicised as Auley; as well as Awley, which was a spelling commonly used by the Magawleys of Calry. In the Irish counties of Antrim and Armagh, Amley is found as a variant of Aulay or Auley and gives rise to the surname MacAmley or Macamley.

Notable people with these names

Personal name

;Aulay *

Aulay Macaulay Aulay Macaulay (died 1788) was an 18th-century English tea-dealer, based in Manchester, who invented a system of shorthand which could be used in English and many other languages. He died on 19 March 1788, in Manchester. In the 18th century Mac ...

, (died 1788), an English inventor of a system of shorthand. *Sir Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple, (–1617), a Scottish clan chief. *

Aulay MacAulay Morrison Aulay MacAulay Morrison (June 15, 1863 – February 27, 1942) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and Liberal politician who represented New Westminster in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1904. Born in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, the son of C ...

, (1863–1942), a Canadian lawyer and politician. ;Amhlaoibh *

Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin (May 1780 – 1838) was an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one-time hedge school master. He is also known as Humphrey O'Sullivan. He was deeply involved in Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Emancipatio ...

, (1780–1838), an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one time hedge school master. ;Amalgaid *

Amalgaid mac Congalaig Amalgaid mac Congalaig (died 718) was a King of Brega from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. He was the son of Congalach mac Conaing Cuirre (died 696). He ruled in north Brega fro ...

, (died 718), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. *

Amalgaid mac Éndai Amalgaid mac Éndai (died 601) was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eoganachta and appears as the first king from this branch. The chronology of the Munster kings from this period is confusing. The ''Annals of Tigernach ...

, (died 601), an Irish king of Munster, from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eoganachta. *

Amalgaid mac Fiachrae Amalgaid mac Fiachrae (died 440) was a King of Connacht of the Ui Fiachrach sept. He was the son of Fiachrae mac Echach Mugmedóin and grandson of the high king Eochaid Mugmedón (died 362). He is mentioned as king of Connacht in the ''Laud Sync ...

, (died 440), an Irish king of Connacht, from the Ui Fiachrach sept. ;Amlaíb *

Amlaíb Conung Amlaíb Conung ( non, Óláfr ; died c. 874) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, and br ...

, (died ''c''.875), a Norse or Norse-Gael leader in Ireland and Scotland in the years after 850. * Amlaíb mac Sitriuc, the son of the Norse-Gael king of Dublin, Sigtrygg Silkbeard, a member of the Uí Ímharr dynasty. * Amlaíb Cuarán, a 10th-century Norse-Gael who was king of York and king of Dublin. *

Amlaíb of Scotland Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

, (died 977), was king of Scots during the 970s. *

Amlaíb mac Gofraid (died 941) Olaf Guthfrithson or Anlaf Guthfrithson ( non, Óláfr Guðrøðsson ; oe, Ánláf; sga, Amlaíb mac Gofraid; died 941) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian (Irish-Viking) leader who ruled Dublin and Viking Northumbria in the 10th century. He was th ...

, a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty, was king of Dublin from 934 to 941. *

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

, the Norse-Gaels called him Amlaíb. *

Amlaíb Ua Donnabáin Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

(died 1201), king of Uí Chairpre Áebda slain by William de Burgh and the O'Briens.

Within a patronymic name

;Amalgado *

Conaing mac Amalgado Conaing mac Amalgado (died 742) was a King of Brega from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. He was the son of Amalgaid mac Congalaig (died 718), a previous king. He ruled from 728 t ...

, (died 742), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. *

Cúán mac Amalgado Cúán mac Amalgado (died 641) was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eóganachta. He was the son of a previous king Amalgaid mac Éndai (d. 601). He succeeded Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib in 639. No events are recorded ...

, (died 641), an Irish king of Munster, from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eóganachta. * Dúngal mac Amalgado, (died 759), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill.

Other

Cín Lae Amhlaoibh ''Cín Lae Amhlaoibh'' is a diary written by Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin (1780–1837) between the years 1827 to 1835. It is invaluable for the insight it gives into life in rural Ireland in the early 19th century, and is a rare example of ...

, an Irish language diary written by Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin. *

Dónall Mac Amhlaigh Dónall Peadar Mac Amhlaigh (10 December 1926 – 27 January 1989) was an Irish writer active during the 20th century. A native of County Galway, he is best known for his Irish-language works about life as a labourer in the post-Second Wo ...

, (1926–1989), an Irish writer. *

Dùn Anlaimh Dùn Anlaimh, also known as Dùn Amhlaidh, and Eilean nan Cinneachan, is a crannog (an artificial island), located within Loch nan Cinneachan on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll. Upon the crannog there are the remains of walls and several build ...

, a crannog located on the Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. *

Dunan Aula Dunan Aula, also known in Scottish Gaelic as Dùnan Amhlaidh, is the site of an exposed cist, located in the parish of Craignish, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, at . The place-name means "Olaf's mound"; it is said to commemorate a Viking prince so- ...

, a cist located in Craignish, Argyll and Bute, Scotland; traditionally named after 'Olaf, son of the king of Denmark'. *

Mac Amhlaoibh and Mac Amhalghaidh (Irish septs) ''Mac Amhlaoibh'' and ''Mac Amhalghaidh'' are two different Gaelic patronymic names with different origins and meanings, but which share the same or similar Anglicisations. These Gaelic names are borne by at least three unrelated native Irish clan ...

, Irish septs and clans. *

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography ...

, (born 1978), an Irish musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland.

"Hamlet" hypothesis

Hugh Kenner (1989) has argued that the name '' Amloði'' (the Old Icelandic form of the name ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'') originates with the Irish form ''Amhlaoibh''.

References

{{given name Irish masculine given names Scottish Gaelic-language given names English-language masculine given names Scottish masculine given names