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Onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
is an important source of information on the early
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
, as Greco-Roman historiography recorded Celtic names before substantial written information becomes available in any Celtic language. Like
Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are al ...
s, early Celtic names are often dithematic.


Suffixes

*suffix ''-rix'' "ruler" **
Ambiorix Ambiorix (Gaulish "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ( 54–53 BC) was, together with Cativolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the nin ...
**
Boiorix Boiorix was a king of the Cimbri tribe during the Cimbrian War. His most notable achievement was the victory against the Romans at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. He was later defeated and slain along with Lugius at the Battle of Vercellae in 101 ...
** Cingetorix **
Dumnorix Dumnorix (spelled Dubnoreix on coins) was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was the younger brother of Divitiacus, the Aedui druid and statesman. The Aedui were allies of Rome, but Dumnorix was a leader o ...
**
Orgetorix Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the Helvetii, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic. Planned migration In 61 BC, he convinced the Helvetians to attempt ...
**
Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...
*suffix ''-maris'' / ''-marus'' "great" **
Britomaris Britomaris was a war chief of the Senone tribe of the Gauls of northern Italy. He is briefly mentioned in a text by Appian, who said that he killed some Roman ambassadors who were sent to remonstrate about him providing mercenaries for forces whi ...
**
Indutiomarus Indutiomarus (died 53 BC) was a leading aristocrat of the Treveri (the people of the area around present-day Trier) at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. He was the head of the anti-Roman party and the political rival of his pro-Roman s ...
**
Viridomarus Viridomarus or Britomartus as translations vary, (died 222 BC) was a Gaulish military leader who led an army against an army of the Roman Republic at the Battle of Clastidium. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcus Claudius Marcellu ...


Celtic polytheism

Some information on prehistoric
Celtic polytheism Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts ...
can be drawn from names in
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and
Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
, which often continue older theonyms: *
Gwenhwyfar Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
, from *''Uindā Seibrā'' "White Phantom" *
Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...
, from ''* Brigantia'' "the High one" *
Lugh Lugh or Lug (; ga, label=Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The God ...
and
Lleu Lleu Llaw Gyffes (, sometimes spelled Llew Llaw Gyffes) is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his r ...
, cognate with Gaulish
Lugus Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gall ...


Surnames

Many surnames of
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
origin in Ireland and the other
Celtic nations The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...
derive from ancestors' names,
nicknames A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
, or descriptive names. In the first group can be placed surnames such as MacMurrough and MacCarthy, derived from
patronymics A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
, or O'Brien and O'Grady, derived from ancestral names. Gaelic surnames derived from nicknames include Ó Dubhda (from ''Aedh ua Dubhda—Aedh'', "the dark one"),
O'Doherty O'Doherty is a surname, part of the O'Doherty family. Notable persons with that surname include: *Brian O'Doherty (born 1928), Irish art critic, writer, artist, and academic *Sir Cahir O'Doherty (1587–1608), last Gaelic Lord of Inishowen in Ire ...
(from ''Ó Dochartaigh'', "destroyer" or "obtrusive"), Garvery (''garbh'', "rough" or "nasty"), Manton (''mantach'', "toothless"), Bane (''bán'', "white", as in "white hair"), Finn (''fionn'', "fair", as in "fair hair") and Kennedy (''ceann éidigh'', "ugly head") Very few Gaelic surnames are derived from placenames or from venerated people or objects. Among those that are included in this small group, several can be shown to be derivations of Gaelic personal names or surnames. One notable exception is Ó Cuilleáin or
O'Collins O'Collins is a common anglicized surname of two ancient families of Irish origin: O'Cuilleain and O'Coilean. Origin of O'Cuilleain O'Cuilleain or Cuilliaéan is an extremely ancient Irish name from Gaelic ''cuileann'' and primitive Gaelic '' ...
(from ''cuileann'', "
holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
") as in the holly tree, considered one of the most sacred objects of pre-Christian Celtic culture. Another is Walsh ( ga, Breatnach), meaning
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. In areas where certain family names are extremely common, extra names are added that sometimes follow this archaic pattern. In Ireland, for example, where ''Murphy'' is an exceedingly common name, particular Murphy families or extended families are nicknamed, so that Denis Murphy's family were called 'The Weavers" and Denis himself was called "Denis 'The Weaver' Murphy". (See also
O'Hay Hayes is an English language surname. In the United States Census, 1990, Hayes was the 100th most common surname recorded. The oldest record of the surname dates to 1197 in the ''Eynsham Cartulary of Oxfordshire'', where it appears in the form ...
.) For much the same reason, nicknames (e.g. "the ''Fada'' Burkes", "the long/tall Burkes"), father's names (e.g. "John Morrissey Ned") or mother's maiden name ("Kennedy" becoming "Kennedy-Lydon") can become colloquial or legal surnames. The Irish family of de Courcy descends from
Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sm ...
who came to Ireland following the Norman Conquest; the name is of French derivation, and indicates that the family once held a manor of that name in Normandy. The de Courcy family was prominent in County Cork from the earliest days of the Norman occupation and subsequently became prominent in Ireland.''Families of County Cork, Ireland: Including English, Scots and Anglo-Norman Settlers'', Michael C. O'Laughlin, Irish Roots Cafe, 1999
/ref> In addition to all this, Irish-speaking areas still follow the old tradition of naming themselves after their father, grandfather, great-grandfather and so on. Examples include ''Mike Bartly Pat Reilly'' ("Mike, son of Bartholomew, son of Pat Reilly"), ''Seán Mícheál Seán Óg Pádraic Breathnach'' ("John, son of Michael, son of young John, son of Pat Breathnach"), ''Tom Paddy-Joe Seoige'' ("Tom, son of Paddy-Joe Seoige"), and ''Mary Bartly Mike Walsh'' ("Mary, daughter of Bartly, son of Mike Walsh"). Sometimes, the female line of the family is used, depending on how well the parent is known in the area the person resides in, e.g. ''Paddy Mary John'' ("Paddy, son of Mary, daughter of John"). A similar tradition continues even in English-speaking areas, especially in rural districts.


Surname prefixes

* ''Bean'': "Wife", pronounced . * ''De'': "of the": a
Norman-French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Langues d'oïl, Oïl languages along with French language, French, Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, ...
habitational prefix used by some of the most common Irish surnames among which are De Búrca, Le Brún, De Barra, De Cíosóg, Devane and de Faoite. 'De' historically has signaled ownership of lands and was traditionally therefore a mark of prestige. * ''Mac'' (in English also written ''Mc'', ''Mc'', ''M’'', and ''Mic''): for most purposes, taken to mean 'son of', as in ''Mac Néill'', 'son of Neil'. However, literally, the 'of' part does not come from the Mac prefix but from the patronymic that follows it. E.g., in the case of ''Mac Néill'', ''Mac'' merely means 'son'; ''Néill'' (meaning 'of Neil') is the genitive form of ''Niall'' ('Neil'). In some cases, if the second word begins with a vowel, ''Mac'' then becomes ''Mag'', as in ''Mag Eocháin''. * ''Mhic'': . Compressed form of ''bean mhic'' ("wife of the son of") e.g. ''Máire Mhic Néill'' (Máire, the wife of Mac Néill). This is the grammatically correct form of the prefix ''Mac'' always taken by a woman after marriage (e.g. a woman marrying someone of the surname ''Mac Néill'' would become ''Mhic Néill''). ''Mhig'' (also pronounced ) is used similarly to ''Mag'' in some cases (e.g. ''Mag Shamhráin/Mhig Shamhráin''). * ''Maol'': In Pagan times this was expressed as ''Mug'', as in the case of
Mug Nuadat In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat (servant of NuadaDictionary of the Iri ...
. The literal expression of this is "slave of ''Nuada''", i.e. "devotee of ''Nuada''". In the
Christian era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
the word ''Mael'' was used in its place for given names such as ''Mael Bridget'', ''Mael Padraig'', ''Mael Lagan'', ''Mael Sechlainn'', and ''Mael Martain''. In later times, some of these given names evolved into surnames, e.g. ''Ó Máel Sechlainn'' and ''Mac Mael Martain'' or ''Mael Lagan'', which became after the 15th century the name Milligan. * ''Fitz'': a Norman-French word derived from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''filius'' ("son"). It was used in patronymics by thousands of men in the early Norman period in Ireland (e.g. ''fitz Stephen'', ''fitz Richard'', ''fitz Robert'', ''fitz William'') and only on some occasions did it become used as an actual surname, the most famous example being the ''
FitzGerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...
''
Earls of Kildare Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...
. Yet well into the 17th and 18th century it was used in certain areas dominated by the
Hiberno-Norman From the 12th century onwards, a group of Normans invaded and settled in Gaelic Ireland. These settlers later became known as Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans. They originated mainly among Cambro-Norman families in Wales and Anglo-Normans from ...
s of Ireland in its original form, as a patronymic.
The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...
were especially good at conserving this form, with examples such as ''John fitz John Bodkin'' and ''Michael Lynch fitz Arthur'', used even as late as the early 19th century. A number of
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
descendants of the British royal family were given surnames with this element: some of the illegitimate children of King Charles II were named ''FitzCharles'' or ''FitzRoy'' ("son of the King"); those of
King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
were named ''FitzJames''; those of Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (later King William IV) were named ''FitzClarence''. Note that "Fitzpatrick" is not Norman: it is actually a Normanisation of the Gaelic surname ''Mac Ghiolla Phádraig''. * ''Ó'': In Old Irish as ''ua'' ("grandson", "descendant"). E.g., the ancestor of the
O'Brien clan The O'Brien dynasty ( ga, label=Classical Irish, Ua Briain; ga, label=Modern Irish, Ó Briain ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) is a nobility, noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After ...
,
Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...
(937–1014) was known in his lifetime as ''Brian mac Cennéide mac Lorcán'' ('Brian, the son of Cennéide, the son of Lorcán'). Not until the time of his grandsons and great-grandsons was the name ''O'Brien'' used as a surname, used to denote descent from an illustrious
ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
. It has for some three hundred years been written as ''O'', but in recent years the apostrophe is often dropped, bringing it into line with early medieval forms. The apostrophe came into existence as an error by the English, when in the process of anglicizing the surnames in Ireland, the accent above the O was mistakenly recognized as an apostrophe; it is sometimes popularly thought to be an abbreviation of 'Of'. * ''Uí'': This is the plural of ''Ó'' and is used in reference to a kin-group or clan, e.g. ''Uí Néill'', in reference to the ''O'Neill'' clan. It is pronounced . * '' '': This is used for women instead of ''Ó'' before a surname (e.g. ''Máire Ní Bhriain'', "Mary O'Brien"), and comes from a shortened form of the Irish word for a daughter. * ''Nic'': This is used for women instead of ''Mac'', but only if this is their maiden name, never their married name. Compressed form of ''iníon mhic'' ("daughter of the son of/Mac..."), e.g. ''Máire Nic Charthaigh'' ("Mary, daughter of McCarthy"). ''Nig'' is used in cases where the surname uses ''Mag'' e.g. ''Nig Shamhráin''.


See also

*
Celtic toponymy Celtic toponymy is the study of place names wholly or partially of Celtic origin. These names are found throughout continental Europe, Britain, Ireland, Anatolia and, latterly, through various other parts of the globe not originally occupied by C ...
*
Irish name A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ac ...
*
Place names in Ireland The vast majority of placenames in Ireland are anglicisations of Irish language names; that is, adaptations of the Irish names to English phonology and spelling. However, some names come directly from the English language, and a handful come from ...
*
Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are al ...
*
Scottish Gaelic name A formal Gaelic language name consists of a given name and a surname. First names are either native or nativized (i.e. borrowed and made to fit the Gaelic sound system). Surnames are generally patronymic, i.e. they refer to a historical ancestor. ...
*
Scottish toponymy Scottish toponymy derives from the languages of Scotland. The toponymy varies in each region, reflecting the linguistic history of each part of the country. Goidelic roots accounts for most place-names in eastern Scotland, with a few Anglic name ...
*
Welsh surnames Fixed surnames were adopted in Wales from the 15th century onwards. Until then, the Welsh had a patronymic naming system. History In 1292, 48 per cent of Welsh names were patronymics and, in some parishes, over 70 per cent. Other names were ...
*
Welsh toponymy The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of ...


References


External links


Ancient Celtic names
(behindthename.com)
Name Constructions in Gaulish
{{Names in world cultures Onomastics