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 ...

and Irish Gaelic masculine given name Garaidh () is of uncertain derivation but as a name occurs frequently in Middle and

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

texts (in its Old Irish form ''Garaid''), for example in the 13th century

Acallam na Senórach ''Acallam na Senórach'' (Modern Irish: ''Agallamh na Seanórach'', whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an imp ...

: ''Donn mac Aeda, mheic Garaid, meic Morna'' 'Donn son of Aodh, son of Garaidh, son of Morna'. Garaidh is commonly rendered in English as Gary.

Patrick Hanks Patrick Hanks (born 24 March 1940) is an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He has edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated at Ardingly College, ...

& Flavia Hodges, ''A Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press (1990) It is also commonly (esp. in Scotland) spelled Garry. However, the name Gary is of Germanic origin (from ''gar'' meaning 'spear'). Although visually similar, most occurrences of -gar(r)y in place-names are unrelated to the name. In place-names, -gar(r)y is usually derived from one of the following elements: *

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 ...

''gerði'', originally meaning ''enclosure'' but later on ''land around a dwelling, pasture'', e.g. ''Geàrraidh na h-Aibhne''

Garynahine Garynahine ( gd, Gearraidh na h-aibhne) is a settlement on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Garynahine is situated at a T-junction where roads from Stornoway, Uig and the west side of Lewis all meet. The roads are the A858 and the B8011 ...

Cox, Richard ''The Settlement Names of Lewis'' Clann Tuirc 2022 ISBN 978-0-9562490-3-6 * a hydronymic element (usually a river name) e.g. ''Gleann Garadh/Gharadh''

Glen Garry A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

, ''Inbhir Gharadh/Garraidh''

Invergarry Invergarry ( gd, Inbhir Garadh) is a village in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Great Glen, near where the River Garry flows into Loch Oich Loch Oich (; gd, Loch Omhaich) is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms p ...

References

{{Gaelic names Given names