De-Anglicisation of Names

[slohairt]

GG-dad came over from Ireland with the name Rowan. When I looked into an Irish geneology book, it said the Rowan's came from Scotland. I haven't found a reference for Rowan in Scotland, so any pointers you might have...

ROWAN Not a very good Irish genealogy book! While the surname Rowan may occasionally be derived from the tree of the same name or a corruption of Roland, it is usually an Anglicisation of the Irish, Ó Ruadháin (Modern Irish: Ó Ruain) meaning 'descendant of Ruadhán', a personal name meaning 'little red or ruddy one'.

[Vagabond_Aero]

Thanks. My wife says the "...ruddy one..." fits me

[ChattanCat]

How 'bout Catanach (ok scottish), Hood (my mother's madien name), Metcalf (my wife's madien name), Nichols (my wife's father's mother's madien name)

[David Dubh]

My mum gets pissy when I tell her that I can't find any Scots background for her mum's maiden name Laird. Care too enlighten me? ps her maiden name is O'Brien

[slohairt]

My mum gets pissy when I tell her that I can't find any Scots background for her mum's maiden name Laird. Care too enlighten me? ps her maiden name is O'Brien

LAIRD From the Scots word laird, cognate with the English word 'lord'.

O'BRIEN This is Anglicised from Ó Briain (pronounced O BREE-UN), meaning 'descendant of Brian.' You may have noticed that Brian is actually pronounced BREE-UN, not BRY-AN. The vowel combination "ia" is always pronounced as "ee-uh" not "eye-uh".

[slohairt]

How 'bout Catanach (ok scottish), Hood (my mother's madien name), Metcalf (my wife's madien name), Nichols (my wife's father's mother's madien name)

CATANACH You probably already know this, but it means 'of Clann Catan', which was the loose confederation of the clans MacIntosh (Mac an Toisich), MacPherson (Mac a' Phearsain), MacGillivray (Mac Gille Bhràith) and Farquharson (Mac Fearchair). The name is based upon the old Celtic tradition of naming tribes for animals, in this the cat. Coincidentally, the word catanach also means 'rough' or 'shaggy'!

HOOD Usually Anglo-Saxon, from Huda (hood). This could place it anywhere in the island of Great Britain. Irish Hoods are usually derived from Ó hUid, Mac Uid or may be translations of Irish names that refer to head wear of some kind.

METCALF North of England name. Not sure of the etymology.

NICHOLS Usually Anglicised from Mac Neacail, meaning 'son of Neacal', a Gaelic form of Nicholas.

[Downix]

Um, Laird is scottish:
http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Laird
No de-anglicisation needed, it's already in pure Gaelic.

[slohairt]

Um, Laird is scottish:
http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Laird
No de-anglicisation needed, it's already in pure Gaelic.

Yes, it is Scottish. However, Scottish does not always mean Scottish Gaelic. Laird is a Scots word, cognate with the English word lord. The Scottish Gaelic word for lord is Tighearn.

[Glen C]

Let's see, Chisholm is Siosal is there any correlation between the lowland place name and the highland gaelic name.

[slohairt]

Let's see, Chisholm is Siosal is there any correlation between the lowland place name and the highland gaelic name.

CHISHOLM From Chisholme near Hawick? Yes, I believe the Scottish Gaelic Siosal or Siosalach (pronounced SHIS-AL and SHIS-AL-AKH) are actually 'Gaelicisations' of Chisholm. Many Lowland names/families that migrated into the Highlands became fairly integrated into Gaelic culture, much like the Normans in Ireland. Compare Gordon (Gordanach), Graham (Greumach), Fraser (Frisealach), and Grant (Grannd).