Putting It Together

    Suppose that you have a little heifer who shows all the signs of a spoiled brat. You might want to call her "Brat" - ‘Isean’ in the Gaelic. If she is red , you might call her " Isean Ruadh:"- Red Brat. -- Or a little bull that is a scoundrel and black Scoundrel = Corrichean; Black = Dubh --- hence: " Corrichean Dubh".

    Yet you may want to call a calf by a name already used. You may have had a cow called Morag (Marion). Well, by calling the calf Morag Og ( Mahr’ag Oak) - Young Marion - or - Domhnall Og (Donal Oak) - Young Donald Domhnall Dubh Og (Donal Doo Oak) -Young Black Donald -or-Maire Rhuadh Og (Mahr’uh Roo’a Oak) -Young Red Mary.
    Suppose that you are very proud of a herd bull and want his offspring to have his name. If his name is Cormac and his son is called Ruairidh - the son could be called Ruairidh Mac Cormac, as ‘Mac’ means ‘son’. A Daughter, Morag might be called Morag Nic Cormac (Nic = "Nighean ‘ic’, or " daughter of"). The same can be used for descent through the female line: Lorna Nic Morag Ghlas (Lorna, daughter of gray Marion). -Or - Alisdair Mac Ailis ( Alexander son of Alice) Just remember that many feminine adjectives are aspirated - as has been given in your list

    Sin Agad e Ma tha! ( Shin ahg’ut’tay muh hah) -Or- " there you have it then!"

    Your Scotch Highlanders will appreciate your effort to master the human language of the land of their forebears. You will also be keeping alive a very old tradition. A special breed such as this: unspoiled, still primitive and proud, deserve a special tradition. Have fun....... "and now you are with the Gaelic"!

William R. MacCrea

Introduction   Names of Females  Names for Males
Adjectives  Colors   Putting it together

Copyright © 2000 Kevin MacCrea.
Last revised: November 27, 2004