Scottish names?

[Ireth]

Quick question about the names used in my vampire novel, one in particular. I have a minor character who is named Hamish in the first draft, but in the second draft I'm leaning toward switching to the Gaelic form, Seumas, rather than the Anglicized one. Hamish is a lot easier for a non-Gaelic speaker to pronounce than Seumas, but I'm questioning the historical accuracy of it. For reference's sake, Hamish is a middle-aged farmer living in the lowlands of Scotland, about a day's walk northwest of Edinburgh, in the year 1360. His wife is named Beathag, and their son is named Rob.

This question could be extended to apply to the rest of the characters in the novel as well. Where would it be geographically appropriate to have characters with Anglicized names as opposed to Gaelic ones throughout the Middle Ages?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Question: is the story still set in that time period or is part of it in a modern setting?

 

[Ireth]

It's set in the 1360's, no modernism at all.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Here's the thing... As a reader I do notice names that I find odd or hard to pronounce. If it's strange enough to make me pull back from the story every time I see it, I wind up just internally pronouncing the name however it will roll off easier.

So, to put it short, if you do it with a name here and there I don't think it matters much. Do what feels write as an author. If you are going to do this with a lot of characters you will run the risk of having readers disengage from your story.

It's a tough call. For my money, I'd bet on Hamish. I don't think it's of great importance to change the name to be more accurate in terms of the naming traditions of the region. I'd rather lean towards readability.

Although I understand the desire for accuracy, I believe it's more important to avoid anything that inhibits reader immersion in the story. The more prominent the character, the more important this consideration becomes.

 

[Ireth]

Well, that's a risk I'm going to have to take, I suppose. Most, if not all, of the names I use throughout the novel are Gaelic, simply because the characters themselves are, and a lot of the names don't tend to Anglicize well (nor would it make sense for them to be such). I have a similar issue with my Fae novels, which have many characters with Welsh or Irish names, including the Old Irish name Lóegaire, which took me ages to find a pronunciation for. ("LEE-ra", btw.) I do include a glossary of the Irish and Welsh names and phrases in my Fae novels, so I could do something similar with my vampire novel if it gets to a point where nobody wants to read my book simply because of the names. I just don't want to have to rename every character for the sake of my readers, because that would upset my perceptions of the characters themselves. Names are very important to me as far as characterization goes, and once a name sticks, it doesn't change easily.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

See.... This is kinda what I'm getting at. Loegaire wouldn't bother me as a reader. I would just pronounce it Lo-Gare. I really wouldn't care too much what is was supposed to sound like. Because of this, that name wouldn't pull me from your story at all.

Seumas would wind up being pronounced Shay-muss for me.

A glossary/pronunciation guide is a nice thing to include. I rarely refer to them but I do like them if the need to say something right arises.

 

[Ireth]

If a name like Loegaire doesn't pull you from the story, then that's awesome, but I'm worried a bit about others it and others like it would pull out. Like the name of the hero's mom in the vampire novel: her name is Deòiridh, which IMO is about on par with Loegaire in terms of "how the frig do you pronounce that?" territory. I've had complaints about my Gaelic names before, especially the accent-heavy ones, which is why the issue has arisen.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

If a name like Loegaire doesn't pull you from the story, then that's awesome, but I'm worried a bit about others it and others like it would pull out. Like the name of the hero's mom in the vampire novel: her name is Deòiridh, which IMO is about on par with Loegaire in terms of "how the frig do you pronounce that?" territory. I've had complaints about my Gaelic names before, especially the accent-heavy ones, which is why the issue has arisen.

See the Deoiridh name would throw me off & certainly lose story immersion. Loegaire, even though I'd be pronouncing it incorrectly, at least looks phonetic.

 

[Ireth]

See the Deoiridh name would throw me off & certainly lose story immersion. Loegaire, even though I'd be pronouncing it incorrectly, at least looks phonetic.

My point exactly. :/

 

[Jess A]

Perhaps you could visit a board where the members are either Scottish or interested in Scottish Gaelic. These people may have a knowledge about the history surrounding Scottish names. Found a couple of sources. Not sure if they are the best but it is perhaps a start, other than your local library's history section of course (or the University libraries).

Scottish Culture and Tradition - Scotland Discussion Forum

Scottish Gaelic Names & Scottish First Names (Gaelic names)

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My thoughts? I like names that 'look' like suitable names. If I want to know how they are pronounced, I will refer to a glossary - some authors do this as mentioned above and I do like the glossaries and I do refer to them often.