What's in a name?

[Brian Clegg]

As words are our stock in trade, I thought you might be interested in seeing my recent blog post on the way we name places and people.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

It's all so wonderfully colourful and many- layered. I comfort myself that the French say Londres for London, even though they say New York for New York. People's names too. My father never set foot in Ireland but his parents came from Ireland. His name was Edward (always called Ted) John Kearns and his mother used to say to him when he was a boy, now; don't you be forgetting who you are; what is your Irish name? And he was expected to reply with a version of his name I never heard him say once: Eamonn Sean O Kieron.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Very interesting, especially as Wales is the centre piece of my writing! I still struggle with some of those names, but if you can get it right they actually sound pretty good, in my head at least! I still haven't got there, and I have no idea what the future holds. Getting to stay in the UK isn't easy for my partner who needs to get back to the USA for health reasons. Meawnhile having two places names does seem silly, and must be costly with all those signs. Just use the Welsh names I say

 

[EPHahn]

I am struggling with a version of this. My main character is half Native American and researching the nuances of the various tribes with in the tribes within the generations has become a labor of love. Chippewa is the same as Ojibwe which is the same as Ojibwa- but only in some locations at some times in some instances, it seems.

 

[Karen Gray]

I changed all my placed into the old Gaidhlig for my book, but depending on where the characters are from depends on what they call the place... for Example London is Luinnainn in my series, but the French troops brought over by the Bastard King call it Londres.
One of the characters gains a Russian familiar and she refers to him as being Ruiseanach, he refers to himself as being Russkiy.
The Queen in Alba (Scotland) is also refereed to as the Banrigh, where as the Sasannach (English) King is called the King... likewise the English language is refereed to as Sasannach.

I have found it great fun actually. The old place names lend a level of atmosphere all their own...

Edinburgh - Dùn Èideann
Stirling - Sruighlea
Carlisle - Cathair Luail
London - Lunnainn
etc etc