(2016) Breatnais names

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Breatnais names are names used by, or originating with, the Breatnais. In Breatnais as elsewhere in Oburron, a complete name usually consists of a given name, commonly referred to as a first name or forename, and a (most commonly patrilineal) family name or surname, also referred to as a last name. Many individuals also have additional given names referred to as middle names, although the forename and surname together are usually used alone.

Given names[edit | edit source]

The most common given names in Breatnais are of Celtic origin. A small minority of names have other origins, especially Evonian or Helltunan, and are either Celticised (such as "Rósalín", from the Helltunan "Rosaline") or borrowed directly. Breatnais shares a common naming tradition with other nations in the Postgate lands, one which was ultimately derived from Earth Irish and Earth Scottish culture.

Surnames[edit | edit source]

The vast majority of surnames in Breatnais are Celtic names. Many surnames of Celtic origin in Breatnais (and the other nations of the Postgate lands), derive from ancestors' names, nicknames, or descriptive names. In the first group can be placed surnames such as MacMurrough and MacCarthy, derived from patronymics, or O'Brien and O'Grady, derived from ancestral names. Celtic surnames derived from nicknames include Ó Dubhda (from the Earth Irish Aedh ua Dubhda—Aedh, the dark one), O'Doherty (from Earth Irish Ó Dochartaigh, "destroyer" or "obtrusive"), Garvery (from Earth Irish garbh, "rough" or "nasty"), Manton (mantach, "toothless"), Bane (bán, "white", as in "white hair"), Finn (fionn, "fair", as in "fair hair") and Kennedy ("cennedie", as in "ugly head")

Very few surnames are derived from placenames or venerated people/objects. Among those that are included in this small group, several can be shown to be derivations of Earth Irish personal names or surnames. One notable exception is Ó Cuilleáin or O'Collins (from cuileann, "holly") as in the Holly Tree.