ANSTHRLD - Group Name Help

[Kathleen O'Brien]

At 10:36 PM 7/11/00 -0500, you wrote:
>>WE have tenetavely chosen Feochadan Fearann (Irish for land of 
>>thistles) but we are open to advice and suggestions.  Tony

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>From Johnston's _Place-Names of Scotland_ (3rd Edition)

p. 178, header = Fe(a)rintosh (Dingwall) 
	gives this as a location whose name derives from the Gaelic <fearainn
toiseach> meaning " 'land of the thane' (of Cawdor) or 'land-officer'. "
This entry dates the spelling <Ferintosky> to 1499.

p. 184, header = Frendraught (Forgue)
	gives this as a location whose name probably derives from the Gaelic
<fearrainn doireach> meaning "'woody land'."  This entry dates the spelling
<Fferinderahe> and <Fferinderach> to 1282.

p. 184, header = Freuchie (Falkland)
	gives this as a location whose name probably derives from the Gaelic
<fraochach> meaning "heathery place", <fraoch> meaning "heather".  This
entry dates the spelling <Fruchy> to 1508.  It also dates the spelling
<Freuche> to 1479 for a location in Banff, <Freuchy> to 1548 for a location
in L. Broom, and <Frechelan> (meaning "heathery isle") to 1315 for a
location named Fraoch in L. Awe.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The first two entries I've cited above give documentation for the use of a
form of <fearainn> in a place name in period.  The last entry above is as
close as I could find to "thistle" in Johnston.  

Given the examples above, my bet is that some form of <fearrainn feochadan>
is what you need.  (Note the reverse order of the words.)  And that
<feochadan> needs to be in an adjectival form.

I also suspect that there is an earlier form of <feochadan> that I need to
look for.  My Old Irish grammar is at home.  That's what I really need to
look this up in.

I'll get back with more info tomorrow.

Mari

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