by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien)
© 2000-2010 by Kathleen M. O'Brien. All rights reserved.
Version 2.8, updated 29 September 2010
The name Alexander was introduced into Scotland when the son of King Malcolm III (Canmore) and his wife Margaret was given this name. In time, this Alexander became king of Scotland (reigned 1107-1124) and he is referred to in the Annals of Ulster in entry U1124.5. It is important to note that he is the only example found in the annals of a person with any form of this name was who born in Scotland before 1200.
It is worth noting that there were two other kings of Scotland named Alexander. One reigned from 1214 to 1249. The other reigned from 1249 to 1285.
The first examples of men in the annals with a form of this name (but who are not King Alexander) are men who are natives of Scotland who are listed in entries for the year 1299. The majority of the subsequent references to men with forms of this name are referring to men from Scotland. There are a few references to men who cannot be conclusively identified as Scotsmen: they may be Scotsmen or they may be Irishmen. Men from Scotland are identified with an S in the Context column in the raw data table on this page.
The name Alexander first migrated into Gaelic as Alaxandar (also Alaxandair). Later, a diminutive form Alasdrann (also Alasdrainn) appeared. Examples of this diminutive begin to appear in the annals in entries for the mid 15th century. At some point later, a second diminutive appeared. Modernly, that diminutive takes the form Alasdair. There are a few examples of forms close to this spelling in the annals. These are:
[Alasdrann mac Eoin Móir Mhic Dhomhnaill] (d. ?) There are 3 other mentions of this person - 2 with forms of Alasdrainn and 1 with a form of Alaxandair U3 U1465.11 S Eoin, mac Alasdair, mic Eoin Mhoir Mic Domnaill [Alasdrann Ballach] (d. 1499) There is 1 other mention of this person - it uses a forms of Alasdrainn LC2 LC1499.1 S Alusdar Ballach [Alasdrann mac Mhic Dubhghaill] (d. 1513) There is 1 other mention of this person - it uses a forms of Alasdrainn U3 U1513.18 Alustar, mac Ualtair Mic Uibilín [Alasdrann mac Mhic Dubhghaill] (d. ?) LC2 LC1521.1 S a mac .i. Alusdar [Alasdrann (or Alaxandar) Carrach mac Eoin Cathánaigh Mhic Dhomhnaill] (d. 1536) There are 17 other mentions of this person - 16 with forms of Alasdrainn and 1 with a form of Alaxandair LC2 LC1522.4 S mac Mic Dhomnaill, .i. Alustar Co 1522.6 S mac Meic Domnaill .i. Alusdur U3 U1522.2 S mac Mic Domnaill, .i. Aluster Carrach LC2 LC1528.6 S Alusdar mac Eóin Chathánaigh LC2 LC1532.3 S Mac Domnaill leis .i. Alusdar mac Eoin Chathánaigh [Alasdrann mac Domhnaill Ballaigh mhic Mhic Dhomhnaill] (d. 1581) There are 3 other mentions of this person - all with forms of Alasdrainn LC2 LC1581.26 S Alusdair mac Domnaill Bhallaigh Mic Domnaill [Alasdrann mac Somhairle Buidhe mhic Alasdrainn mhic Eoin Chathánaigh mhic Mhic Dhomhnaill] (d. 1586) There is 1 other mention of this person - it uses a forms of Alasdrainn LC2 LC1585.28 S Alastar mac Somairle Buidhe mheg Domhnaill SAT SAT1586.1 S Alasdair mac Somhairle [Alasdrann mac Séamais mhic Alasdrainn mhic Eoin Chathánaigh mhic Mhic Dhomhnaill] (d. 1586) There are 2 other mentions of this person - both with forms of Alasdrainn LC2 LC1586.18 S da mac Sémais micc Domnaill .i. Domnall Gorm ocus Alusdar
It is worth noting that the Annals of Connacht (noted by the code "Co" above) and the Annals of Loch Cé (volume 2 is noted by the code "LC2" above) consistently use archaic spellings. The Annals of Ulster (volume 3 is represented by the code U3 above) also uses archaic spellings fairly consistently. As a result, the spellings shown in these entries are not necessarily typical for spellings that would have been used in the 15th and 16th centuries.
This handful of examples are enough to imply that some form of what we know today as Alasdair seems to have been in rare use by the 16th C among Scotsmen, and perhaps Irishmen. However, the data shown on this page indicates that Alaxandar and Alasdrann were still the common forms of this name even through the 16th C.
What we know as a set of Irish Annals are manuscripts that were each compiled during a particular time period, usually using older material as sources. For example, when the Annals of the Four Masters were written from 1632 to 1636, they covered events that occurred centuries and millenia before (including legendary history). So, when an entry in this set of annals refers to a person who lived in the year 738, the spelling used for that person's name is very likely not using the spelling that would have been used in 738.
Standard forms of this name (based on spelling systems of different periods) would be:
Middle Irish Gaelic (c900-c1200) nominative form: | Alaxandar, Alaxandair |
Middle Irish Gaelic (c900-c1200) genitive form: | Alaxandair |
Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-c1700) nominative form: | Alaxandar, Alaxandair (Alasdrann, Alasdar) |
Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-c1700) genitive form: | Alaxandair (Alasdrainn, Alasdair) |
Number of men found in the annals with forms of Alaxandar, Alaxandair: | 18 |
Found in Years: | 1124, 1299, 1318, 1366, 1368, 1419, 1465, 1466, 1468, 1484, 1485, 1488, 1494, 1501, 1503, 1504, 1508, 1537, 1577 |
Number of men found in the annals with forms of Alasdrann: | 17 |
Found in Years: | 1465, 1473, 1487, 1488, 1495, 1499, 1501, 1508, 1521, 1522, 1524, 1528, 1532, 1533, 1536, 1540, 1542, 1546, 1567, 1577, 1581, 1586, 1588, 1590, 1591, 1601 |
Number of men found in the annals with forms of Alasdar: | 4 |
Found in Years: | 1465, 1499, 1513, 1522, 1532, 1581 |
[Followup to a message of mine regarding forms of the name Alaxandar, Alaxandair appearing in Irish Annals but referring to men from Scotland:]
[There is also a reference to an Raghnall mac Alaxandair who is heir to Cloinne Alaxandair.]
Black, s.n. Macalaster: "Ranald Makalestyr, who obtained a lease of lands in Arran, 1455, is afterwards referred to as Ranald Alexandri, Reginald McAlestir..."[Alaxandar Mac Caba]
Black, s.n. MacCabe: "In the Book of the Dean of Lismore, the name appears as M'Caybba...". Also: "The family of MacCabe are now widely spread through the midland counties of Ireland....they are evidently a branch of the MacLeods of Arran, and would appear to have migrated to Ireland in the 14th century." That last is from O'Donovan, so his "now" is about 1850. [email from Adelaide de Beaumont - 01 Jun 2001]
Further information about the name Alaxandar, Alaxandair / Alasdrann / Alasdar, may be found in:
The Sources page lists the Annals referenced below. Information about secondary sources is included on that page as well.
In the table below, I have separated individuals with a blank line. That is, when there are multiple entries in the annals that refer to a single person, those entries are grouped together.
Within the list of entries refering to a single person, I have sorted the entries primarily by orthography when it is obvious that what I am seeing is the same entry showing up in multiple annals. The entries that tend to use older spellings are listed first.
Special factors which may affect name usage are marked in the context column.
AN | indicates a member of an Anglo-Norman family |
AS | indicates an Anglo-Saxon |
N | indicates a Norseman |
P | indicates a Pict |
R | indicates a person holding a religious office |
S | indicates a person from Scotland |
NOTE: The Annals referenced below under the code letters A, B, C, E, & F tend to use later spellings than the other Annals. In some cases, the spellings listed in these Annals may not be appropriate for the year referenced in the Annal entry.
In some Gaelic scripts, there is a character that looks approximately like a lowercase f,
but without the crossbar. This character (represented by an underscored
Medieval Scotland | Medieval Names Archive | Index of Names in Irish Annals Kathleen M. O'Brien's articles are hosted by Medieval Scotland, which is published by Sharon L. Krossa (contact). Shopping online? How you can support this site.
Feminine Given Names | Feminine Descriptive Bynames | Masculine Given Names | Masculine Descriptive Bynames
© 1996-2007. All rights reserved. Copyright of individual articles belongs to their authors. Please do not copy or redistribute without proper permission!
http://MedievalScotland.org
Shop
Amazon.com
Shop
Amazon.co.uk