E NOW COME to the Celtic patronymics formed from personal names of purely native origin.
As many of these are capable of being translated, being originally significant of personal qualities, it is often difficult to distinguish between the regular names and the mere nick-names, whose derivatives in family nomenclature are discussed in the following chapter. In making this distinction, our guide must be the old Irish records, which give us some of these words as regular names, while others appear only as descriptive epithets appended to the names. Several of these native names were borne by persons who attained the honours of saintship, and thus, like other hagiological names, give rise to secondary formations with the prefix Giolla. Fiachan, Lord of Conaille died,' A. D. 787. Four Mast., Vol.