Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Amhladh,[1] Amhlaidh,[1] Amhlaigh, and Amhlaibh.[2] The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is Amhlaoibh (pronounced [ˈəulˠiːvʲ],[1] Munster Irish: [ˈəulˠiː]);[3] which can be Anglicised as Auliffe[1] and Humphrey.[4]

The Old Irish personal name Amlaíb is a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse Óláfr, and is recorded in the Annals of Ulster as being introduced into Ulster by "Amlaíb, son of the king of Lochlann"[5][6] In the 9th century, Óláfr may have been pronounced more like the Old Norse Áleifr.[7] A Classical Gaelic form of this Old Irish name is Amhlaíbh.

The older Irish Gaelic names Amalgaid[4] and Amhalghaidh[4] (pronounced "owl-ghee"),[3] were borne by an early king of Munster, and an early king of Connacht. Even though these names were of a different origin than the above Gaelicised Norse names, they were "totally confused" in the later Middle Ages with them.[4] In later times, Amalgaid and Amhalghaidh were Anglicised as Auley; as well as Awley, which was a spelling commonly used by the Magawleys of Calry.[4]

In the Irish counties of Antrim and Armagh, Amley is found as a variant of Aulay or Auley and gives rise to the surname MacAmley or Macamley.[8]

Notable people with these names

Personal name

Aulay
Amhlaoibh
Amalgaid
Amlaíb

Within a patronymic name

Amalgado

Other

"Hamlet" hypothesis

Hugh Kenner (1989) has argued that the name Amloði (the Old Icelandic form of the name Hamlet) originates with the Irish form Amhlaoibh.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Hardcastle, Kate (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of Names (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 341, 342 399, 400. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
  2. ^ Dunkling, Leslie (1978). Scottish Christian Names: an A-Z of First Names. Johnston and Bacon. pp. 24, 143.
  3. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (1996). Irish First Names. Collins Gem. HarperCollins. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-00-470942-0.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ó Corráin, Donnchadh; Maguire, Fidelma (1981). Gaelic personal names. Academy Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-906187-39-5.
  5. ^ Stafford, Pauline, ed. (2009). A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c.500-1100. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-1-4051-0628-3.
  6. ^ "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Amlaíb / Amhlaoibh". Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ^ Woolf, Alex (2007). From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8.
  8. ^ Edward MacLysaght, Book of Irish Surnames, MacCamley
  9. ^ Kenner, Hugh (1989). A Colder Eye. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins Paperbacks. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-8018-3838-X.
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