Re: Cymerians?

Thats what I've read too, and you're correct about the G to Q
in Ireland. In Scotland I'm not entirely sure it worked that way.
I've seen it as Qu as early as 1500 and my branch of the family
didn't flee the Mull mess until around 1670. However, I've
found an inconsistency in the Gael name Guaire and the meaning given
the clan name Quarrie. Guaire in legend is said to come from
Guarai-Guaïroï-Guadhre, an ancient Gaelic personal name meaning
variously 'rough hair', 'bristly', 'wooded', etc. The only Scots
Gaelic cognate seems to be _guairne_ 'hag' (Ir._guarna_, _guairne_).
However, this is not completely the case, as from:

Black, George F
1946 The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History,
New York Public Library, New York.

MACQUARREY, MACQUARIE, MACQURRIE, MACWHARRIE, 'the son of Guaire,'
an old Gaelic personal name meaning 'proud' or 'noble,' from early
Gaelic *gaurio-s, akin to Gr. gaur-iaô.

Again, Black based this on the early Gaelic gaurio. Surprisingly this
conforms to the clan legends as to the meaning of the name. Tracking
this down I found this from:

Liddell, Scott, and Jones
Lexicon of Classical Greek

gaur-iaô=to bear oneself proudly, prance
gaur-os=exulting in, haughty, disdainful, splendid, braggart
gaur-otês/êtos=exultation, of a horse
gaur-oô=make proud
gaur-ôn =overriding
gaur-ôma/atos=a subject for boasting
gaur-ia/ma/atos=arrogance, exultation
gaurêx/êkos/ho= braggart

When this was combined with information about the mac Quarrie totem
animal is the salmon, while the clan symbols are a ship and three
duns. The association of these symbols with early Irish literature
and local Christian era venerations of the Manannan deity suggest a
very ancient origin. Here one may be reminded of the Irish legends
where several wells containing 'the salmon of knowledge', which
acquire their mystic wisdom or second sight by eating the hazelnuts
that drop into the water. Or in the Cormac Vision where the hero sees
a dun with four houses, and a 'bright well' surrounded by ancient
hazels. In the well were five salmon, which ate the nuts as they
dropped. Cormac meets Manannan who reveals the Land of Promise and
presents a magic cup and branch. Interestingly Mannnan is also
associated with both a magical horse and a ship called the sea
racker. There also is a legend about the claiming decent from seals,
which again suggest a pre-Irish/Christian setting. Several of the
older family from Mull, such as mac Cormich and Eachern appear to
have horse and seal connections as well.

This leads me to think that the clan name may not be directly related
to the Gaelic. Rather I'm thinking it may be a Gaelicization of
an early form more related to Giodelic, that by the course of events
and geography was isolated for a long period from developments in
Ireland. If this is the case it may explain why there is a
persistence to display and pronounce it as Kw or Qu.

Have to run


Joseph