Hi, How frequently in the early 1800's in official documents was the name Marion substituted for someone named Sarah? And vice versa? I have checked the 'what's in a name' website which says that they were used interchangeably but I am wondering if that was really so... Morag seems to be closer to Sarah than Marion. Any thoughts appreciated. Gay

Gay King asked: > How frequently in the early 1800's in official documents was > Marion substituted for someone named Sarah? And vice versa? > > I have checked the 'what's in a name' website which says that > they were used interchangeably but I am wondering if that was > really so... Morag seems to be closer to Sarah than Marion. Hi Gay I hope we get some inputs on this as it's a long jump from Sarah to Marion in my view - Sassenach that I am. I don't think we claimed full interchangeability of Sarah & Marion, but always pleased to get additional anecdotal evidence. The stories I reported in "What's In A Name" only show that the Gaelic Mór can be Anglicised as either Marion or Sarah. I suspect, but I don't know for a fact, that the anglicised version chosen might be dependent either on the area or the family. The evidence for full interchangeability is sparse which is why I classed Sarah & Marion as "Lesser Synonyms" indicating that the link is from a common name rather than direct. My correspondent in Canada who knows of an example of full interchangeability in Kilmorack, Scotland, was very clear on this but it's the only example we have found. Looking forward to any other inputs. Best wishes Ray Hennessy Forenames website: www.whatsinaname.net

I understand Mor to mean big, great, or large, and that Morag can be the Gaelic for Sarah or even Sally. However, how Morag = Sarah stretches my imagination (for an Australian). Agh = heifer, hind. So does Morag mean big heifer? I cannot find Marion, but it may derive from Marian, which may derive from Mary Ann. Chris Ridings -----Original Message----- From: Ray Hennessy [mailto:rayhennessy@iclway.co.uk] Sent: Saturday, 22 January 2005 11:54 To: MORAY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [MORAY] name game: Sarah & Marion Gay King asked: > How frequently in the early 1800's in official documents was > Marion substituted for someone named Sarah? And vice versa? > > I have checked the 'what's in a name' website which says that > they were used interchangeably but I am wondering if that was > really so... Morag seems to be closer to Sarah than Marion. Hi Gay I hope we get some inputs on this as it's a long jump from Sarah to Marion in my view - Sassenach that I am. I don't think we claimed full interchangeability of Sarah & Marion, but always pleased to get additional anecdotal evidence. The stories I reported in "What's In A Name" only show that the Gaelic Mór can be Anglicised as either Marion or Sarah. I suspect, but I don't know for a fact, that the anglicised version chosen might be dependent either on the area or the family. The evidence for full interchangeability is sparse which is why I classed Sarah & Marion as "Lesser Synonyms" indicating that the link is from a common name rather than direct. My correspondent in Canada who knows of an example of full interchangeability in Kilmorack, Scotland, was very clear on this but it's the only example we have found. Looking forward to any other inputs. Best wishes Ray Hennessy Forenames website: www.whatsinaname.net

> How frequently in the early 1800's in official documents was the name > Marion > substituted for someone named Sarah? And vice versa? > I have checked the 'what's in a name' website which says that they were > used > interchangeably but I am wondering if that was really so... Morag seems to > be closer to Sarah than Marion. Never heard pf Sarah being used for Marion or vice versa. There has to be a first time for everything! <g> Anne

Anne Burgess wrote > Never heard pf Sarah being used for Marion or vice versa. There has to > be a first time for everything! <g> The Forenames website address is: www.whatsinaname.net I hesitate to say that it's all there, but there's certainly a lot in the database already - including why Sarah & Marion are slightly synonymous in Scotland!! Ray