Re: Galvin/Gallivan
-
In reply to:
Galvin/Gallivan
James Gallagher 4/23/10
Well, as another Honora Galvin, I have a few things to say about this.
The spellings are interchangeable because Gallivan is the correct way to pronounce Galvin, which is Geal?áin in Irish.
In Irish, if the letter L is followed by a ? or BH (which is pronounced V), a vowel is inserted in between them. But it doesn't change the original spelling.
So when it's translated into English, there are Galavans, Galvins, Galvans, Gallivans, Galevans.
In 1869, only 20 years after the Potato Famine (my own Honora Galvin ancestor came to the US then in 1849), literacy was probably pretty hit and miss in Ireland. (I think there was a 2nd famine or at least depression around that time.)
If you spoke and spelled your name the Irish way and someone else spelled it their way, you might just go with the flow. If you were illiterate, you might just keep quiet.
This is the reason why there is Soundex in searches. I've found the same family member's name spelled several different ways.
Universal literacy wasn't common until about 1910 (and I found an ancestor who was said to be illiterate then). I found illiterate relatives of a friend in France even later.
More Replies:
-
Re: Galvin/Gallivan
James Gallagher 10/18/10
-
Re: Galvin/Gallivan
Nora Galvin 10/19/10
-
Re: Galvin/Gallivan