Angus (given name)

Angus is a masculine given name in English. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Aonghas, which is composed of Celtic elements meaning "one", and "choice". A variant spelling of the Scottish Gaelic name is Aonghus. The Irish form of the Scottish Gaelic name is Aengus. A pet form of the given name Angus is Angie, pronounced "an-ghee", which represents the Scottish Gaelic Angaidh. A short form of the given name Angus is Gus, which may be lengthened to Gussie.[1] The feminine form of Angus is Angusina.[2]

Angus
GenderMasculine
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Scottish Gaelic, Irish
Word/nameAonghas
Other names
Short form(s)Gus
Pet form(s)Angie
Derivative(s)Angusina
See alsoAengus, Aonghus, Angaidh

The earliest form of the given name Angus, and its cognates, occurs in Adomnán's Vita Columbae (English: "Life of Columba") as Oinogusius, Oinogussius. This name likely refers to a Pictish king whose name is recorded variously as Onnust, Hungus.[1] According to historian Alex Woolf, the early Gaelic form of the name, Oengus, was borrowed from the Pictish Onuist, which appears in British as Ungust. Woolf noted that these names are all derived from the Celtic *Oinogustos.[3] Linguist John Kneen derived this name from two Celtic elements the following way: *Oino-gustos, meaning "one-choice".[4] Woolf also stated that between about AD 350 and AD 660, the Insular Celtic dialects underwent changes which included the loss of the final syllables and unstressed vowels, which affected *Oinogustos thus: *Oinogustos.[5]

Variations

Old Irish Modern Irish Hiberno-English Scottish Gaelic Scottish English
Óengus Aengus Aeneas Aonghas Angus

People with the given name

References

  1. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 16, 341, 399, 400, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  2. "Learn about the family history of your surname". Ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010. which cited A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280050-7. for the given name "Angus".
  3. Woolf, Alex (2007), From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. xiv, 330, ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8
  4. "Christian Names". www.isle-of-man.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010. which is a transcription of Kneen, J.J. (1937). The Personal Names of the Isle of Man. Oxford University Press.
  5. Woolf, Alex (2007), From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, p. 62, ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8
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