I thought this was going to be easy, but apparently it's not.
I'm looking for a Scottish name that would be the equivalent of Gold or Goldman. However, there are a few other criteria that prevent a direct translation (and not just the fact that I've found two different translations for gold and about eight zillion words that can mean different types of men).
1. This is to be used in modern times in America (I don't think it'll matter, but just in case: Atlanta, Georgia), so if possible I'd like to avoid all accents (or find a way to transliterate them) and/or apostrophes, since they tend to muck up computer systems. (And here I was going to link the article I read about this a few weeks ago, but when I tried to find it again, I found that there are dozens of articles on the subject:)
2. I don't want the name to be too blatantly Scottish -- my character also has Jewish heritage and so I'm looking for something that sounds a little more neutral and/or that can incorporate both her Jewish and her Scottish heritage.
I've researched several sites, including:
http://www.wordgumbo.com/ie/cel/sco/macfar.htm
http://www.wordgumbo.com/ie/cel/sco/erengsco.htm
http://www.firstfoot.com/scottish_dictionary/glossword/index.php?a=index&d=1
http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MF2/index.html
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/dictionary/_bin/
All of the above were found through Google. Bablefish has failed me, as it does not have the ability to translate from Scottish.
ETA (after reading a few comments): I'm afraid that this really must be a combination of Scottish, rather than Irish. However, either Gaelic or Lallans would be acceptable (also, I feel very ignorant right now -- I had no idea there were two languages spoken in Scotland).
More details on the situation: the character is marrying an extremely liberal and progressive man and they've decided that they're *both* going to change their last names. He's Scottish and she's Jewish-Scottish, so they've decided to go with a Scottish-ish form of or play on her last name (Goldman). Their families have both been in America long enough that neither one knows where in Scotland they are from, but he likes to wear his kilt every once in a while (primarily because he gets to do it in the 'traditional' style:)
ETA2: What I've found in my searching is gold='or' or 'oir' (with an accent over the 'o') and man=duine. Suggestions on how to Anglicize or duine (or oir duine) would be greately appreciated.
ETA3: The Jewish/Scottish woman seems to be causing issues, so I'm revising her background so that she's simply Jewish (from somewhere, obviously, but not from Scotland). The man is still of Scottish heritage.
Scottish Translation for a Name
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