There is mostly a differance of pronounciation between the Irish & Scottish Gaelic that originated a long time ago and is fairly settled. They used a lot of the same names and a lot of the same words so it is sometimes hard to tell if a name is strictly Irish or strictly Scottish. Also in the mix are names (like
Owen) that are actually Welsh.
I took a look at the names you mentioned and here's what I think:
river = ABHANN (Irish) & GLAIS (sounds Scottish)
poet = FILE, BARD (sounds Scottish) &
TADHG (Irish)
dark = Ciardha (Irish), dorcha & dubh (Scottish sound)
slender = SEANG (Irish) & CAOL (Scottish)
man = FEAR (Irish) & VIR (Scottish)
wolf = cú (Irish) & faol (Scottish)
There is rather a distinct sound in the way their names are pronounced, Irish Gaelic names seem to have a more smooth sound to them where as Scottish Gaelic names are a bit more strong sounding, to me at least! :) I hope I helped a little bit.
Examples of their strong, sturdy names:
DouglasMalcolmTavish
HamishIanAlistairAngusArchibaldBruceDuncanDaesloch sounds like Scottish Gaelic (the loch part at least)
ElspethFionaIslaLilliasLornaMairead
Have yourself a buggy little Christmas! I've adopted 26 ! and 4 @, see my profile
This message was edited 12/26/2005, 9:55 PM