Aulay is a Scottish masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. It is an

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, , , and . The standard

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigeno ...

form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (, ); which can be Anglicised as ''Auliffe'' and ''

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of Pr ...

''. The Old Irish personal name ''Amlaíb'' is a

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaels, Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread fro ...

form of the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

'' Óláfr'', and is recorded in the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

as being introduced into Ulster by "Amlaíb, son of the king of Lochlann" In the 9th century, ''Óláfr'' may have been pronounced more like the Old Norse ''Áleifr''. A

Classical Gaelic Early Modern Irish () represented a transition between Middle Irish and Irish language, Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. Classical Gaelic Classical Gaelic or C ...

form of this Old Irish name is ''Amhlaíbh''. The older Irish Gaelic names ''Amalgaid'' and ''Amhalghaidh'' (pronounced "owl-ghee"), were borne by an early

king of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

, and an early

king of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

. Even though these names were of a different origin than the above Gaelicised Norse names, they were "totally confused" in the later Middle Ages with them. In later times, ''Amalgaid'' and ''Amhalghaidh'' were Anglicised as Auley; as well as Awley, which was a spelling commonly used by the Magawleys of Calry. In the Irish counties of Antrim and Armagh, Amley is found as a variant of Aulay or Auley and gives rise to the surname MacAmley or Macamley.

Notable people with these names

Personal name

;Aulay * Aulay Macaulay, (died 1788), an English inventor of a system of shorthand. *Sir Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple, (–1617), a Scottish clan chief. * Aulay MacAulay Morrison, (1863–1942), a Canadian lawyer and politician. ;Amhlaoibh *

Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin (May 1780 – 1838) was an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one-time hedge school master. He is also known as Humphrey O'Sullivan. He was deeply involved in Daniel O'Connell's campaigns for Cath ...

, (1780–1838), an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one time hedge school master. ;Amalgaid * Amalgaid mac Congalaig, (died 718), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. * Amalgaid mac Éndai, (died 601), an Irish king of Munster, from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eoganachta. *

Amalgaid mac Fiachrae Amalgaid mac Fiachrae (Old Irish: Amalgaid mac Fiachrach Ogham script: ᚐᚋᚐᚂᚌᚐᚔᚇ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚃᚔᚐᚉᚆᚏᚐᚓ) (died 440) was a King of Connacht of the Ui Fiachrach sept. He was the son of Fiachrae mac Echach Mugmedóin a ...

, (died 440), an Irish king of Connacht, from the Ui Fiachrach sept. ;Amlaíb *

Amlaíb Conung Amlaíb Conung ( ; died c. 874) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary '' Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, and brother of ...

, (died ''c''.875), a Norse or Norse-Gael leader in Ireland and Scotland in the years after 850. *

Amlaíb mac Sitriuc Amlaíb mac Sitriuc ("Amhlaeibh, son of Sitric") or Olaf Sigtryggsson, was the son of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, the Hiberno-Norse King of Dublin, and Sláine, the daughter of Brian Boru. A member of the Uí Ímair dynasty, his ancestors also include ...

, the son of the Norse-Gael king of Dublin, Sigtrygg Silkbeard, a member of the Uí Ímharr dynasty. * Amlaíb Cuarán, a 10th-century Norse-Gael who was king of York and king of Dublin. * Amlaíb of Scotland, (died 977), was king of Scots during the 970s. * Amlaíb mac Gofraid (died 941), a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty, was king of Dublin from 934 to 941. *

Olaf II of Norway Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he w ...

, the Norse-Gaels called him Amlaíb. * Amlaíb Ua Donnabáin (died 1201), king of Uí Chairpre Áebda slain by William de Burgh and the O'Briens.

Within a patronymic name

;Amalgado * Conaing mac Amalgado, (died 742), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. * Cúán mac Amalgado, (died 641), an Irish king of Munster, from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eóganachta. * Dúngal mac Amalgado, (died 759), an Irish king of Brega, from the Uí Chonaing sept of Cnogba (Knowth) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill.

Other

* Cín Lae Amhlaoibh, an Irish language diary written by Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin. * Dónall Mac Amhlaigh, (1926–1989), an Irish writer. * Dùn Anlaimh, a crannog located on the Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. * Dunan Aula, a cist located in Craignish, Argyll and Bute, Scotland; traditionally named after 'Olaf, son of the king of Denmark'. * Mac Amhlaoibh and Mac Amhalghaidh (Irish septs), Irish septs and clans. * Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, (born 1978), an Irish musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland.

"Hamlet" hypothesis

Hugh Kenner William Hugh Kenner (January 7, 1923 – November 24, 2003) was a Canadian literary scholar, critic and professor. His studies on Modernist literature often analyzed the work of James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Samuel Beckett. His major study of ...

(1989) has argued that the name '' Amloði'' (the Old Icelandic form of the name ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'') originates with the Irish form ''Amhlaoibh''.

References