Deryni roads

[derynifanatic64]

Does anyone have a street where they live named after a person or place mentioned in the Deryni universe?

I have a road near me named Ahern Drive.

[Evie]

There are at least two Morgan Roads on either side of the Greater Birmingham (AL) area.

[Alkari]

Believe it or not, I have a very distant young relative named Alaric       Several relatives were puzzled when they heard the name - they were startled that I not only knew it and its spelling, but also its meaning ( 'noble ruler').   I told them that I had come across the name in a series of books, but I did also remind them that there was a proper historical Alaric who led the Goths ... 

I have friends who used to live down a Morgan Road (sometimes rode my horse down there). 

[Elkhound]

I have friends who used to live down a Morgan Road (sometimes rode my horse down there). 

Was it a Morgan horse? 

(Here in WV, we have a Morgantownl; it is where the major public university is located.)

[tenworld]

Believe it or not, I have a very distant young relative named Alaric       Several relatives were puzzled when they heard the name - they were startled that I not only knew it and its spelling, but also its meaning ( 'noble ruler').   I told them that I had come across the name in a series of books, but I did also remind them that there was a proper historical Alaric who led the Goths ... 

I have friends who used to live down a Morgan Road (sometimes rode my horse down there). 

Alaric may be noble but isnt Morgan a sinister name?  I lived in Derry when I started reading KK, not sure if there is a connection between "Derry" and Deryni but certainly connected to Sean, Lord Derry.  And yes Derry was originally a dairy town, settled by scotch irish.

[Evie]

I've never thought of the name Morgan as being especially sinister (in fact, it was a favorite name of mine before I ever discovered the Deryni books), unless perhaps you are associating the name with Morgan le Fay?  But it's a common enough name that I never exclusively associated it with the Arthurian Morgan.  And as Elkhound mentioned before, there are Morgan horses, and when I heard the name in my childhood years, it was usually in reference to those.  (My dad at one time hoped to buy a Morgan horse after he retired.)

[Alkari]

Was it a Morgan horse?

LOL - no, very few of those in Australia.  My horses have all been Thoroughbreds.     Like Evie, I've never considered the name Morgan to be sinister: it's one of those interesting names that can be either a first or last name, and can be masculine or feminine as a first name.

[derynifanatic64]

The bowling alley where I am now is right next to Murdock Blvd--with a K instead of an H like Murdoch in the books.

[Elkhound]

Because I was brought up on Dylan Thomas' "Under Milkwood", the name "Morgan" is associated in my mind with the character 'Organ Morgan'.

(If none of you are familiar with the play, get a recording; it is VERY funny.  It is a play for voices about a spring day in a Welsh fishing village where everyone's crazy---some are just mildly eccentric, at least two are raving loons, most are somewhere in-between.  There's a recent recording with Anthony Hopkins as the First Voice [narrator], and an old one with Richard Burton.)

[tenworld]

I've never thought of the name Morgan as being especially sinister (in fact, it was a favorite name of mine before I ever discovered the Deryni books), unless perhaps you are associating the name with Morgan le Fay?  But it's a common enough name that I never exclusively associated it with the Arthurian Morgan.  And as Elkhound mentioned before, there are Morgan horses, and when I heard the name in my childhood years, it was usually in reference to those.  (My dad at one time hoped to buy a Morgan horse after he retired.)

"mor" is a root for death (Morgana, Mordor, Morbid, Mortuary...)  , and "gan" could come from "gen" so Morgan could mean "makes death" which is a good name for a warrior.  BTW Morgan is my favorite character and I have argued in the past that the series is really his story not Kelson's, especially given that he the direct descendant of Camber and Rhys.  Since Alaric was considered evil by so many people its a fitting name then, ironically the Morgan name comes from the non-Deryni side.

[Evie]

"Mor" can be a root for death in some languages, yes, although in other languages it also stands for "sea/water" or "great," among other things.  The name "Morgan" itself is Welsh, and has a meaning that's connected with the sea ("bright sea" or "circling sea" or something along those lines, depending on whether the more modern variant "Morgan" derives from the older "Morcant" or "Morcan").  Some scholars have tried to find some etymological connection between Morgan le Fay and the Morrigan of Irish mythology, but in the latter case, "Mor-rigan" translates quite literally in Irish as "Great Queen."  Of course, in at least one if not more of Tolkien's languages for Middle Earth (which are derived at least in part from actual Earth languages, since philology was one of the Professor's great loves), "mor" does indeed stand for death, as it does in Latin.  So while the Welsh translation of "Morgan" is the most accurate in terms of historical etymology, I can see how an alternate translation of "makes death" or something along those lines might resonate more in the subconscious mind of readers more used to looking for Latinate meanings in root words.  Also keep in mind these Welsh and Breton "Morgens/Morgans":  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgen_%28mythological_creature%29.   There we've got water and death imagery all rolled up in one mythological being!   

[Elkhound]

Morgantown, WV is where West Virginia University is located; Morgantown, NC is where the state insane asylum is located.

Some would say there is little difference.

On the day of a big football or basketball game, there is no difference.

[the Bee]

"Mor" can be a root for death in some languages, yes, although in other languages it also stands for "sea/water" or "great," among other things.  The name "Morgan" itself is Welsh, and has a meaning that's connected with the sea ("bright sea" or "circling sea" or something along those lines, depending on whether the more modern variant "Morgan" derives from the older "Morcant" or "Morcan").  Some scholars have tried to find some etymological connection between Morgan le Fay and the Morrigan of Irish mythology, but in the latter case, "Mor-rigan" translates quite literally in Irish as "Great Queen."  Of course, in at least one if not more of Tolkien's languages for Middle Earth (which are derived at least in part from actual Earth languages, since philology was one of the Professor's great loves), "mor" does indeed stand for death, as it does in Latin.  So while the Welsh translation of "Morgan" is the most accurate in terms of historical etymology, I can see how an alternate translation of "makes death" or something along those lines might resonate more in the subconscious mind of readers more used to looking for Latinate meanings in root words.  Also keep in mind these Welsh and Breton "Morgens/Morgans":  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgen_%28mythological_creature%29.   There we've got water and death imagery all rolled up in one mythological being!   

Here's my favorite interpretation: As you said, "mor is Welsh for "sea": and the suffix gan means "of" or "from" (as in "Kelson OF Gwynedd" or "Festil OF Torenth."  I've always thought it would be an appropriate name for a descendant of Caeriessean royalty (or a sailor's bastard ).

[Elkhound]

Here's my favorite interpretation: As you said, "mor is Welsh for "sea": and the suffix gan means "of" or "from" (as in "Kelson OF Gwynedd" or "Festil OF Torenth."  I've always thought it would be an appropriate name for a descendant of Caeriessean royalty (or a sailor's bastard ).

I like this.  Does Gwynedd have Skelkies?

[tenworld]

well, KK had us believing for awhile that Morgan was the King's bastard, and Corwin is basically a seaport, so maybe thats where she derived the name.

So why are Morgan horses called that? Were they bred in Wales?