Angus (given name)
Encyclopedia
Angus is a masculine given name
in English
. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic 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. The feminine form of Angus is Angusina.
The earliest form of the given name Angus, and its cognate
s, 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. According to historian Alex Woolf
, the early Gaelic form of the name, Oengus, was borrowed from the British Pictish
Onuist, which appears in British as Ungust. Woolf noted that these names are all derived from the Celtic *Oinogustos. Linguist John Kneen
derived this name from two Celtic elements the following way: *Oino-gustos, meaning "one-choice". 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.
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic Aonghas
Aonghas (given name)
Aonghas is a masculine given name in Scottish Gaelic. It 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 names is Aengus...
, which is composed of Celtic elements meaning "one", and "choice". A variant spelling of the Scottish Gaelic name is Aonghus
Aonghus (given name)
Aonghas is a masculine given name in Scottish Gaelic. It 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 names is Aengus...
. The Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
form of the Scottish Gaelic name is Aengus
Aengus (given name)
Aengus is a masculine given name in Irish. It is composed of the Celtic elements meaning "one", and "choice". It is the Irish form of the Scottish Gaelic Aonghas, Aonghus...
. 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. The feminine form of Angus is Angusina.
The earliest form of the given name Angus, and its cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s, occurs in Adomnán's Vita Columbae (English: "Life of Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
") as Oinogusius, Oinogussius. This name likely refers to a Pictish
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
king whose name is recorded variously as Onnust, Hungus. According to historian Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf is a medieval historian based at the University of St Andrews. He specialises in the history of the British Isles and Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, especially in relation to the peoples of Wales and Scotland. He is author of volume two in the New Edinburgh History of Scotland,...
, the early Gaelic form of the name, Oengus, was borrowed from the British Pictish
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
Onuist, which appears in British as Ungust. Woolf noted that these names are all derived from the Celtic *Oinogustos. Linguist John Kneen
John Kneen
John Joseph Kneen was a Manx linguist specializing in Manx who translated the Isle of Man National Anthem, "Arrane Ashoonagh Dy Vannin," into Manx. The anthem was written in English and composed by William Henry Gill....
derived this name from two Celtic elements the following way: *Oino-gustos, meaning "one-choice". Woolf also stated that between about AD 350 and AD 660, the Insular Celtic
Insular Celtic languages
Insular Celtic languages are those Celtic languages that originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of mainland Europe and Anatolia. All surviving Celtic languages are from the Insular Celtic group; the Continental Celtic languages are extinct...
dialects underwent changes which included the loss of the final syllables and unstressed vowels, which affected *Oinogustos thus: *Oin
People with the given name
- Angus CameronAngus CameronAngus Cameron was a Republican and a member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin from 1875 to 1881, when he did not seek reelection, and again from 1881 to 1885, when he was elected to succeed Matthew H. Carpenter, who died in office; he did not seek reelection in 1885...
(1826–1897), American politician - Angus Cameron (academic)Angus Cameron (academic)Angus Cameron was a Canadian linguist and lexicographer.-Life:Cameron was born in Nova Scotia on 11 February 1941 and educated at Truro Senior High School and Mount Allison University before winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford...
(1941–1983), Canadian linguist - Angus Cameron (director)Angus Cameron (director)Angus Cameron is a British director best known for his association with Creation Records during the 1990s, where he made music videos for Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Cathedral, Primal Scream and others...
, British director - Angus ClarkAngus ClarkAngus Clark is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He has toured with the internationally renowned and Grammy-winning New Age artist Kitaro, as well as with the hard rock acts Drill and Naked Sun, and is currently touring with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and DareDevil Squadron...
, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer - Angus Cleveland (born 1988), Film storyboard artist
- Angus DeaytonAngus DeaytonGordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
(born 1956), British comedian - Angus DonaldAngus DonaldAngus Donald is a British writer of historical fiction. As of 2011, he has released three books that loosely follow the story of Alan-a-Dale.-Biography:...
(born 1965), English author - Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of HamiltonAngus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of HamiltonAngus Alan Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton and 12th Duke of Brandon was the premier peer of Scotland...
(1938–2010), also has subsidiary title as the 22nd Earl of Angus - Angus Falconer Douglas-HamiltonAngus Falconer Douglas-HamiltonLieutenant-Colonel Angus Falconer Douglas-Hamilton VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.- Life :Born at Brighton in 1863, he was the son of Major...
(1863–1915), Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross - Angus DunAngus DunAngus Dun was a noted United States clergyman and author, who served as the 4th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington in Washington, DC.-Early life:...
(1892–1971), American bishop - Angus FraserAngus FraserAngus Robert Charles Fraser is the current Managing Director of Cricket of Middlesex County Cricket Club, and a former English cricketer and journalist....
(born 1965), English cricketer in the 1980s and 1990s - Angus HoustonAngus HoustonAir Chief Marshal Allan Grant "Angus" Houston AC, AFC is a retired senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force and was the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 2005 until his retirement on 3 July 2011...
(born 1947), Australian soldier - Angus KingAngus KingAngus S. King, Jr. served two terms as the 72nd Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003. Since 2004, King has been a distinguished lecturer at Bowdoin College teaching a course called "Leaders and Leadership"; in the fall of 2009, he also taught a similar course at Bates College...
(born 1944), 72nd Governor of Maine - Angus KonstamAngus KonstamAngus Konstam is a Scottish author and historian. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands, he now resides in Edinburgh. He has written more than 60 books on Maritime History, Naval History, Historical Atlases, and other historical non-fiction.- Early life :Although born in...
(born 1960), Scottish author and historian - Angus Mackay (historian)Angus Mackay (historian)Angus Mackay, born in Lima, Peru in 1939, is a Scottish historian and Hispanist, specialising in Later Medieval Spain.Having spent four years as a lecturer in history at the University of Reading, most of his career has been at University of Edinburgh, where he became a Doctor of Philosophy in 1970...
(born 1939), Scottish historian - Angus MacLiseAngus MacLiseAngus MacLise was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher probably best known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground.-Biography:...
{born 1938), American musician - Angus MonfriesAngus MonfriesAngus Monfries is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. Monfries plays forward pocket or half forward.- Early Football Career :...
(born 1987), Australian rules footballer - Angus G. WynneAngus G. WynneAngus Gilchrist Wynne, Jr. was a land developer, founder of Wynnewood Shopping Center and community development in Oak Cliff, a suburb of Dallas. He also developed Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags St. Louis theme parks in Texas, Georgia, and Missouri...
(1914–1979), American businessman - Angus YoungAngus YoungAngus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
(born 1955), Scottish-born Australian musician - Angus T. JonesAngus T. JonesAngus Turner Jones is an American actor, widely known for his role as Jake Harper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men .-Career:...
(born 1993), Two and a Half Men actor