Comments

Niel Gow's Second Wife

Niel Gow's Second Wife

Hi there.

Don't laugh - but I'm trying to come up with a suitable name for a female kitten. And I'm struggling big style.

With that in mind - does anybody know the name of Niel Gow's second wife? (as in 'Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife')

xDx

# Posted on April 30th 2003 by drizzt

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

Sad person that i am, his second wifes name was Margaret Urquhart, not very kittenish (although she might have been i suppose). His first wife was also a Margaret (Wiseman)

Cheers

# Posted on April 30th 2003 by domino

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

No, that's an interesting thing to know - if you knew all the names to the folks in steps or s-club - that would be sad.

However, I'll just need to look elsewhere I think. I don't really fancy Margaret as a cats name.

Any truly appropriate suggestions appreciated - but musical/fiddle/gaelic related, nothing like 'whisper' or 'smudge'.

xDx

# Posted on April 30th 2003 by drizzt

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

This site has male and female Irish, Scottish and Gaelic names and what they mean. It might help. http://www.crosswinds.net/~daire/names/main.html

# Posted on May 1st 2003 by deblittle

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

I know someone who called his cat Potentiam just so that when it died, he could say Fecit Potentiam.

# Posted on May 1st 2003 by geoffwright

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

I think "Maggie", as an abbreviation of "Margaret", would be a perfectly lovely name for a little she-cat.

# Posted on May 2nd 2003 by sparrow

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

Just listen. You don't name cats. You just wait until they reveal their names to you. You'll know.

# Posted on May 2nd 2003 by carolsviolin

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

All our cats over the last 30+ years when they revealed their names, the name in every case began with a sibilant - Smokey, Sooty, Spike, Simba. Must be something to do with the way language is hard-wired into a cat brain.
Trevor

# Posted on May 3rd 2003 by lazyhound

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

What about "String" so it would be named for its ultimate fate? I assume that's why a fiddle player would keep cats, like a bodhrán player rearing goats.

Danny.

(joking...I like cats actually)

# Posted on May 3rd 2003 by Alf Tupper

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

I was told by the folks at the shelter that I usually adopt from that "S" sounds are best for cats' names because it catches their attention better than any other sound. (My cat is named Spats.)

So, is it just the folks that I happened to meet, or is keeping cats indoors as pets sort of a non-Irish kind of thing? Everyone I met while there either entirely disliked cats or felt that they were good to keep around as outside pets for the mousing, but never inside the house.

Picture Eoin O Riabaigh in Denver, sitting on a couch waiting for his first student to arrive, idly flipping through his hostess's latest copy of Cat Fancy as I walk into the room. "Eoin," I say, "I thought you didn't like cats?" "Well," he says lightly, tossing the thing back down, "you've got to know the enemy!"

Zina

# Posted on May 3rd 2003 by Zina Lee

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

drizzt, how about 'Grizel', the second daughter of Niel Gow from his marriage with Margaret Wiseman. His second wife, Margaret Urquhart, gave Niel's motherless bairns a secure home.

This name would also contain an approximate to the 'S' sound that Zina recommended.

The Gow family tree can be viewed in full on Perth & Kinross Library's WEB site at WWW.pkc.gov.uk.

Ed.

# Posted on May 4th 2003 by scraper

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

Ok folks - thanx for all your replies. However, the decisions have been made - and I'm afraid I reverted to the engineering tradition (I'm a stress engineer) rather than the musical one to get the names. Enzo (Ferrari) for the boy and Isambard (Kingdom Brunel) are the chosen two. Tho it'll be Izzy for short since she's a girl.
Thanx much for the suggestions tho. I particularly like Grizel too, and that would have gone with Enzo.
I agree that names are probably shown rather than chosen, but I can't stand names like 'whisper' and 'sooty'. (no offense to those who do.) And anyway, it's not like they take on the names we choose - it's just a convenience thing.
xDx

# Posted on May 4th 2003 by drizzt

Re: Niel Gow's Second Wife

I heard that the second wife actually refers to his fiddle. And he wrote it when it broke. Hence the death of his second wife.

# Posted on May 6th 2003 by RacH

Not a member yet? Sign up!

forgotten your password?

Frequently Asked Questions

Enter your email address to have your password sent to you.