Talk:Vera Moray/@comment-6301921-20150121135243/@comment-26955746-20150121153352

Well "dubh" can definitely also mean dark.

Also, having had a look on WIkipedia it looks like the word "Dubgaill" (meaning 'dark foreigners') that was used to refer to the Vikings also took the form "Dubhghoill" in the past. "Gall" is an old Irish word for stranger so I think that's where the "dark stranger" translation is coming from. It's possible and quite likely that since this term is such an old one (from ~900-1100 AD) that "goill" and "gaill" meant the same thing. (It could also be a spelling mistake passed down through the years). I found other similar spellings like  "Dubhgoill" and "Dubhghaill" used around the 1500s which I think is long enough ago that the current translation (i.e. "black upset") won't be accurate.

By the way, when it says "dark foreigners" it isn't refering to skin colour; but rather the colour of their hair. And don't get hung up about the extra h's and i's in certain different spellings; they're there for gramatical reasons etc. but generally don't change the meaning of the word.

You know, I didn't realise it was a real name before now. Apparently the surname "Doyle", which is quite common in Ireland, is derived from it. The more you know!

I forgot to sum this up by saying that I think this is definitely worth mentioning in the trivia section. The "black upset" translation doesn't make much sense anyway but I suppose we can keep it there as the 'modern Irish' translation and adding "dark strangers/foreigners" as the more likely meaning.