Morven

Morven (f) Also Morvern, Morvyn. Scottish use of
Morven seems to have increased in the late 1970’s. Morven is the name of mountains in Aberdeenshire and Caithness; Morvern is the name of a district in North Argyll. In Macpherson’s Ossianic poems (1765) Morven is loosely used to represent the whole of North-West Scotland. Fingal is called both ‘King of Selma’ and ‘King of Morven,’ Selma (which is also used as a Christian name) being the capital of Morven. The mountain name Morven is Gaelic mór bheinn, ‘big ben,’ i.e., ‘big mountain peak.’ Morvern is Gaelic mór bhearna, referring to the big pass or ‘cleft’ which runs through the district. Some reference books have confused Morven and Morvern with the name of a Cornish saint, Morwenna, a name still occasionally used in Cornwall. The original meaning of Morwenna is obscure, but it is no doubt related to other names such as Morvoren, ‘mermaid,’ where Mor- is ‘sea’.

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