Ó Cuiv: an ancient name spelt with a difference
An Leitriú Shimplí simplified the Irish spelling system by eliminating extraneous letters from a word or surname. Thus, Ó Séaghdha became Ó Sé and Ó Laoghaire became Ó Laoire. However the only ‘simplification’ in all of the thousands of Gaelic surnames to add a foreign letter (in this case ‘v’) was the adulteration of Ó Caoimh to Ó Cuív, a very recent introduction made within the last three generations.
Irish surnames are the oldest permanent surnames in Europe and Ó Caoimh is one of the most ancient, becoming permanent by the end of the 10th century. Your scribe in the Annals of Inishfallen similarly adulterated the name by spelling it Í Kymh and using a ‘k’ and ‘y’ which, like ‘v,’ also do not exist in the Irish alphabet.
