UKC

Great hill, and I love trying to say it. But how should it be spelled?

Gaelic speakers - do you prefer Ceathreamhnan or Ceathramhnan ?

Maps, and my old copy of Scottish Hill & Mountain Names, seem to favour ea, but it's a in the latest SMC Munros guide and elsewhere.

Perhaps it doesn't much affect pronunciation either way, and there are many more important things to worry about. But I'm editing an article where it's written several times so I'd like to be consistent if there is a right answer. Thanks 

According to https://www.ainmean-aite.scot/ one version has been Anglicised which is Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan

The full Gaelic would be Sgùrr nan Ceathramhnan.

So both right depending what language you are writing in.  Interestingly there is preference to use Gaelic names for hill even when writing in English but it is not universal, we never see Beinn Nibheis in articles do we......

Look it up in the Ordnance Survey name books and see what they say. 

https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books

If it's any help, the OS inch-to-the-mile Sheet 72 1st edition 1880 has ...ream... as do subsequent editions up to the 3rd edition in 1910. 

The NLS digital archive is a wonderful thing.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=6.0&lat=56.71138&lon=-4.90000&am...

Thanks for that, think I'll stick with English since I can never remember how to type accents and it's spelled that way on our database too. Perhaps that's wrong of me, but as you say, Nevis... Not a can of worms we have time to disentangle anytime soon.

You mean do some research? I was hoping someone would just tell me what to do

I've always spelt it with the e. I don't think I've ever seen it wthout.

What an amazing resource! How didn't I know about that?

In this case it looks like the OS has been using the anglicised version since the beginning

I struggled to get a written search to do anything, but this map is handy! https://www.ainmean-aite.scot/searchable-map/

AAA is (or should be) the definitive source for Gaelic placenames in Scotland.   It is academically led from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig with the backing of Bòrd na Gàidhlig.    You are right the search tool can be limited - if AAA has not researched a placename then it is not there.

Thanks for that, I didn't know about it

Technically it should be “ceathramhnan” due to the Gàidhlig spelling rules which states: slender to slender (e,i) and broad to broad (a,o,u). Vowels round consonants within a word.

This rule explains why it is Màiri, Iseabail…. 
Once you know the rule, your spelling accuracy increases significantly.

It's possible my memory could be wrong, but at the time of researching for my Cuillin book I was led to believe that the present Gaelic spelling (it not being a written language up to that point) was largely the invention of a single Edinburgh professor some time in the 19th century.