[antir-heralds] Irish names

[Ursula Georges]

Judy Harcus wrote:
> I just bought a copy of Irish Name by O'Corrain and Maguire with the
> hopes of helping a client find a female name she likes.  I was not
> surprised to find many more male names than females names but was
> disappointed with how few have dates (most of which are too early for my
> 12th C client).  

You have sent your client to Mari's Annals article, right?  That has a 
list of feminine names broken down by time period; the twelfth-century 
names are here:

http://www.medievalscotland.org/kmo/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/1051-1200.shtml

> I know the names mentioned as being from mythology are
> unusable but was wondering about the saint's names, or those names
> listed as belonging to a saint's mother.  Are these possible names for
> our period?  If so, is there any source for dating when these saints
> lived?  There are also references to a name as "an early period name"
> which I assume is not enough to be usable?

Saint's names are currently registrable without weirdnesses for time 
difference using the saint's names allowance.  Saint's mothers' names 
don't fall under that allowance, though.  I usually cross-check with the 
  Annals article and Saint Gabriel when I have time.

Mari also has a list of dated names in O'C&M, which is helpful.

http://www.medievalscotland.org/kmo/ocm/

Ursula Georges.