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That history seems to be the case with a lot of Irish names. If you look at Irish historical figures from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, you'll notice that almost all of them have English names, regardless of whether they were Catholic or Protestant. I've seen fictional depictions of Irish people during that time that don't seem to realize that and insist on giving them Irish names, especially if they're Catholic (bonus points if it's a name that wasn't historically considered a given name in Ireland). I roll my eyes when I see fictional 19th century Irish characters with names like Connor, Aidan, Shannon, and Colleen. (From what Irish people have told me, Colleen isn't considered a name in Ireland. Also, they didn't use surnames as given names in pre-modern Ireland, especially not on girls. And according to this website, at one time Patrick and Bridget were considered too sacred to use on kids.)

This message was edited 4/9/2023, 11:07 AM