Hi Jim, The Index to Townlands (short, informal name for the work you cite) was published in 1861, based on the 1851 Irish census, and was intended to standardize the Anglicized (English) spellings (and more than spellings -- some placenames had alternate names that were not mere spelling variations) of placenames as of that date. If you've found Corkill in a pre-1861 document, it's not "standard" because it was one of the many variants that the (British) government was trying to standardize by means of the 1861 publication. Incidentally, with or without the "h," the name's pronounced the same, so the "Cork-ill" spelling might actually be more reflective of the pronunciation. (So, if you found "Corkill" in a post-1861 document, it's just reflecting the local pronunciation). The Index to Townlands is available digitally at seanruad.com . The Placenames Database you mention is an effort to standardize the IRISH spelling of placenames, not the English. It's an effort of the government of the Republic, so their coverage of Northern Ireland is spotty ("Irish name to be confirmed" comes up on the ones I spot- checked). On the search you mention, the results show four hits for Corkhill, only one of which has (yet) had an original Irish name put forward. Because it's possible that different placenames (or surnames) that are Anglicized the same have different Irish origins, the folks creating the Placenames Database are not assuming that the four Corkhills all derive from the same Irish word, so you should not either. And note, the one that does have the Irish form says it is "non-validated." Presumably, then, more research is needed before they consider this definitive. Both sources are useful, for different purposes. In Northern Ireland, the Pointer database is also helpful -- www.pointer-ni.gov.uk -- but it's not currently pulling up (do I remember it being pulled? anyone?). A cached version of the Pointer page directs you to http://www.osni.gov.uk/ for geographical lookups. Hope that helps. Claire K. CTI List Admin On Nov 22, 2008, at 11:19 AM, jj.carroll wrote: > In attempting to find a definitive answer to the question as to why > some authorities refer to the townland of Corkhill as Corkill, in > County Tyrone, ... > "According to "General Index to the Town and Townlands of Ireland, > (Registrar-General of Ireland" (Dublin, 1861, reprinted 1984 - > http://lccn.loc.gov/83082450), there were five locations in County > Tyrone... [That's five locations with Corkhill in their names -- 4 Corkhills and the Corkhill Demesne. CK] > > ...Placenames Database of Ireland which facilitates the > standardization of "Irish Placenames" that have been approved by > the [Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland]... <htttp:// > www.logainm.ie/Do.aspx?uiLang=en. " > > This later site is very handy, but it may require some diligent > searching on your part. For example, under Corkhill (of County > Tyrone) there were four citations but none of them came up with the > one that I was looking for. Further down the list I located the > Irish spelt name of Corrchoill, which was what I was looking for. > > This data base contains both the Irish and English spellings for: > 61,622 townlands 18,311 streets 6,180 minor features 3,515 > electoral districts 2,925 post offices 2,574 civil parishes 679 > rivers 651 lakes 374 features 345 baronies 268 towns 219 population > centres 211 islands and archipelagos 190 mountains and mountain > ranges 148 monuments 121 promontories 105 bridges 104 bays 83 hills > 62 localities 32 counties 32 rocks 26 passes 25 valleys 19 strands > 17 estuaries 12 fields 61 other geographical units > > Regards, > Jim Carroll