Hi Dee, Not sure if this will answer your question, but, it was very customary for many girls in Ireland to be named after the 'Blessed Virgin Mary', thus they were all named Mary Ellen, Mary Catherine ,Mary Anne..... etc. Even all in one family. The tradition carried down for generations, even in my own family. One of my grandmas was Mary Aileen, another Mary Elizabeth, My aunt, Mary Ellen, my older sister Mary Christine, my younger sister Mary Ellen, and then myself--I guess the middle child syndrome--Janet Aileen. They subsequently all went by their second names, Aileen, Elizabeth, Christy, Ellen, and I am stuck with Janet! I wish I could find the website that goes into detail about the naming patterns, but can't seem to find it. Whenever I see a person posting a name such as Ellen, Catherine, etc., I will always search under 'Mary' also, as usually was their first name! Hope this helps!! Janet Aileen!! _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus