In a message dated 3/5/01 9:03:00 AM, SHAMROCK-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: << I was once told that Catholic girls sometimes used there "Catholic names" rather than their birth names. Could this be true when it came to registering on documents or census reports? i.e. Could a Catherine be a Mary, or other? Also, does anyone know of any "Irish" interpretations / variants of the name Thomas? >> Catholics were supposed to use a saints' name when baptising a child. "Pagan" names were strongly discouraged. However, Catherine is also a saint's name (in fact, there are several St. Catherines) . And names like Siobhan (Joan) and Padrig (Patrick) are just the Gaelic equivalents. But naming a child "Moonbeam" (for instance!) would probably have given the priest a stroke. I think nowadays there is a lot more tendency to use older Gaelic names. Thomas is Tadhig (did I spell that right!!??) Janet C-S