The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-07-17
NAME OF BRIDGET
Means Strength in Irish, But II !.
Almost Obsolete.

! are borne by the men and women Of
Ireland since the earliest days Of Chris
tianity in thta island Patrick means
"a patrician" or nobeman, and Bridget
means strength" The names have
almost fallen into disuse among the
Irish people, because the English ridi-
culed them and called them Paddy"
and "Biddy' by way of contempt The
Irish got ashamed Of them and today in
Ireland or America one meets with
few Irish people bearing the once hon
ored names of Patrick and Bridget. 1t
is cowardice and ignorance that caused
them to discard the names Of the two
great saints in the Irish calendar.
When the Irish first came in num-
bers to America, Patrick and Bridget
were very common Christian names
amongst them: not some fanciful name
from the latest popular novel nor the
name of some popular idol of the day
was given to these children when they
entered the church of God. Their par
ents preferred to give them the name
of the patron Or patroness of the Irish,
| judging wisely that the prayers of st.
Patrick or of st. Bridget would be
worth more to the child than "cute"
name. These first Irish emigrants were
mostly poor and these Paddles and
Biddies, as they were called, suffered
of
ant rich. But the sons Of ST. Patrick,
knowing that their poverty was glor-
ious heritage Of centuries of relentless
persecution, ignored the sneers and the
jeers and let no false shame lessen
their attachment to their national saint.
And now when their sons and grand
canals which they dug with pick and
shovel and the general managers of
the railroads which they dug with
many an ache, st. Parick has even
more spiritual children, who boast his
name than ever before, and no one
would be silly enough to show his
such a noble name.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be
said of the name Of Bridget, says a
writer in the Catholic Register. The
1rishwomen of America, when they
were poor.and despised by vain world
lings, did grow ashamed Of the holy
Nf OF o< -
their descendants did. That name
which throughout the centuries had
been the indication Of purity and piety
has now become an object Of derision
Not only in this country, but even in
the Anglicized. that is, English speak
ing parts of Ireland, parents hesitate
before giving their daughters such a
low Irish name as Bridget" Those
who, when they were too young to
have say in the matter, were chris
tened Bridget, often remedy this mis-
fortune now by concealing this very
questionable name under some popu-
lar nick name. such as Bea or Birdie
and even Bedelia!
And why? Was it that the Irish
girls who came to this country brought
dish0nor on their patron ST. Bridget :?
No, thousand times no. They have
been accused of but one crime-that
they were poor. And why were they
poor? Because their fathers refused to
sell the holy heritage of their faith
for mess of English pottage. 1t
rests now entirely in the hands of the
descendants Of the Irish in America
to lift this false cloud of shame from
the name of Bridget. If the fathers
and mothers of Irish descent will take
concerted action they are powerful
enough and influential enough to make
the name of Bridget as popular and as
respected name as that of Mary, in
ten years.
Some faint ones may object-"Brid-
get" neither looks nor sounds nice az
name. Well, as regards it's looks
| there is nothing to prevent anyone
from dropping the clumsy misspelling
Bridget for the correct Irish spelling
Brigid Cor Brigit). AS regards it's
sound, Brigid is pronounced according
to the laws. il such there be, Of Eng
lish phonetics. The English sound
represents neither the pristine old Irish
sound, nor the softened and very beau
| tfful form of the name in modern Irish.
| Hence, if some do not like the sound of
the name, English phonetics alone are
responsible. and really it sounds as
we'll as many English names to which
no one would think of Directing. How
ever. We are fortunately able to suit
the NOSE fastidous taste. There is an
other English rendering of the name of
the Mary Of the Gael" a rendering
which corresponds to the softened form
of the name in modern Irish. This is
Bride. Yes, st. Bride is a beautiful