[Cairenn]

"Cairenn nic Giolla Coinning" is 11th Century Gaelic. It started out as my name in the SCA 'lo these many years gone, and it just "fit" in the mmorpg world too, so I've been using it here for as long as I've been on-line gaming. It is also the name I use on all of my *Interface.com/MMOUI.com sites.

"Cairenn" - From the Gaelic "cara" + the diminutive "-in" meaning "little friend or little beloved." Caireann Chasdubh ("Cairenn of the Dark Curly Hair") was the mother of the legendary warrior Niall of the Nine Hostages and thus was the maternal ancestor of the high kings of Ireland. Translated to modern day English it is "Karen" (which is my 'real life' first name). While most will tell you that Karen is a derivative of Catherine, there are many that believe that Cairenn is the actual originating name.

"nic" means "daughter of", the same as "mac" means "son of' and "o" means "grandson of" (Now you know where all the MacDonalds and O'Reillys came from )

"Giolla Coinning" translated to modern day English means "Kilkenny", the name of my SCA clan.

Thus fully translated to modern day English, it's "Karen, daughter of Kilkenny" and is my main's name in any given mmorpg. She is always an elven ranger/hunter.