Nope. Never knew any Mac Stiofans personally. Sounds ominous though, I'll check into that one.

What you said about American assumptions kind of amuses me - I find that some people regard us as the red-headed, lefthanded stepchildren of Europe, but we really aren't. You have to be here a while to really get the picture. We may be ignorant about some things on the whole, but we have other strengths.

In any case, I know Stephens isn't a name that originated in Ireland. I was just pointing out that it's very widespread. I've actually got a good, thick book on Scottish surnames which is very reliable, while my other information comes from my Gaelic friends and their personal histories, my grandmother, her library, and the library at Indiana University. My mother knows history too - she's got a degree in poly-sci. And we all read incessantly.

You gotta love names! They represent so much, not only to ourselves, but to others. Besides, if you tie in to families with long records, you can find out what your folks did waaay back when. My friend Joan Martin happened to stay at a house in Ireland that she later discovered was part of her ancestral holdings. She was reading about the Martins in Ireland (old Norman family) and saw a picture of it! Almost as good as a ghost story....

You know, I'm very American in certain respects, like being terribly attached to the Bill of Rights (which keeps us from getting as screwed over quite as thoroughly as the citizens of some other countries, though we're getting there) but I'm very Gaelic in my ways. My husband wants to vacation in Nova Scotia before moving there, but I'd have gone a long time ago myself. He's fine with living there for a while anyway, and that'd give me a chance to get my Gàidhlig in good working order.

Slàn an dràsda,

ciarili o'brien (married an Irish man!)