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Middle names in English-speaking places appeared very gradually. They were virtually unheard of before 1700, and the earliest example of a documented middle name was about 1646. Middle names continued to be quite rare until the 1800's. After about 1850, they came to be customary in most places.

With a custom that was becoming ever more popular, it is difficult to tell whether someone who used a middle name as an adult actually started out with it, especially if there is a birth record that leaves it out. Of course, there could be reasons why a middle name bestowed upon a child might be omitted from official records, such as a clerk who felt these "new-fangled" middle names were a silly affectation and simply refused to write them down.

Matheson’s Special Report on Surnames of Ireland shows surnames with five or more entries in the birth indexes of 1890, and the main counties in which they were found. The birth rate was 1:44 at that time so you can estimate the number of people of the name at that time. On microfiches, available from A. J. Morris for a very reasonable sum.
Genealogical Publishing has it in book form.
Irish Genealogy, a record finder, ed by Donal Begley, Heraldic Arts, Nassau St., Dublin 2, includes Matheson's Special Report.

Useful Books about Irish and "Scots-Irish" Surnames

An excellent resource for anyone interested in the origin of their Irish, Scotch-Irish, English-Irish ect. surnames is Dr. Edward MacLysaght The Surnames of Ireland. Published by Irish Academic Press, 6th Ed. is ISB 0-7165-2367, 1985.

Irish Pedigrees, 2 vol
O'Hart. Lists many Irish families "back to Adam and Eve!
Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Dublin 1892,
ISBN 0-8063-0737/4 Set Number, ISBN 0-8063-1259-9


Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia,
Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta Co., 1745-1800.
By Lyman Chalkley. 3 vols., 623+652+712p. (1912) 1993.
An invaluable source for Scotch-Irish research, this set contains
marriages, wills, deeds, fee books, delinquents & more. Indexed.
Reprints available Higginson books.

Books about Celtic Names:

O'Corrain, Donnachadh. Irish Names. 2nd ed. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1992

Rosenkrantz & Satran. Beyond Sean and Shannon. (This one is from memory-- it may be *Beyond Shannon and Sean.*)

Sierra, Judy. Celtic baby Names:Traditional names from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. Eugene, OR: Folkprint, 1997.

Names in general:

Ingraham, Holly. People's Names: A Cross-Cultural Reference Guide to The Proper Use of Over 40,000 Personal and Familial Names and Cultures.
Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland & Co, 1997.
Note: This is an excellent and fascinating book. Aimed at writers who need authentic names for their novels, it has lists of names and commentary on naming patterns from many times & places.

TIPS on finding other surname sites

1) Look for a mailing list for the surname and/or spelling variations in http://lists.rootsweb.com  or  GENEALOGY Resources on the Internet. Email the list with your research info/questions and ask others to also let you know of sites for that surname.

2) Search RootsWeb Archived messages. You can search within one list only or the whole archive. RootsWeb Mailing Lists -- Interactive Search enter the surname to look at archived messages. Many people on the list will include their sites in the signature line.

3) Search in http://www.familytreemaker.com for relatives with your SURNAME AND SPELLING VARIATIONS. Use "Internet Family Finder" on FTM's site and ALSO check other genealogy software sites since many people who don't have their own websites post on to the site of their genealogy software.

4) Check www.ancestry.com's Researcher Index. Create a "Researcher index" listing the link to the page on other sites with the most relevant info AND next to each link, a brief description of the line on that site.

5)  Search Engine Strategies
    a) use keywords "SURNAME AND FAMILY" also "SURNAME and GENEALOGY." This is also likely to bring up sites with historical information on your relatives.
    b) Go to http://www.submit.com , http://www.addme.com and similar sites. The search engines listed as "free" to submitters are likely to be the best search engines for you to use since MANY people only list their genealogy sites with search engines that will accept the listing either free or because it is simply on the list of engines at submit.com.

6) Check http://www.INSERTyourSURNAME.com ; .net; ;org since these are often genealogy sites and even when they are not the webmaster might know of other sites for the surname or add a link to your site.

7) Numerous Websites have lists of surnames webpages:  Local Names Ireland  Links to Irish Names YourFamilySurnameList         

8) National Surname Search