On Wednesday, December 28, 1994 at 8:14:46 AM UTC-6, Sharon Krossa wrote:   
   > Greetings all:   
   >      I have been wondering for many years about the "Irishness" of my   
   > first name: Sharon. I hope this is an appropriate place to post my question.   
   >      In the United States, 'Sharon' is almost universally regarded as   
   > being an Irish Catholic name, with a smaller number coming from a Jewish   
   > background. It's not a particularly common name (I've met less than a dozen   
   > Sharon's in the USA) though I'm told its actually on the top 50 names   
   > list of the last 100 years or so, though near the bottom (again, in the USA).   
   >      All my life I've been told 'Sharon' is an Irish name, and I have   
   > never met a Sharon in the USA who did not think the same and who was not   
   > of Irish Catholic ancestry. Now, I know that originally the name comes   
   > from the _Song of Songs_ in the Bible, from the reference to "the rose of   
   > Sharon", the Sharon there being a geographic location (a plain I'm told).   
   > My question is not about the original source, but about whether Sharon is   
   > a common name in Ireland, now or in the past, or is Sharon more   
   > accurately described in the USA as a "Irish-American" name rather than an   
   > "Irish" name? Did Sharon only become popular among Irish ancestered   
   > people *after* they arrived in the USA, or is this a continuation of Irish   
   > tradition?   
   >       I have searched Irish and Scots Gaelic name lists in vain for a   
   > gaelic version of Sharon (as a name), which I would have expected if it   
   > was a longstanding traditional name (Just as one finds all the popular   
   > saints names from the bible in Irish form...). Does Sharon exist as a   
   > name in Irish (Gaelic)?   
   >       If Sharon isn't and wasn't ever a popular Irish Catholic name (in   
   > Ireland) -- where did the American perception that it is/was come from?   
   >       Anyway, I hope you can help me solve this mystery!   
   > Thank you,   
   > Sharon Krossa, s.krossa@aberdeen.ac.uk (don't be fooled by my email   
   > address -- I really am an American!)   
   > PS I am aware of the amazing popularity and rather unflattering   
   > stereotypes associated with the name Sharon in England and Scotland --   
   > was rather a shock coming from the USA where all it meant was you were   
   > probably Irish and *that* is regarded in the USA as being a *good* thing! ;-)   
      
   Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!   
      
   I am Sharon Marie, of the Irish Catholic culture.  Both sides of my family are   
   of solid lineage back to Ireland.  My experience is exactly the same as you   
   describe Sharon Krossa!   
      
   I enjoyed reading the feedback (of the pleasant kind:), and I enjoy the Hebrew   
   connection.   
      
   I was just enjoying a bit to eat before Christmas dinner and I decided to   
   google my name.  I have long been aware of the Hebrew origin, but I never   
   pursued how the name fits in Ireland.  All of my sibs have very Irish names.   
      
   Thank you- very enjoyable!   
      
   Sharon   sm.mcneely@gmail.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)