Talk:Bridget O'Neill/@comment-4423292-20131023150508

Bridget is an Anglicized form of the Irish name Brighid which means "exalted one". In Irish mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god Dagda.

Bridget's middle name, Cathleen, is after her grandmother. Cathleen is a variant of Kathleen, which is an Anglicized form of Caitlín. Caitlín is the Irish form of Cateline, which is the Old French form of Katherine. Katherine comes from the Greek name Αικατερινη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name ‘Εκατερινη (Hekaterine), which came from ‘εκατερος (hekateros) "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek αικια (aikia) "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρος (katharos) "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.

O'Neill means "descendent of Niall". Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly means "champion" or "cloud".