Richard Troy wrote: > > > On Fri, 8 Dec 2006, Raymond O'Donnell wrote: >> Yes, the table is used only for humans; it's part of some >> administrative software I'm writing for an educational institution, >> and the primary purpose of the gender column is to help the users >> cope with a problem new to the west of Ireland - the large influx of >> immigrants from Africa, eastern Europe and elsewhere means that it's >> no longer possible to tell a student's gender just from their >> name....! >> >> --Ray. > > Ray, darest I point out that that's never been possible in English anyway? > There are dozens if not hundreds of androgenous names - Pat and Tracy come > immediately to mind, and there are countless others! Or with Irish names: Sheridan, Tara, Shay, Shannon, Rory, Ronan, Riley, Renny, Regan, Quinn, Murphy, Keverne, Keeley, Kane, Erin, Darby, Dara, Cary, ... Yes, I was researching baby names not all that long ago... :) Cheers, Steve
