Do we have an official way to name County Laois?

Question

All of my profiles I have used Co. Laois (after Independence) and Queens County (before 1922) as the general spelling that seems most common. However, when looking at the latest suggestions list for the Connect-a-thon this weekend, this list has been broken down into counties with the spelling of Leix As someone very new to Irish geography, should I be using 'Leix' since this is how the suggestions list seems to be identifying the County?

Comments

My guess is that the historical term is just that - historical.  If the documents for the person say "Queen's County" (1556 to 1922), I will use that in the place name data field.  Likewise, if they say "County Laois" (post 1922) I will use that.   If the category is using the spelling "Leix", then that's what the category will be.  (Although, the category picker doesn't seem to like any of those keywords.)

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The place names in the suggestions list and on FamilySearch-supplied dropdowns are not based on some Universal Gazetteer of Valid Names. If valid place names are missing or misspelled, we need to tell Ales (for suggestions) and FamilySearch.

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This seems to be above my pay grade and skills base  So I suggest I can carry on adding Laois or Queens as appropriate in my Connect-a-thon entries.

Answer 1

When under foreign rule, the foreign occupier imposed the name "Queen's County". Foreign rule ended in 1922. The Republc of Ireland now governs. They restored the original Irish name, Contae Laois, of if you prefer the Bearla (English) version, County Laois..The foreigner's "Queens County" has been relegated to the same history closet as New Amsterdam (now New York) and New Holland (now Australia).

Comments

Thanks Rory, but you missed the point of my question. It is an issue of spelling on Wikitree. I (and most other genealogist sites) appear to use 'Laois'. However the Wikitree suggestion list uses 'Leix". Should I and everyone correct our usage? I've raised the question, but because it might take longer than this weekend's Connect-a-thon to resolve, I will continue using Laois after 1922, and County Queens for the period prior. Since so far, I am well away from any ancestors prior to 1556, I don't have to worry about pre-County Queens at this stage.

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Brian, gotcha. That’s a tougher question. The Republic of Ireland who I would accept as the authority,  spell the county Laois but spell a town in neighbouring Co Kildare as Leixlip. So like the Republic of Ireland, I too use Laois for the county and Leixlip for the town. This probably sounds unsatisfactory to some. I believe Laois to be the Irish form and Leix to be an anglicised form.

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The letter X is never used in the Irish language, so Leix (rarely seen today) is indeed an anglicised form of Laois, just as Abbeyleix (frequently seen today) is an anglicised form of Mainistir Laoise, one of the principal towns in the county.