I need to know if the name "Ciara" dates to the Fifth-century or not.
I have checked many "Irish" and "Celtic" name sites and haven't been
able to definitively answer the question.

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Request for Question Clarification by hummer-ga on 08 Aug 2006 11:11 PDT

Hi reneeq,

You can trace the name "Ciar" back to the first century (and as an
added bonus, make an Ulster connection). Would you accept this as an
answer?

In a paper contributed to the Franciscan Annals on the O'Connor Kerry,
Father Jarlath traces the title, "Kingdom of Kerry," to Ciar, who was
son of Fergus McRoy, King of Ulster, by Meave, the famous Queen of
Connaught. Ciar having settled in Munster in the first century, became
possessed of the greater part of the territory afterwards called
Kerry, from the word Ciarraidhe, or Ciar's Kingdom..."
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlker/history.html 

Etymology
There are a number of meanings attributable to the name Kira:
 *  Celtic/Gaelic: Anglicization of Ciar or Ciara: meaning dark or black
http://people.smu.edu/eheise/Kira's%20name.htm

The name Kerry is derived from the Irish 'Ciarraí', meaning Ciar's
People and referrs to an early Celtic tribe who built many of the
structures that still stand.
http://www.ireland.com/liveviews/counties/kerry.htm 

Will look forward to hearing what you think,
hummer

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Clarification of Question by reneeq-ga on 08 Aug 2006 12:04 PDT

Yes, I will accept that answer. thank you.

Hi reneeq,

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to post my answer despite the
missing "a. To make it official, here it is again.

You can trace the name "Ciar" back to the first century (and as an
added bonus, make an Ulster connection). 

In a paper contributed to the Franciscan Annals on the O'Connor Kerry,
Father Jarlath traces the title, "Kingdom of Kerry," to Ciar, who was
son of Fergus McRoy, King of Ulster, by Meave, the famous Queen of
Connaught. Ciar having settled in Munster in the first century, became
possessed of the greater part of the territory afterwards called
Kerry, from the word Ciarraidhe, or Ciar's Kingdom..."
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlker/history.html 

Etymology
There are a number of meanings attributable to the name Kira:
 * Celtic/Gaelic: Anglicization of Ciar or Ciara: meaning dark or black
http://people.smu.edu/eheise/Kira's%20name.htm

The name Kerry is derived from the Irish 'Ciarraí', meaning Ciar's
People and referrs to an early Celtic tribe who built many of the
structures that still stand.
http://www.ireland.com/liveviews/counties/kerry.htm 

Thanks to you, I learned alot today! Good luck with your book,
hummer

Fast answer - thanks!