It is a fact that Viking warriors, and later Viking settlers,
conquered (and later settled at) various places in England
and Ireland. Most of the sites in Ireland were on the south
and eastern coasts (which is quite logical, considering the map),
and one of the areas where Vikings clearly were present is the
area now known as Carlingford.
It's not as well-known a Viking settlement as, say, York in
England or Wexford in Ireland, but Carlingford was unquestionably
the site of Viking conquests, landings and settlements.
Most probably (but not definitely), the Vikings who landed in
Carlingford were from Norway. IMHO, this is highly probable, but
not yet documented or proven.
The "ford" part of the name "Carlingford" definitely comes from
the Old Norse word fjord, so this was definitely Carlin's fjord.
Whether Carlin was the name of a Viking warrior, or was a
pre-existing name, is not yet proven, although it is unlikely that the
Vikings would apply their own type of place name, fjord, and use
an existing area's name. More common for Norwegian Vikings
was the use of their own leaders' names, plus a place word.
So, IMHO, as yet unproven, Carlingford is named after a Viking
leader whose name was, or sounded like, Carlin (such as, for
example, Cairlinn).
The word Carlin, of course, came to different places at different times
and from different sources, as has been established by Mr. Colin
Carlin of England after more than a decade studying the subject.
Thus, the origin of the word Carlin may be, and undoubtedly is, different
in, say, Ireland than it would be in Italy or southern France. Nonetheless,
in this once instance (Carlingford), the name appears to have come
from a Norwegian Viking.
Now you know.
http://www.attorney.carlin.net/carlingford.htm
Fredric M. Carlin
White Plains, NY
fred(a)CarlinArchives.com
or attorney(a)carlin.net