Re: What's in a name?
>>"Britain" is a corruption of the Norman French "Bretagne"
Before the old French (Bretaigne I think you mean) there was the Latin "Britannia or Brittania" being earlier, it's probable the Latin influenced the old French.
>>Ireland's never been described as any sort of Britain
Ptolemy wrote about "little Britain" in Almagest
Aristotle wrote about "British Isles" consisting of two islands "Albion" and "Ierne"