I thought I should share some of these links that I looked at to find the meaning of the characters names.  I found the Irish connections to be particularly interesting.

Deirdre: fear and heart break

http://www.meaning-of-name.co.uk/deirdre/

http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/richard

http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/bridget

And the name Erik is associated with power and Momo is someone crazy.