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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Indaloman on Wednesday 23 April 08 10:01 BST (UK)

Title: Weird Forename
Post by: Indaloman on Wednesday 23 April 08 10:01 BST (UK)
Has anyone come across the name of Mister before? I have an ancestor called Mister Mister Hancox!
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: bevbee on Wednesday 23 April 08 11:43 BST (UK)
There's a book called "Potty, Fartwell and Knob" by Russell Ash, full of names like these. We think some people give their children strange names now, but some of the past ones in this book border on cruelty.  :o
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Indaloman on Wednesday 23 April 08 12:01 BST (UK)
Thanks BevBee

Its boring having a name like Paul! My 2nd GGrandchild should have arrived by now, being delivered today. I am hoping that if a boy, Benjamin is squeezed in as my father was the last, he died 2 years ago age 95, and we have had a Ben in every generation,
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Comosus on Wednesday 23 April 08 13:09 BST (UK)
I have a Major White (GGGGGG Grandfather) who married 4 times.  Haven't found his birth though.  Would it have been a less unusual forename back then?

Andrew
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: matty01 on Wednesday 23 April 08 14:01 BST (UK)
I heard a woman on the radio today and her first name was O'Hara. I also knew of someone called Sydney Hobart
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Jean McGurn on Wednesday 23 April 08 15:07 BST (UK)
One of my ancestors has the forename PASHON as his third name. No idea why, none of the other siblings have any unusual names.

Jean
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Indaloman on Wednesday 23 April 08 17:01 BST (UK)
I know someone who was named, poor soul, Marus Auraleus!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Sasha on Wednesday 23 April 08 17:30 BST (UK)
I have a Major White (GGGGGG Grandfather) who married 4 times.  Haven't found his birth though.  Would it have been a less unusual forename back then?

Andrew

Don't know if it was less unusual but I've got a Major King in my tree, born c.1827 in Lincolnshire.  He had a son also named Major, and a grandson named Agamemnon.  The others in the family have fairly normal names, although Agamemnon had a brother George V. King, but as he was born c.1881, well before George V was crowned or even expected to be King I'm not sure if they meant it as that or not.  Whatever, I've always assumed the family had a bit of a sense of humour.  :)
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: wheeldon on Wednesday 23 April 08 18:35 BST (UK)
I came across a Sinister Wheeldon.  So glad he wasn't one of mine  ;)

Have a look at some of the names on the RC board relating to travelling families there are some great/very unusual names but probably not unusual to the travelling folk.
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Mogsmum on Wednesday 23 April 08 20:47 BST (UK)
Not one of mine, but I found an ancestor whose neighbour's wife was baptised 'Happy' ----- (can't recall surname).   I thought that was rather nice.

I had a great uncle whose forename was Herbert.   So what you ask?   Well, he was the youngest of 14 children so I guess they'd run out of names by the time they got to him and thus, he lived all of his 87 years as .... Herbert Herbert!   I'm glad I didn't have to witness any 'Surname?', 'Christian name?' conversations.

But Happy?   I like Happy  :)
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: 7igerby7he7ail on Wednesday 23 April 08 23:00 BST (UK)
While looking for some McElmores, I found a BORING Mcelmore in the US Census 1880.

Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Comosus on Thursday 24 April 08 00:29 BST (UK)
One of my ancestors has the forename PASHON as his third name. No idea why, none of the other siblings have any unusual names.

Jean
Perhaps mother's or grandmother's maiden name?

I came across a Smith Smith (not one of mine).
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: casram on Thursday 24 April 08 02:27 BST (UK)
while searching the trials onOld Bailey online I came across Offspring Gregory aged 17, do you think his parents had so many children they ran out of ideas?

Carolyn
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Eyesee on Thursday 24 April 08 12:33 BST (UK)
One of my ancestors, Edward Daniel CLARKE, was quite keen on family history back in the early 1800s. When he married in 1806 and started having family the sons all received names from family names from the earlier generations, or names of his friends.

Edward William - quite straight forward, both his grandfathers.
Paget Wotton - Paget from ?? Paget who was at Cambridge with EDC, and Wotton being PWs g-g-grandfather
Beaumaurice Stracey - Beaumaurice was his grandfather William's second name, Stracey from George Stracey friend of EDC
Walpole Hammond - Robert Walpole, and WHCs great grandmother's maiden surname
Octavius Halford - Not sure on these ones, he was not the eighth son and have no midea on the origin of Halford.

Eldest daughter was Augusta Angelica Laura
Second daughter was just Angelica

The names are not that weird, but interesting. Has made it easy in some aspects in looking for the people concerned. Some of the names have continued down into the next generations as well.

Ian C
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: silvery on Thursday 24 April 08 12:46 BST (UK)
I know someone who was named, poor soul, Marus Auraleus!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher  :)

Then there's that judge who was called Christmas Humphreys, can't remember his brother's name.
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Old Bristolian on Thursday 24 April 08 13:48 BST (UK)
There was a Bumstead family in Croydon in the 1840/50s who gave their sons the names Stephen Alphonso, Lorenzo, Xenophon, Caesar Augustus ............. & Paul! The daughters  fared much better!

Steve
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Jean McGurn on Thursday 24 April 08 14:57 BST (UK)
Quote
One of my ancestors has the forename PASHON as his third name. No idea why, none of the other siblings have any unusual names.

Jean

Perhaps mother's or grandmother's maiden name?


Comosus
I haven't found any relations with the name although perhaps there may be something on the grandmothers side, trouble is the mothers maiden name was Ellen Roberts.

Even tried searching for Pashon (that's how it is spelt on the birth certificate. but no joy there. Just another mystery to try and solve.

Jean
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: acceber on Thursday 24 April 08 15:55 BST (UK)
I have a 'Wallington Wookey', no idea where the Wallington bit comes from  :-\

acceber
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Musicman on Thursday 24 April 08 19:52 BST (UK)
My mother had a relative whose forenames were Algernon Excelsius Francis.  He was a long-distance lorry driver, and was once stopped by the police.  They asked his name, so he told them, but they wouldn’t believe him, and asked to see his driving licence.  The officer looked at it, and said “With a name like that, mate, I think you’ve suffered enough.  On your way.”

John
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: 7igerby7he7ail on Thursday 24 April 08 21:44 BST (UK)
A friend told me he was a direct descendent of Julius Caesar……………
His Julius was born in Italy……………..
And there he is in the 1881 census in Lancashire

I was looking for some Boots in the Nottingham area, sadly not Jesse who built up the company his father founded [Boot’s Chemist] and not related [ as far as I know] to the ones I was looking for.

I found a Wellington Boot
1881 England Cen in Nottingham

And believe it or not I went looking for a Shoe the same day and found one [well a Scheu anyway]

The next day my neighbour put in a req. to find her mothers line of GLOVEs

I hope I dont have to find a Hatt or Capp



Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Josephine on Sunday 27 April 08 00:03 BST (UK)
I haven't seen Mister as a given name before.  Interesting!

One of my favourites is Africa Bastard.  You can find him in the 1881 census transcript on the LDS site (I can't remember which country he was in).  His son had the same name.

Some of my other favourites are:
- Regent Stride
- Crispianus Burrows
- Omer Pasha Wilkinson
- Mercy Major
- Hypatia Murfin

Regards,
Josephine
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: LizzieW on Sunday 27 April 08 01:10 BST (UK)
I've got an ancestor called Philologus, I bet everyone called him Phil. ::)

Lizzie
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: rancegal on Thursday 01 May 08 22:50 BST (UK)
My aunt, my dad's eldest sister, was named Veve. I understand her father chose it, and he spent some time in Canada so it may be French Canadian. I've never heard of it anywhere else.
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: thehibberds on Friday 02 May 08 00:09 BST (UK)
I have a 'Wallington Wookey', no idea where the Wallington bit comes from  :-\

acceber

It was quite common to give (for example) the eldest son, his mothers maiden name as a forename, indeed I was delighted to be able to confirm that was the origin of one of my my dad's forenames - Campain.  Just recently I read that in addition children were often names after geographical locations - possibly thats where Wallington came from.

all the best

David
Title: Re: Weird Forename
Post by: Eyesee on Friday 02 May 08 03:53 BST (UK)
The use of surnames as second names in one of my lines was in the female side. In another line it was the eldest son.

My grandmother was Evangeline Faulconer CLARKE.
My great grandmother was Miriam Mannington FAULCONER
My g-g-grandmother was Mary Waite MANNINGTON, whose grandmother was Mary WAITE.

Ian C