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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Finder on Wednesday 25 May 11 01:03 BST (UK)
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I was cruising through census & noticed some very strange christian names, one wonders what the parents were thinking of at the time, this name caught my attention most, "Featherstone Atkinson" ???, like I mean to say that's not a good start to life, LOL!, anyone else noticed strange names?
James
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I think everyones family tree will have someone with a slightly odd name in somewhere or other. My favourites are:
Onesimus BARLOW
Coxe SWANNELL
Onesimus emigrated to Canada - but thanks to his forename he's easily spottable amongst records!
My personal favourite though is Samson Napolean PALMER. I was slightly surprised that he was given the middle name Napolean given that he was born in England only 40 years after the end of the Napoleonic wars. He married Flora Bella Jervas CHURCH - only to die at the relatively young age of 27.
Flora then married Samson's brother - the slightly less exotically named - Moses. As it was illegal (I think) to marry her husbands brother she married under the name Bella Gervas PALMER.
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The most unfortunate lad on my tree was called Blick Henshall Nail.
Also in my research we are possibly related to (Sir) Frescheville Holles. I always wonder what Frescheville was known as, it's such a mouthful. Though none of the nicknames I can think of are very appealing. :D
In both cases these Christian names were surnames in the family (on the female line) that were dying out. Though for some strange reason Blick & Frescheville did not choose to pass the name onto their kids. ::)
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Oh my goodness! :), I suppose they had pet names, couldn't imagine saying Freschville or Onesimus for example on a daily basis
guess it wasn't unusual back then, though I still feel sorry for them
James
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I keep stumbling on names I think as kind of strange, only to find a hundred (or more) in any census!
E.G. Lettuce as a girl's name?
or Cinderella?
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not family history but my little boy is called Leland which no one has heard of before. i was doing a little research on my grandads family a few weeks ago and came across a piece of writing that meantioned one of grandads ancestors weddings was performed by a rev. leland! i was dead impressed seeing as i named my boy thi 3 years ago never having heard of it in history.
i also used to loook after a girl called olufolabombini.
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When researching a friend's family I found Onesimus was a regular occurrence in her family, often shortened to Oney.
The most unusual name in my tree is Polyphemus for girl in 1881.
When you find an unusual name it is always interesting to search BMD to see how many there are, for example, there are a lot of Leland in Free BMD births.
Jebber.
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oooo really are they recent lelands or from a long time ago? i might go have a look. i just liked the name and hubby had seen it on a tv show and like it too, but i didnt relise it was a name that has been used in history :)
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A few from 1881 census for Framfield (all Male) Ephirem;Nahor;Rezin;Hamiah;Trayton;Catch;(surname Twentytwo?) Nere;Silvanus:Zebulan;
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oh i forgot to add my mum has a pee tregear in her tree, i thought this was an odd name but turns out its rather common.
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I have found a Diehappy Bagot (daughter of Diehappy Bagot); and amongst my Burgess line - all good sensible biblical names - Martha, Mary, John, Benjamin, Esther, Joseph, Deborah (plus William and Alfred) - there is the exotically named Demaris...
Cati
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My grandson (nearly 1 year old!) is called Bentley?!
Then I found 212 of them in 1911!
Mind you, it's a good job that my daughter didn't own a Lada?! ;D ;D
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I think everyones family tree will have someone with a slightly odd name in somewhere or other. My favourites are:
Onesimus BARLOW
Onesimus is a Biblical name, (New Testament) which means 'useful' and was a common name for slaves.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=onesimus
Stan
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How about Aldiborontikiphoscophorini ;D
Sadly not in my family, but see my old post:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,466452.0.html
Mike.
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Aquila Wedge - I suspect little Aquila's father had a twisted sense of humour, as aquila audax audax is the wedge-tailed eagle...
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Aquila is a biblical name, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=aquila
Stan
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Ah, thanks, Stan. Just a coincidence with the surname, then...
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My partner's tree has a McKenzie Thomson and she's female! :o What on earth did she get called ???
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ha!, my daughters sister-inlaw eldest daughter is named McKenzie, everyone mainly just says Macca, ::)
it has been interesting hearing about these different names
James
I just noticed a similar topic to this, sorry didn't realise
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not family history but my little boy is called Leland which no one has heard of before.
I'll bet there was a boom in baby Leland's after Dog was aired on tv ;)
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ha!, my daughters sister-inlaw eldest daughter is named McKenzie, everyone mainly just says Macca, ::)
it has been interesting hearing about these different names
James
I just noticed a similar topic to this, sorry didn't realise
This was in Fife Scotland in 1852 though. I suppose the old adage is true "There's nothing new under the sun" :P
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I was cruising through census & noticed some very strange christian names, one wonders what the parents were thinking of at the time, this name caught my attention most, "Featherstone Atkinson" ???, like I mean to say that's not a good start to life, LOL!, anyone else noticed strange names?
James
Featherstone crops quite a lot in Weardale as a forename as does Emmerson. I think my favourite is Zipperina which is in my OH's tree.
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is that where the name comes from then? i havent ever seen the tv show my husband like the name from! is the leland on that a good guy or a bad guy?!
not family history but my little boy is called Leland which no one has heard of before.
I'll bet there was a boom in baby Leland's after Dog was aired on tv ;)
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is that where the name comes from then? i havent ever seen the tv show my husband like the name from! is the leland on that a good guy or a bad guy?![
He's a good guy, he's Dog's son and is rather good looking :P
With reference to the name McKenzie (and it's multitude various spellings) as a girl's name, it's been rather popular over recent years, although I think it's dwindling now. I know quite a few people online (mostly USA) that have named their daughters McKenzie and most get called Kenzie or Kenny.
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John from the Mamas & the Papas named one of his daughters Mackenzie ... I suspect that's one reason it became popular. She did some acting, during her teens and early twenties ...
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Interesting, Wikipedia shows the Toponymy of the name "Featherstone" originating from the west Yorkshire area, Feother (Feather) meaning "four", & Stan ( Stone), or "Place at the Four Stones", a Waymarker or Monument of some sort, sheds some light on the origins of the name I guess & what may seem like an odd name today wasn't back then when also mixed in with the local way of speaking & Folklore
James
yes our McKenzie is also shortened to Kenzie, Macca is just one of them funny Aussie ways, like Steve is a Stevo etc
seems language is constantly changing over time
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One of my relatives married a man called Napoleon Bonaparte Money. I also have one who married a girl called Fanny Cowmeadow.
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There were some funny names given to babies during Cromwell`s time as Lord Protector. The puritans used Biblical phrases like " Barebones" and "Oh be faithful" as Christian names. Thank goodness that died out!
Viktoria.
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What about these Puritan Names http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/listofweek/puritan.html
Stan
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The most unusual name in my tree is Polyphemus for girl in 1881.
Jebber.
Why would you name a girl after a male cyclops from Greek mythology? ???
Featherstone Atkinson makes sense, as I bet the Featherstone part was a surname from his maternal line.
I find modern first names totally baffling - all these Chardonnays and Mercedes. I caught part of the TV programme Waterloo Road last week and one of the children in that is called Sambuca - how long before (if it hasn't happened already) someone names their baby after her?
Carole
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Ha, ha, good one Stan, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse
to everyone elses strange names, it just boggles the mind
James
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I find modern first names totally baffling - all these Chardonnays and Mercedes. I caught part of the TV programme Waterloo Road last week and one of the children in that is called Sambuca - how long before (if it hasn't happened already) someone names their baby after her?
Carole
There's a back story to her name. Her mother used to be a bit wild and often drunk and named Sambuca after her favourite drink.
Given that she's been in the show for at least 3 seasons now, there's been plenty of time for someone to name their child after her or the drink. I'm surprised that a quick search of Anc BMD 1916-2005 doesn't turn up any, although I'd expect there will be c2009+
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Why would you name a girl after a male cyclops from Greek mythology
Yes Carole, I too did not understand the parent's reasoning, as I doubt they even knew of the son of Cyclops. Further investigation revealed that the time of her birth, a ship, the Polyphemus, a torpedo ram, was being built in Chatham dockyard where Polly's father worked. I guess that is where the name came from, all her siblings had perfectly ordinary names.
Jebber
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i do have a lady in my tree called sellestana anne pamalena lavinia spencer! no idea why her name was so unusual a her parents were called george and mary and her siblings were called elizabeth john and samuel!
any one got any ideas?
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Lavinia, Countess Spencer 1762-1831 was the subject of this gorgeous painting by Joshua Reynolds
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/hoddworld/lavinia_spencer_by_sir_joshua_reynolds_1780s.jpg)
The name Pamela was invented by Samuel Richardson for his novel of the same name in 1740. Looking at other posts you've made I see she was born in 1841 - I wonder if her parents (mother?) just had a very romantic imagination and gave her a name that sounds as if she might have stepped from the pages of a contempory very fashionable romantic novel? People like Harrison Ainsworth, writing from the 1830s onwards, had some weirdly named characters in his novels. Lots of people were writing highly imaginative romantic novels at the time (which are almost impossible to read now) but Sellestana does sound as if she should be in one of them http://www.victorianweb.org/genre/silverfork.html
Carole
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wow beautiful picture!
i have no idea why she was called that name, and youre right it does sound like a name from a novel. might have to do some reading up.
on my other posts i also mentioned sellestana's son. he had the middle name saville/savil fuljambe! again maybe sellestana had some romantic notions and thought why not give him a lords middle names?!
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Beautiful lady sadly not so nice character for a lady! ::) Face of an angel tongue of a viper. :P
http://georgianaduchessofdevonshire.blogspot.com/2008/08/tart-of-week-lavinia-countess-spencer.html
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Gosh Stan, those are weird.
"Oh come and be faithful---gerrin fer yer tea" has a certain ring to it!!!!
Viktoria.
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oh my!, the countess sounds like a real catch, LOL!, interesting story though
James
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Whilst walking through the churchyard in a neighbouring village, I saw on a headstone the name 'Zubar'. I'm just off to look it up!
Update: I can't find it! Can anybody help? Sorry I don't know whether it's M or F
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I find modern first names totally baffling - all these Chardonnays and Mercedes.
When my daughter was at school, there was a girl called Chardonnay.
Her surname was White. ::)
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from the 1850's Brisbane Christmas Gift Rosetti. Sadly she died age 6
Barry
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I find modern first names totally baffling - all these Chardonnays and Mercedes.
The Spanish forename Mercedes (meaning 'mercies') considerably pre-dates the car, which was itself named after a young lady.
Mercédès Jellinek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Jellinek)
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I've recently come across a Farewell Hurst, so named according to legend, because his mother expired shortly after his birth. Also found Horatio Nelson B----- around the time of the Battle of Waterloo. My grandson's middle name is Cohen, not because we have any Jewish heritage, but because Leonard Cohen is his father's favourite singer!
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The Spanish forename Mercedes (meaning 'mercies') considerably pre-dates the car, which was itself named after a young lady.
Wasn't it Mercedes the heroine of The Count of Monte Cristo?
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It was the person in the link I gave above. Her father was an investor and board member of the Daimler motor company.
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My cousin's Grandmother's name was Wilhelmina Vida Sabey. Her father was William so I thought that perhaps she was named after him, sort of. It was such a mouthful of a name for a wee girl.
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Seen today on a gravestone c 1850s in Kent:
".......... wife of Dive".
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Gosh Stan, those are weird.
"Oh come and be faithful---gerrin fer yer tea" has a certain ring to it!!!!
Viktoria.
Reminds me something I read before I got my cat.
Never name your cat or dog something you wouldn't be comfortable shouting across the neighbourhood late at night
Linda
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Gosh Stan, those are weird.
"Oh come and be faithful---gerrin fer yer tea" has a certain ring to it!!!!
Viktoria.
Reminds me something I read before I got my cat.
Never name your cat or dog something you wouldn't be comfortable shouting across the neighbourhood late at night
Linda
Or if your vet is like ours, something that won't sound right with your surname.
Carole
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My vet does the same
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Actually we called our cat Max so he could be the second Maximilian Child in the family some 400 years after the first one died ;D
Carole
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Hi there
I have a family in my tree on the 1881 census who named
their children Octavia, Octavius, Septimus and Eureka
ijl
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in out tree we have several israel shepherds and an ailith
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I have a very exotic sounding gentleman in my tree called Servetus - unfortunately his surname is plain Heap!
Lancs-lassie
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I have just come across what I believe are twins called Tibylla and Sibylla.
I keep thinking of them as 'old bones'
Rishile
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I have a very exotic sounding gentleman in my tree called Servetus - unfortunately his surname is plain Heap!
Lancs-lassie
I suppose they were tempted to call him Uriah but felt it might blight his future.
My husband's grandmother was Urania, and his cousin is also Urania. Doing a search on FreeBMD for the name there are quite a few - as there are for both Nelson and Napoleon!
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My great great grandfather was called Haffenden Samson which I think is a great name but very unusual.
I tried to find out more about it and was stuck until I found out it is his grandmothers maiden name!
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until I found out it is his grandmothers maiden name!
Is there a Northeast connection in the family - that's a tradition up there. For example the actor Robson Green - his grandmother's maiden name was Robson.
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until I found out it is his grandmothers maiden name!
Is there a Northeast connection in the family - that's a tradition up there. For example the actor Robson Green - his grandmother's maiden name was Robson.
I don't think so, thay are all in Kent area. The name Haffendon is used quite a lot in middle names as well for male and female. I tried googling it but only found my own posts on family tree forums and not much else!
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Just found one while looking for something else (so naturally, I've now forgotten the surname!) ... don't know whether the child was male or female ... how's this for a first name: -
Solothurn. ???
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Listen to this from about 4.40 on,it is relevant, unless you would like to listen to all of it ;D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lMiByMich8
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And this continues; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vRz5KrO2dc&NR=1
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I think my favourite names in my tree are Novello Riley, Squire Haworth and Florence Nightingale Towers. I also have a tenuous connection to the Fish Fish family from Blackburn, Lancs. Stick that name into freebmd or something and count them. ;)
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Had I researched my family tree before my children were born there is a surname I would have used
as a second Christian name most probably for my first child and eldest son:- Cordley.
I like the sound of it. Anyone done that ?
Viktoria.