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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Siely on Tuesday 24 December 24 15:10 GMT (UK)

Title: Christmas surname
Post by: Siely on Tuesday 24 December 24 15:10 GMT (UK)
Did you know that Christmas is a surname ?
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Gillg on Tuesday 24 December 24 15:22 GMT (UK)
Oh yes! I knew someone with that surname in Gloucestershire in the 1990s.  She was involved in education and was a vociferous critic when the college there was up for sale to a supermarket chain.  (Education won and the supermarket had to look elsewhere for a site.)

Bristol has Christmas Street and Christmas Steps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Steps,_Bristol
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Mike in Cumbria on Tuesday 24 December 24 15:33 GMT (UK)
I used to know a Philip Christmas at university.

Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: youngtug on Tuesday 24 December 24 16:03 GMT (UK)
http://surname.rootschat.com/sit-surnames.php?letter1=C&letter2=5&surname=CHRISTMAS#top_tv
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: DianaCanada on Tuesday 24 December 24 18:27 GMT (UK)
I have come across Christmas and Chrismas in East Sussex.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: coombs on Tuesday 24 December 24 18:39 GMT (UK)
I have also come across the Christmas surname in Sussex, a Mary Christmas in Dallington in East Sussex in the early 1700s. She wed into the Sinden family I think, and other researchers added her as the mother of a mutual Sinden ancestor, however my research has suggested otherwise, not yet found the whole pieces of the jigsaw next.

Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Top-of-the-hill on Tuesday 24 December 24 19:24 GMT (UK)
  My daughter was at Primary school with a girl of that name, but she is the only one I know of.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Forfarian on Tuesday 24 December 24 19:44 GMT (UK)
There was a well-known amateur golfer whose surname was Christmas. In 1969 I was stewarding at the Open Championships at Carnoustie and a wayward shot of his hit my back and dropped on the fairway. If it hadn't hit me it would have gone into the burn, and cost him a couple of strokes. He said he would buy me dinner as thanks for being in the way but it never came to pass.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: DianaCanada on Tuesday 24 December 24 20:21 GMT (UK)
Just checked my family tree program and one of my distant relatives in Sussex, John Cornford, married a Mary Christmas in Herstmonceux in 1877.  Mary was from Wartling and John from Warbleton.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Siely on Tuesday 24 December 24 22:23 GMT (UK)
Linda Christmas was the first wife ex MP Norman Fowler later Baron Fowler, speaker of the house of lords.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Jool on Wednesday 25 December 24 00:23 GMT (UK)
Christmas is also a first name.  One of my male ancestors was Christmas Spooner born on Christmas day 1883 in Monmouthshire.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: MollyC on Wednesday 25 December 24 09:20 GMT (UK)
In a step-family connected to me there was a Christiana who was married in 1833 and died in 1847.  Eventually I found she was born on 25 Dec 1802, baptised on the 28th as CRESSEY.  Also, her sister was b/bp on 17/20 April 1800 and named Easter!

A granddaughter of Cressey was named Christiana, but always known as Kitty, to the extent that her probate notice included "Christiana, otherwise Kitty".
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: CaroleW on Wednesday 25 December 24 09:58 GMT (UK)
The winner of this years Britains Got Talent is Sydnie Christmas



Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: elliot on Wednesday 25 December 24 23:42 GMT (UK)
I have a large cluster in the Selborne/Binsted/Alton area of Hampshire.
Over 270 CHRISTMAS biirths registered in ALTON area of Hampshire alone on FREEBMD.

Henry Christmas
1557–1630
Birth 1557 • Binsted, Hampshire, England,
Death 1630 • Binsted, Hampshire, England,
====
Thomas Christmas
1785–1875
Birth 18 SEP 1785 • East Worldham, Hampshire, England
Death OCT 1875 • Alton, Hampshire, England
with 13 children
 and his sons
Thomas Christmas
1812–1896
Birth 15 MAR 1812 • Selborne, Hampshire, England
Death 6 MAR 1896 • Selborne ALTON Hampshire, England
with 12 children
and another son William
WILLIAM CHRISTMAS
1814–1882
Birth 17 APR 1814 • Kingsley, Hampshire, England
Death JUN 1882 • ALTON, Hampshire, England
with 12 children :)


Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: CaroleW on Wednesday 25 December 24 23:58 GMT (UK)
Can't really see the point of this post.  You only have to look it up on the BMD index to know it's a surname🙄🙄
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: DianaCanada on Thursday 26 December 24 00:26 GMT (UK)
Can't really see the point of this post.  You only have to look it up on the BMD index to know it's a surname🙄🙄

I think it is just in the spirit of the season.
I wonder if one of those Christmases from Hampshire wandered over to East Sussex and started a branch there.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: DavidG02 on Thursday 26 December 24 02:50 GMT (UK)
We had a Christmas at our school and there are a handful in South Australia descended from John James Christmas and Martha Leak/e starting in the 1860s

On another track I looked up Scrooge and only 1 popped up on FreeBDM and in 1983 of all times
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: TheThrelfallYorky on Thursday 26 December 24 12:56 GMT (UK)
Wouldn't it be dreadful to be called "Noel Christmas"? Imagine all the teasing at School.
TTY
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Forfarian on Friday 27 December 24 16:25 GMT (UK)
Wouldn't it be dreadful to be called "Noel Christmas"? Imagine all the teasing at School.
Indeed.

To my considerable relief, there's only one Noel* Christmas listed in FreeBMD, and there's one Mr Christmas on Scotland's people with middle name Noel. There could of course be others in England and Wales with Noel* as a middle name, but the FreeBMD index only includes the initials of middle names for most of the 20th century.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Gillg on Friday 27 December 24 16:55 GMT (UK)
But i do have a friend called Noel who was born at Christmas, and I expect there are lots of others similarly (or Noelle) named thus for that reason. 
Of course there are plenty of girls (mainly) named after the month in which they were born.  I am thinking mainly of April, May and June, though other months have been used.  You can even find some named after a season or a church festival, such as Autumn or Advent. 
With a surname like mine (Fairy, etc.) I was always glad that my parents had chosen a down to earth forename for me.  Thank goodness they didn't call me Christmas! There was, however, a song I rather liked which went something like this:

"Every little girl would like to be
A fairy on a Christmas tree"
which for many years I thought had been written for me.  ::)
 
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: coombs on Friday 27 December 24 16:57 GMT (UK)
I knew a guy who had Noel as a middle name, born a week before Christmas. It is actually quite common for births around Christmas.

Also we have Crossroads star Noele Gordon who was born Joan Noel Gordon on the 25th December 1919.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: MollyC on Friday 27 December 24 17:19 GMT (UK)
Most of the Noels seem to be registered in Dec or Mar quarters.  I have just spotted one who was perhaps not born at Christmas.  His mother's maiden name was - - Nowell.  Actually there are 10 in FreeBMD from 1912 on.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Top-of-the-hill on Friday 27 December 24 18:15 GMT (UK)
  I know someone with Carol as forename - she was born just before Christmas, at home, and the carol singers called soon afterwards!

Added - browsing local newspapers 1858 and looked at an official notice signed by:- E.Chrismas
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Siely on Sunday 23 February 25 13:20 GMT (UK)
Norman Fowler MP (later Baron Fowler, Speaker of the Lords) was married to Linda Christmas 1968-76.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Kiltaglassan on Sunday 23 February 25 13:57 GMT (UK)

Norman Fowler MP (later Baron Fowler, Speaker of the Lords) was married to Linda Christmas 1968-76.

Already mentioned in reply #9   ::)


Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Siely on Sunday 23 February 25 14:18 GMT (UK)
Santa is a surname.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: DianaCanada on Sunday 23 February 25 14:30 GMT (UK)
Santa is a surname.

Judging by the list on FreeBMD, it looks like it is not English in origin.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: manukarik on Sunday 23 February 25 16:13 GMT (UK)
Like several others I have a couple of people going by the name of Mary Christmas in my family tree. One in Hampshire in 1560 and the other in Rotherfield, Sussex in 1698.
Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: coombs on Sunday 23 February 25 18:28 GMT (UK)
I was looking for the birth of a distant cousin in January 1930 in Norwich, and the adjacent entry for birth registered in the first week of Feb 1930 had a boy born 25 December 1929 with Noel as a middle name. Norwich has scanned their own 1837-1961 birth returns, which must have been copied from the registrars entries as well over the years.


Title: Re: Christmas surname
Post by: Siely on Wednesday 05 March 25 16:46 GMT (UK)
What about

Miss L. Tow