strange family names

[Redroger]

What if a Potty married a Fartwell? More seriously there is a family, formerly of Lincolnshire surname Pimp

[rancegal]

Men with the name 'Ptolemy' are often called 'Tolly' for short.

Re nicknames etc, I often quote my uncle Jack (actually Horace) and I also had an uncle known as 'Chozzer'. Both of them are from a small village where nicknames were common. The latter was because he used to admire a politician called Sir Leonard Chiozza-Money and often quoted him.
     Sir L was ultimately involved in a scandal and fell from favour!

ps I love the idea of the lady being called 'Thankful Doolittle' after her marriage!

[Sloe Gin]

I pity Cornelius the most, Cleopatra could shorten her name to Cleo, Ptolomey to Pat or Tommy but Cornelius Agrippa...what can you do with that

I don't see how you get Pat from Ptolemy, but my grandma had a cousin Cornelius, which was always (sort of) shortened to Neil.

[Redroger]

Should have been nicknamed Corney!

[Sloe Gin]

There was a Cornelius in every generation of that branch of the family, and I think one of the earlier ones was known as Corny.

Neil is a less obvious abbreviation, but would itself have been quite uncommon as a forename at the time.

[Redroger]

Most of my male ancestors were named John or William; an Osmond was extremely in tracing my family's move from Wiltshire to Dorset in the 17th century.

[Charliemarmalade]

The Colmer parents who gave strange names to their children lived in Middle Street, Yeovil.  Robert Slade Colmer and his wife Jane were herbalists and owned a shop.  They were both convicted of murdering a Mrs Mary Budge when they botched her abortion.  The death penalty was waived and Robert Colmer ended up in either Rochester or Gravesend Prison where he died in 1889.  His wife was later released and died in Yeovil in 1891. For those of you who would like to read the gristly details, follow this link:  http://www.yeovilhistory.info/colmer-robertslade.htm

[ThrelfallYorky]

Getting back to the earliest few posts, Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in the 1920s, wasn't it? So earlier than that, probably not the inspiration for Ptolemy, Cleo etc. Perhaps just a historicall-minded family?

[Redroger]

Ptolomey is in fact a Greek surname. I know of such a family at Doncaster; strangely there is alos a family named Caesar, one of whom claims descent from Julius.