What's the oddest name you've found?

[Geordie daughter]

Irish ancestors can be almost impossible to trace. Most of the time the UK censuses just state that they're born in Ireland - no county, no town name. In addition, my husband's lot were bricklayer's labourers, and either illiterate or barely literate, so there were some very odd spellings of their names, and they kept changing their minds about how old they were (probably because they had no real idea!) with each census.

[coombs]

And I can just about guarantee there must have been at least 55 thousand men in Durham with the name of Whitefield Watson whose father is Joseph!  🤔🤔🤔. In my time frames for them!  And they're all miners, YAY!

Those are my great grandfather and his father's names! It's been pretty hopeless trying to get back much further without any definite marriage info, or a birth for Joseph Watson or his wife Elizabeth.

Oh well - one day!  I have good clues, but no documentary proof!

I have Durham ancestors and find Durham can be like Wales, a county with a limited amount of surnames. I have 2 lines of Richardsons there, and have had many headaches with my Wilson family. But some odd names have been found, odd first names. Spanisher Robson.

99% of my Durham rellies were miners.

[Geordie daughter]

Thank goodness my Mum's Sunderland ancestors are Swinhoes who are slightly easier to track down, but the downside is that there are hundreds of variations on the name and virtually all of them are seamen or boilermaker/platers. Her gran was a Marshall by birth, though, and Marshalls are as numerous as Watsons, up north!

Years ago, in South Africa, we used to drive past a hoarding advertising "Human and Pitt, Undertakers." Rather appropriate. I always wondered if they went into the business together because of their surnames or if the choice of occupation was a "happy" accident.

[a-l]

I saw one yesterday that I haven't seen before, a lady named Effeness ( forename).

[Beeonthebay]

Sounds like a clothes shop.  F & S. 

[a-l]

hehe so it does

[Geordie daughter]

Or a fizzy tablet

[a-l]

hehe. I wondered if it could be the origin of Effie.

[ScouseBoy]

There is someone in our town with the first  name Christmas