Names

There are those who do not know and those who do not care. Amelia Bloomer’s parents could hardly have been aware that her surname would be given to an item of women’s underwear, nor Charles Cunningham Boycott’s family that he and they would ever after be associated with a refusal to have anything to do with something or other. There are many more examples of such surnames. Those of Samuel A. Maverick, Jean Martinet, Samuel Plimsoll and Etienne de Silhouette are but a few.

What is more difficult to understand is why people would consciously want to inflict first names on their offspring that could make them figures of fun. Yet somewhere in Britain there are parents with the surname Dwyer who decided to call their child Barb; a Mr and Mrs Case chose Justin for their son; the Cades have a little one called Barry; and the Turner family have an infant called Paige (doubtless hoping he will turn into a best-selling author.)

In Sweden, at least, such names would almost certainly not be allowed. The legislation clearly states that a forename may not be such that it can be perceived as offensive or can lead to unpleasantness for the person bearing it.

The above parents and those of Stan Still, Mary Christmas and Chris Cross in the UK, and Bill Board and Carrie Oakey in the US, please note.