Unusual names

[lankeela]

Heard a woman call her sprog Jasper today and it got me thinking about names that you don't hear very often.
Only one I could think of was Jasper Conran. Another one is Lester Piggott - I know one other Lester, but you don't hear it very often. I went to school (occasionally!) with a boy called Eldred. Recently heard another mum call her little girl Andy - when she wouldn't do as she was told it became Andromeda! There were also twins at my school called Romulus and Remus.

Of course there was Elvis Costello - the only other time I've heard the name Elvis apart from the obvious and I presume that Elvis Costello took the name as some form of tribute?

Harrison Ford
Keanu Reeves
Dustin Hoffman

I'm sure you clever lot will be able to think of others?

[Buenchico]

So the only other Jasper you can think of is Mr Conran. What about a certain Brummy stand-up comedian?

Elvis Costello was originally Declan Patrick McManus. He probably chose 'Elvis' simply as a way of getting noticed, rather than as any form of tribute. (I've no idea why someone with such a wonderful Irish name should choose 'Costello', which is a Yorkshire nobility name).

Elvis is a Scandinavian name, meaning 'all-wise'.

Keanu is Hawaiian for 'the breeze'. I don't know whether it's common in Hawaii or simply adopted by families on the US mainland.

Harrison simply seems to be using a surname as a forename. In some parts of the UK it's quite common for children to be given their mother's surname as a middle name. While it's less common for a surname to become a first name, it's certainly not unknown.

Dustin comes from the Old German for 'brave warrior'.

Some names which are completely original can, over a period of time, become quite commonplace. 'Wendy', for example, did not exist prior to J M Barrie inventing it for use in 'Peter Pan'. Nobody was called 'Chelsea' until the Clintons decided to give their daughter this name. I also wonder how many children have been named 'Oprah' which, apparently, only came into existence when the registrar mis-heard Ms Winfrey's parents.

I've yet to hear of anyone naming their son after the British actor, Finetime Fontayne!

Chris

[jno]

don't believe everything you hear about Barrie 'inventing' Wendy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan

[homerthegrea]

a girl i work with has just had a baby boy and called him Zedd

[spudqueen]

I have an American friend called Dwen which apparently was originally a Welsh surname. And I heard a woman on the radio a while back who had called her daughter Magic.

[shaneystar2]

I went to school with a girl named Lettuce.! Good job her surname wasn't Leaf although that did become her nickname after the comic strip which I think was in the Eagle along with other things like Lettuce pray and so on ..poor girl ..she was ever so nice too!

[Tim123]

Jasper Carrott was born Robert Davis. He got the nickname Jasper at school.

[4getmenot]

Demelza

[Hellion]

My son is Maximilian, his middle name is Bradley which is my maiden name - my fathers middle name was his mother's maiden name - Kirkham.
other possible names on the list for him were Orlando (before Orlando Bloom!) Gabriel, Rufus

His school friend is Archibald - whose sister is Verona.

Also at school are; Saffron, Sorrell and one poor scrap called Channel pronounced like Chanel - the parents couldn't spell I fear!

I've also met Esmarelda, Maybury, Montgomery, Xanthe, Vanda, Strang.

And I heard a mother yelling 'Zero' at her child in a supermarket

[saanen]

I have a mate called Gersham - biblical, apparently.

[redcrx]

My son has my maiden name as his middle name too.

[A Chill Wind]

Buenchico - Costello was the name of one of EC's grandparents and before adopting Elvis as his first name he billed himself as D.P. Costello.

[unruliejulie]

My Mum had a neighbour called Everard! Hows that for a great name!!! he was sometimes called Ev for short but most commonly know as Ted, and who can blame him!!! Shut that door!

[Ed Strong]

My daughter went out with someone called Morton.

[lankeela]

My father's middle name was Morton, and I used to pretend this was half of my double barrelled surname when I went to horse shows.

[dot.hawkes]

My ex husband's brither is called Lester. He was born in 1955

[Nummy]

my friend's daughters are Hazel and Jemima - not many of those around at the moment.

and i have a great nephew called Merlin - which is the only Merlin i've heard of.

[unruliejulie]

I also had a school friend who called her son Lancelot!!!!!! I wouldnt mind, but she was dead straight laced.

[RogK]

TV lady, Fern Britton has a very good actor brother called Jasper.

[pickalily]

I have taught a Delaphine,Danika and Byron.
My friend's niece was called Shawnee Tiara...
My son could have been called Lester as he was named after my husband's favourite jockey..luckily Pat Eddery (Patrick not Eddery)

[archiestaffy]

I went out with a guy called Wesley, heard a woman on a bus with a daughter called Trinity! Have also heard Tiger, Regan and Flower for young babies!