A leading probate genealogist has revealed the most unusual name he’s ever found in family history records.
Neil Fraser, a partner at probate genealogy firm Fraser and Fraser, said he’d come across some remarkable names while carrying out research.
In January 1875, for example, the birth of a baby girl called Zebra Lynes was registered in Southampton, although tragically she died soon after birth.
In 1907, meanwhile, Enough Healey was born in Mile End Old Town, London.
A boy born in Derby in 1968 was given Achilles, Hamlet, Odin, Gavin and Quince among his names.
However, Neil Fraser said that the “favourite” name found in his office was a child born in 1985 called Buzz Fly Pineapple Pedigree Abbot Whoopsie Bun.
"In this line of work,” he said, “you quickly learn that British parents have always had a remarkable gift for the unexpected.
“We have seen names that appear to have been chosen on a dare, names that seem to be the result of a lost bet, and names that defy any rational explanation whatsoever.”
There are no laws on what parents can and can’t name their children in the UK, but registrars can reject names for reasons including being offensive, containing symbols, numbers or punctuation marks, being too long or hard to pronounce, and containing titles such as ‘Princess’ or ‘King’.
In 2016, the Court of Appeal ruled against a woman who wanted to name her daughter Cyanide.
