Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this attitude to names like Fanny in old books is silly?

210 replies

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 12:49

I've seen posts here agreeing with the new Enid Blyton editions that changed Fanny to Franny and Dick to Rick, some even saying she must have meant it as a double entendre.

 Just seems silly & narrow-minded to me. Not everything was always meant as a double entendre. Should Fanny Price in Mansfield Park also be changed? Or other characters called names that mean different things now?

I remember my mother passed down a minor Blyton book with a kitten called Bimbo in. Was that Blyton being rude, or just due to the fact that Bimbo was slang for 'kid' then?

OP posts:
MrsShawnHatosy · 28/04/2026 15:05

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:51

I don't think it is 'kids these days' though pushing for it to be changed.
I'm older Gen Z as I said and while people my age are aware of the slang meaning it's not the most commonly used one.

Generally on here where people snigger it seems to be adults who find it hilariously funny or say changing is appropriate.

A lot of the time people assume things will be issues for kids which actually aren't. It's like trigger warnings for things like spanking in books which I came across a lot in older stuff like Blyton. My mother never smacked me and reading it never made me scared that she would, I was aware it was a different time.

Edited
Show quote history

Grimms’ fairytales were never meant for children.

Scorchio84 · 28/04/2026 15:03

Oh man yeah 😂😂

MrsShawnHatosy · 28/04/2026 15:03

MeanwhileinGilead · 28/04/2026 13:44

In order to maintain consistency Peter, Willy, Rod, Lance, Dirk, John, Roger, Woody, Randy, Mickey, Buddy, Cherry, Tulip, Minnie, Muffy, and Mouse are all going to have to go too. Also the surnames Johnson, Wang, Hickey, Weiner, Bone, Bean, and anything including "cock".

(Speaking of which, I can't believe someone posted this on Ed Balls Day!)

Oh no, the lovely Phil Wang will have to change his name! So will the equally lovely Garrett Wang of Star Trek Voyager fame.

Bichette · 28/04/2026 15:02

Scorchio84 · 28/04/2026 14:54

@Carla786 Fanny Craddock "may all your donuts turn out like Fanny's"

Ha ha. Illustrating the importance of apostrophes there.

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:54

MeanwhileinGilead · 28/04/2026 13:44

In order to maintain consistency Peter, Willy, Rod, Lance, Dirk, John, Roger, Woody, Randy, Mickey, Buddy, Cherry, Tulip, Minnie, Muffy, and Mouse are all going to have to go too. Also the surnames Johnson, Wang, Hickey, Weiner, Bone, Bean, and anything including "cock".

(Speaking of which, I can't believe someone posted this on Ed Balls Day!)

Ha, didn't know it was Ed Balls Day (what?) !

OP posts:
Scorchio84 · 28/04/2026 14:54

@Carla786 Fanny Craddock "may all your donuts turn out like Fanny's"

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:54

Monty36 · 28/04/2026 13:38

A child should not understand the context of the word Fanny as adults now choose to use it.
It was not filth as you put it then. So it says a lot about the people of today sadly.

Show quote history

And that's a good point : unless parents tell them to use it as a slang term for their own genitalia (which is less common now), kids reading Blyton type stuff shouldn't know the meaning anyway

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:52

Scorchio84 · 28/04/2026 14:14

The OG Fanny

(pic will take a few minutes to post)

Edited

What was the pic?

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:51

TheBeaTgoeson1 · 28/04/2026 14:25

It’s pathetic, when I was growing up they were Fanny and dick and those words had ‘rude’ meaning then, nobody bothered. Kids nowadays must be total drips to not be able to cope.

I don't think it is 'kids these days' though pushing for it to be changed.
I'm older Gen Z as I said and while people my age are aware of the slang meaning it's not the most commonly used one.

Generally on here where people snigger it seems to be adults who find it hilariously funny or say changing is appropriate.

A lot of the time people assume things will be issues for kids which actually aren't. It's like trigger warnings for things like spanking in books which I came across a lot in older stuff like Blyton. My mother never smacked me and reading it never made me scared that she would, I was aware it was a different time.

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:46

REP22 · 28/04/2026 14:33

I agree - it is silly. Apart from the racist ones (I remember the Little Black Sambo book in my grandparents' toy box. Rupert the Bear also had a few unfortunately-named international friends, if I recall correctly), which should be binned.

I like Jane Austen - Mansfield Park is an absolute masterpiece and I remember being highly annoyed at the puerile cacklings of my teen DB and his friends on learning that the heroine was called Fanny Price. It's only short for Frances. Although I will concede that I have occasionally inappropriately smiled at Henry Crawford's line "my Fanny will feel a difference indeed: a daily, hourly difference, in the behaviour of every being who approaches her".

Edited

Yes I feel like racist ones are different. Even at the time some were criticised..'Fanny' doesn't mean anything derogatory to a group as a slang term, it's just a body part.
That does sound annoying. 🙄 I agree you might chuckle occasionally but the reaction people often have is OTT.

OP posts:
REP22 · 28/04/2026 14:33

I agree - it is silly. Apart from the racist ones (I remember the Little Black Sambo book in my grandparents' toy box. Rupert the Bear also had a few unfortunately-named international friends, if I recall correctly), which should be binned.

I like Jane Austen - Mansfield Park is an absolute masterpiece and I remember being highly annoyed at the puerile cacklings of my teen DB and his friends on learning that the heroine was called Fanny Price. It's only short for Frances. Although I will concede that I have occasionally inappropriately smiled at Henry Crawford's line "my Fanny will feel a difference indeed: a daily, hourly difference, in the behaviour of every being who approaches her".

HughManity · 28/04/2026 14:32

Gay Search - Wikipedia

The Real Minty Clinch – A Skiing Legend | Ski Line ®

I used to work with more than one Dick.

TheBeaTgoeson1 · 28/04/2026 14:25

It’s pathetic, when I was growing up they were Fanny and dick and those words had ‘rude’ meaning then, nobody bothered. Kids nowadays must be total drips to not be able to cope.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 28/04/2026 14:20

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:48

Sorry I'm naive : Peter? Mickey? Tulip? Buddy? 🤣

I think someone called Muffy would have issues but it's rare.

Show quote history

I’m old enough to remember girls being named Gay. Or Gaye.

Scorchio84 · 28/04/2026 14:14

The OG Fanny

(pic will take a few minutes to post)

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:06

Iatethelastbiscuit · 28/04/2026 13:59

It’s a shame to change them. It’ll take all the joy out of being 9-years-old and laughing hysterically about the fact someone’s actual name is Fanny

I'm not sure that many 9yos now would be as aware of the slang anyway. I'm older Gen Z & maybe I'm naive but I don't think people my age use the slang that much. When I was 9 I'd only come across 'fanny' in that sense once I think (and that was in Roald Dahl's Matilda, where he oddly uses it in the US sense - Mr Wormwood says something about how Matilda shouldn't 'sit on her fanny reading story books' , unless I've misremembered!)

Anyway I don't think it's ideal to be laughing at the idea of it being someone's name when it was fairly common in living memory and still is in some countries.

OP posts:
Jc2001 · 28/04/2026 14:06

didntlikeanyofthesuggestions · 28/04/2026 13:30

Of course changing the names is appropriate. I don't want my children exposed to filth. It's no longer acceptable to say all manner of things - that's progress!

Its ridiculous is what it is. It feels like you're rewriting history to suit a modern narrative. Even if it is fiction it reflects the values and norms of the time. Even novels are important historical documents.

And it's not filth it's a name. If your grandmother was called Fanny, would you pretend to your children that she was called something else? Or maybe even deny her existence altogether.

It's the opposite of progress.

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 14:01

EverydayRoutine · 28/04/2026 13:58

It is so irritating when publishers change characters’ names. Surely people are generally intelligent enough to understand that language isn’t static, words develop new meanings, and there’s no reason to snigger at a name that was perfectly ordinary in its original context.

And don’t even get me started on the abridged or simplified editions of brilliant works of literature, e.g. The Wind in the Willows.

This!

Another old kids' book my mother read to me was the Violet Needham one The Black Riders (and the sequels). Exciting stories I've always thought would have worked well on TV. Anyway , fortunately the small press that republished it didn't decide to change it to 'Rick' a la Blyton's republishers!

OP posts:
KeyLimeCake · 28/04/2026 14:00

didntlikeanyofthesuggestions · 28/04/2026 13:30

Of course changing the names is appropriate. I don't want my children exposed to filth. It's no longer acceptable to say all manner of things - that's progress!

Do you think that real people with names such as Fanny and Dick should now be referred to by different names?

Iatethelastbiscuit · 28/04/2026 13:59

It’s a shame to change them. It’ll take all the joy out of being 9-years-old and laughing hysterically about the fact someone’s actual name is Fanny

EverydayRoutine · 28/04/2026 13:58

It is so irritating when publishers change characters’ names. Surely people are generally intelligent enough to understand that language isn’t static, words develop new meanings, and there’s no reason to snigger at a name that was perfectly ordinary in its original context.

And don’t even get me started on the abridged or simplified editions of brilliant works of literature, e.g. The Wind in the Willows.

TerracottaBowl · 28/04/2026 13:56

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:26

Hang on, Mary Wollstonecraft had a best friend called that! Could it be the same person?

Show quote history

I just saw FB's grave in Lisbon recently!

Whereismyjoiedevivre · 28/04/2026 13:51

Can’t stand messing around with books to pander to modern-day sensibilities.

OneTimeThingToday · 28/04/2026 13:51

Updating the names doesnt alter the story.

Enid Blyton wrote a lot worse than some mildly amusing names. You should see the Orignal "Noddy" books for example.