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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:
abracadabra1980 · 28/04/2026 13:49

I'm more intrigued as to how the name Dick, ever became associated with a penis and the same re Fanny and a vagina-what possible connotations does each name have with the respective bit of anatomy? Adored Enid Blyton.

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:48

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 28/04/2026 13:46

Dick Turpin - if anyone tried to change his name I expect he’d come back and haunt them.

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Good one! I love highwayman legends though the reality was probably gruesome

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:48

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!)

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

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

OP posts:
GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 28/04/2026 13:46

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:05

Yeah I mean if you take it too far prominent women of their time like Fanny Burney or Fanny Fern (OK not so famous now but still interesting) are reduced to jokes.

Does this happen with men called Dick? Maybe yes?

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Dick Turpin - if anyone tried to change his name I expect he’d come back and haunt them.

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!)

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:43

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:42

Yes, there was a sad post on a thread discussing Fanny on baby names where a person said a Dutch coworker called Fanny got 'the piss ripped out of her' often for it. Awful.

Interesting if there is a pattern (potentially sexist?) that Fanny is seen as making anyone called Fanny a joke,,but not Dick.

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I'm pretty sure Dick is used as a joke in Whittington pantos, but that's a specific context.

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:42

SparkyBlue · 28/04/2026 13:41

No I don’t think so. I still know of a few men called Dick and no one seems to take any notice of the name

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Yes, there was a sad post on a thread discussing Fanny on baby names where a person said a Dutch coworker called Fanny got 'the piss ripped out of her' often for it. Awful.

Interesting if there is a pattern (potentially sexist?) that Fanny is seen as making anyone called Fanny a joke,,but not Dick.

OP posts:
Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:41

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.

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Exactly.

It actually shows the adults as the more childish ones as they're the ones sniggering over it and unable to control themselves (some, that is).

'Fanny' is anyway used as slang more by older generations.

OP posts:
SparkyBlue · 28/04/2026 13:41

Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:05

Yeah I mean if you take it too far prominent women of their time like Fanny Burney or Fanny Fern (OK not so famous now but still interesting) are reduced to jokes.

Does this happen with men called Dick? Maybe yes?

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No I don’t think so. I still know of a few men called Dick and no one seems to take any notice of the name

Monty36 · 28/04/2026 13:38

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!

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.

HelpMeGetThrough · 28/04/2026 13:35

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!

Your children will be exposed to far worse than Fanny, Dick or Titty.

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!

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:29

Cheesipuff · 28/04/2026 13:13

Fanny means bum in the US and I can imagine they are more prissy about this over there -it could affect sales of Magic Faraway Tree

Hmm...maybe yes. Good point.

OP posts:
maras2 · 28/04/2026 13:28

My Grandma's name on her birth certificate was Fanny.
She was born in 1900 and always known as Fan or Fanny.

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:28

Monty36 · 28/04/2026 13:21

I remember seeing a book Little Black Sambo goes fox hunting. In a National Trust house.
It wouldn’t be allowed now. Wrong in so many ways.

But it would be to me OTT to start changing the way stories that were written in the past. Language and meaning of words change. Gay is one example. In the fifties it was a word used in the normal sense of someone being happy. Now the meaning quite different. Should all films and books using it be changed ? No. Educate yourself about times past and the world they were made for. Do not try to ‘amend’ them.

Yes, my favourite childhood book was The 101 Dalmatians and the sequel has a character called Gay. Older relatives remember friends with that name. It doesn't mean anything like Fanny but it's still silly to be unable to appreciate what the writer meant in the context then.

OP posts:
BillStickersWillBeProsocuted · 28/04/2026 13:28

If Dick Van Dyke was fictional he'd be in all sorts of trouble!

Original poster
Carla786 · 28/04/2026 13:26

Qashgal · 28/04/2026 13:22

One of my ancestors was called Fanny Blood. I try to be grown up about it when mentioning the Blood Family line .

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

OP posts:
Gonedeaf · 28/04/2026 13:24

Redhairandhottubs · 28/04/2026 13:20

I remember my mum reading swallows and Amazons to me and absolutely pissing herself at Titty 🤣

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Well it's possibly the most entertaining thing about the book 😂

Qashgal · 28/04/2026 13:22

One of my ancestors was called Fanny Blood. I try to be grown up about it when mentioning the Blood Family line .

Monty36 · 28/04/2026 13:21

I remember seeing a book Little Black Sambo goes fox hunting. In a National Trust house.
It wouldn’t be allowed now. Wrong in so many ways.

But it would be to me OTT to start changing the way stories that were written in the past. Language and meaning of words change. Gay is one example. In the fifties it was a word used in the normal sense of someone being happy. Now the meaning quite different. Should all films and books using it be changed ? No. Educate yourself about times past and the world they were made for. Do not try to ‘amend’ them.

Redhairandhottubs · 28/04/2026 13:20

Gonedeaf · 28/04/2026 13:17

Currently reading Swallows and Amazons to DC, and there is a main character called Titty. Nobody has batted an eyelid.

Edited

I remember my mum reading swallows and Amazons to me and absolutely pissing herself at Titty 🤣

Gonedeaf · 28/04/2026 13:17

Currently reading Swallows and Amazons to DC, and there is a main character called Titty. Nobody has batted an eyelid.

Cheesipuff · 28/04/2026 13:13

Fanny means bum in the US and I can imagine they are more prissy about this over there -it could affect sales of Magic Faraway Tree

Lomonald · 28/04/2026 13:13

pinkdelight · 28/04/2026 12:51

I dunno, but you have to wonder about Mr Pinkwhistle.

HA😀 sorry im probably one of the people that books needed changed for

Pemba · 28/04/2026 13:11

Interesting @Carla786 , I didn't know where ''Bimbo' originated. Makes perfect sense.