You know how authors often choose character names from cemeteries?

[CormoranStrike]

JK Rowling is just one famous example, there’s a cemetery at Greyfriars in Edinburgh where you can ‘meet’ many of her Harry Potter characters.

Anyway, on my walk today I went to a cemetery near me with parts dating back 200 years.

Many if the names are similar to ones you would see today, but I picked out a few I loved, most almost or well over a century on from their deaths. I do like to read these names and in some way know these people are not forgotten.

My favourites today include:

Myrtle Gwendoline
Betsy Brown
Christian Lewison
Hume Easton
John Kindred
Nancy Pagan
Dotsy Wyness

Interestingly, Christian - not Christina - was a popular name for women a century or so back

Lettice rather than Lettuce!!

Tracy Chevalier wrote a book based in a Victorian cemetery, I want to say Fallen Angels but that might not be right. Her descriptions were so atmospheric, I loved it.

I loved Jamesina Jamieson when I was growing up, walked past her every time we took the dog out and wondered why no-one could think up a better name for her. Poor girl.

My grand parents were buried next to Phyllis Trout, I unashamedly used to laugh like a drain when I was younger.
Apparently she was a really lovely lady.

This morning we found Lenorah Swallow and Augustus Secker.

Great names! 🙂

There's a Bessie Bussom buried in my local cemetery

I'm descended from Bossoms

@DisplayPurposesOnly my bosoms have descended...

Still nothing add here but just wanted to say this thread has actually prompted me to write! Something I haven't done in years. Gonna choose a name and write a bio on them. With endless CV talk this thread has made me smile.

From my family tree, I have a lot of male ancestors named Valentine - which I love. It’s a pity I didn’t find out until after my DS’s were born.
Also have a Placid and a Temperance.

Im just about to go out for a walk, think I'm going to have a walk through the church and see what names I can find

@Frokni let us know which name you pick!

Love this thread, really interesting! One that I remember near me was Kitty Valentine.

My cousins name is valentine Augustus also im sure one of boris johnsond daughter is lettice.

Well the the only names I could read as they were all fairly worn were Eliza and William.

@vampirethriller I have chosen Lenorah Swallow! That's her maiden name, she married John Tankard so took his name. The marriage is awful, they run a pub together and John becomes lazy. The pub becomes a money pit due to John's awful business acumen. He gets a nasty injury finally attempting to fix the roof. Their living quarters are falling apart so she sends him off to his sister Temperance who's a nurse. She takes the chance to revisit her old "profession" and puts a new spin on the pub in this unsuspecting village. She will of course be recruiting her friend Fanny Thrower!

Honestly I am sharing the names listed here with another writing buddy! :-)

Excellent.

😱

Fanny Thrower was a potter!

😂

This thread has made me smile
Always loved imagining the person behind the names in cemeteries

My grandmothers first husband was a Septimus. Don’t know if he was a seventh son though.

We found some more good names this morning.

Isidore Wheelhouse
Christmas Robinson
Bennett Southall

Bumping my own thread to say I found another cracker yesterday - obviously fashionable in its day, but this lady was called Fanny Bow!

My great aunt was a Tryphena, I must check out her siblings’ names (bet I will find that they’re all called Betty or Alfred). My mother’s family followed convention and often used women’s maiden names as first or middle names for their children, so we have some unusually named ancestors - one poor bloke got lumbered with Drinkrow as a first name.

adding '-ina' to feminize a male name is a Scottish thing I think

It is indeed, I have several female relatives (of all generations including children) who have the feminine form of one of the male family names. Luckily it's a very pretty name.

I'm intrigued by Jabez! How is it pronounced? Like James, or more like Juh-BEZZ?

JAY-bez I think?

Tracy Chevalier wrote a book based in a Victorian cemetery, I want to say Fallen Angels but that might not be right. Her descriptions were so atmospheric, I loved it

It's Falling Angels and it's my favourite book of hers; a definite must for any graveyard moocher!