Can I name my house?

[FanGirlX]

Just wondering if I want to give my house a name, is it as simple if just putting a sign up? Or do I need to register it somewhere.

It's a house in a road with numbers, so all the houses have numbers but some have names as well.

Ours didn't have a name but when we read the deeds it was named when it was built in the 1930s so we got a plaque engraved. We added the house number to the plaqie too so use both. We didn't register it anywhere. I think you can call your house anything you want but not 100% sure if it needs to be officially registered.

You can put a sign up for fun in addition to number, but if you want to change it you need to go through council and it will be a pain for deliveries etc

You have to register it. And I warn you....unless it's a 100 year plus cottage or villa, you'll be called pretentious. But who cares? Name it if you want. As long as you don't call it Tomshaz or Frankelly or some combo of you and your husband's name! www.yoursigns.com/housenames-rules#:~:text=The%20request%20should%20state%20your,Royal%20Mail%20Address%20Maintenance%20Unit.

Thanks all. I haven't actually come up with a name yet but I was just wondering, as some of the houses on the road have names and numbers and some just numbers (perhaps it's a local trend?).

Why?

Dont think its a local trend as it happens in most places i have lived. Just depends on the type of person you are i think

I want to do this too. Most of the houses in our little road have names but ours doesn’t.
Think it’s £100 ish to register it.

Why why why? It's a pain for deliveries, GPs on home visits, and anyone really who hasn't already been there before.

Ours has a name, in a road where none of the others do. All the houses are 100 years old, the area was a farm with an old church that was cleared to make houses. Ours was the first and the name of our house, and the road names reflect that history. We never reference the name and I'd forgotten about it until this thread!

In our area you have to register it with the council. A friend did this as their house number is similar to 45a / 45b / 45c (large houses built on the site of a previous huge house/garden).

However, they weren’t allowed the name they wanted as it was too similar to a house much further along the road so they had to choose something else.

you can stick a name up, but no one will use it.

if you want the name registered for mail delivery, you have to tell the council & the post office. but they will not encourage you & it is a bad idea because it makes your house harder to find.

If a street has 100 houses & an ambulance needs to get to no 62 in an emergency, it is fairly easy for them to find the right house. If the ambulance has to get to 'DunRomin' they have no idea where to look.

So add a decorative name if you like, but don't remove the number.

I deal with these applications as part of my job. You definitely have to register it. You normally can apply through your local council. They usually inform Royal mail and the emergency services and make sure there are no other similarly named houses to avoid confusion if an emergency was to occur.

Anyone else remember when Vera in Corrie named her terrace 'The Old Rectory'.

My 1930's semi has a name etched in glass above the front door. Documents in the deeds pack tell us the house was allocated a number by the local council in the 1940's so it's had a number for almost it's entire existence.

We only use the number and never ever use the name.

Lots of the houses around here have name plaques or etched glass like our's but all have numbers clearly displayed too and I don't know anyone who would use the name in their postal address.

Seems a lot of faff to register a house name when you have a number already so why would you bother?
Just put a plaque up if you want to but keep the official number for correspondence/official documents.

@myusernamewastakenbyme

Anyone else remember when Vera in Corrie named her terrace 'The Old Rectory'.

Now that's an idea 🤣.

I walked back after dropping DD at nursery and it struck me how many have names, as well as numbers. So I was just wondering why / how.

I went to my local Land Registry office (pre Covid) and they updated the deeds for me for free.

It was an existing name that had been replaced by a number at some point.

Mine has a name and no number at all . It was converted in the 1930s after the rest of the nearest street was built . It’s quirky , but as others say it can be a pain for deliveries as it doesn’t stand in sequence with other houses .