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Original poster

Unusual surnames.

267 replies

RuthTopp · 04/08/2023 18:11

For some weird reason I have heard two unusual surnames today , Younghusband and Gotobed . Which ( in a light hearted way ) could be used to formulate a sentence -
" Gotobed younghusband !
What unusual ones do you know ?

OP posts:
mjf981 · 05/08/2023 03:39

I had a friend with the last name Foot. Our parents became friends as well, and we always thought it was very funny debating if we should call them the Foot family, or just the Feet!

ParttimeLondonGal · 05/08/2023 03:46

@PerspiringElizabeth All the Cockburns I know are pronounced ‘Coburn’ - are you in Scotland by any chance?

autienotnaughti · 05/08/2023 04:01

I've meet a Mr Diehard and a Mr Truelove

sanityisamyth · 05/08/2023 04:10

FlamingoFloss · 04/08/2023 23:26

Oooh apparently there are 642 people in the world with my surname and it’s the 509,000+ most common sun and in the world

342 with mine! Very interesting website 😬

fullbloom87 · 05/08/2023 04:17

I know a Ramsbottom and a gayman. Hopefully they never marry and double barrel it 😅

salsmum · 05/08/2023 04:20

My partner of 16 years has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's ... on his first assessment visit one of the drs was called mr Tremble it raised a smile in a very sad day.
My late husband worked in a butchery with a mr Terry Bone ( T bone) 🤣
I worked in an elderly care home and a lady with the surname Burn was very good friends and sat next to a Mrs Ash. Not unusual names but made me giggle.

sdofejs · 05/08/2023 04:22

I knew a 'Wouldhave'

mathanxiety · 05/08/2023 05:06

Co-burn is the correct pronunciation of Cockburn.

Giggorata · 05/08/2023 05:07

DH's surname is a city, which I was happy to change my name to. Not so much another name in his family tree, which was Hogben.

I was seeing a Dr No some years ago.

ChiPawPrint · 05/08/2023 05:41

There's a Dr Squirrel at our local hospital.

ChiPawPrint · 05/08/2023 05:46

WhatdidIdoyesterday · 04/08/2023 19:37

There was a Christmas family at my primary school.

I used to work for a charity and we would have fun looking up people in our list of donors. Mr Glasscock was a generous benefactor, as was Mr D'Eath.

Glasscock 😂🤣 love it.

My ex boyfriend once served a customer called Mary Christmas.

BucketofTeaMassiveCake · 05/08/2023 06:53

My surname is quite rare where I live but apparently there's a lot Cornwall and Devon. I won't reveal it here it but I've heard (or worked with) the following:

Mr Careless who painstakingly paid attention to small details.

Miss Windmill, Mr Squirrel, Mrs Innocent (who was very wise and worldly, married her first boyfriend who she met at primary school), Mrs Quick who was very considered, Miss Hasty who liked to take her time and Mrs House who lived in a flat.

I was taught by Mrs Overy when we were too young to understand its meaning when spelled differently.

BucketofTeaMassiveCake · 05/08/2023 07:12

At one job I had to type from a list which contained Ms Hand and Mr Heart.

The surname Daft is local to Nottingham and it's dying out - I couldn't bear to be called that.

fitofthegiggles · 05/08/2023 07:13

@ChiPawPrint Interestingly I knew a Dr Nutt when I was growing up!

Ryvitas · 05/08/2023 07:19

I knew a Mr Hands.

Wetbehindtheear · 05/08/2023 07:30

I’ve come across a few beauties in my work.

A Mr Vulgar, Mr Wanklyn and my all time favourite Mr Shitole

MiMiPies · 05/08/2023 07:35

Apparently only 1253 people in the world shared my maiden name which I guess is pretty rare.

My married name is shared with 829,000 and odd so less rare haha

I've come across goodenough and that's it really.

I've also come across Richard Richardson and William Williams a few times which makes me kinda Hmm

Barrythetimesprout · 05/08/2023 07:35

I knew someone with a very ordinary surname but then found out he'd changed his surname years previously from Whalebelly. Apparently only about half a dozen people with that surname in the UK.

SardineJam · 05/08/2023 07:37

Someone from school, Cheeseman

TotallyOutingName · 05/08/2023 07:47

I'm glad people are enjoying the forebears site.

Interestingly, Christmas, which a few PPs have mentioned as an unusual (which to me would mean uncommon) surname 'belongs' to over 14k people worldwide.

My original surname, which I've never considered to be rare, only belongs to just over 3k. Yet I've never met one I'm not related too, although came across one on Instagram.

My exes surname, and that of my dc at birth, is just over 1k so fairly rare. Yet I was at school with 2 of them who are not related to eachother, or my ex!

On my family tree we have 'A Guy' who married in. I'm assuming A was his initial, but he's one of the only people who only has an initial rather than a name so it makes me laugh.

I find names totally fascinating.

SomethingNastyInTheBallPool · 05/08/2023 07:58

I have a colleague called Holly Day. Every time an email comes through from her, my brain adds “it would be so nice”.

I know a Mr Snowman (we’re walking in the aiiiir…)

I once shared a flight with a Mr Lillicrap.

Dreamsarereal · 05/08/2023 09:25

Just shown DH the Forebears result for our name, he looked at the map and said he knew the person in Australia! 176 have the surname, I’ve got the type of first name you always have to spell as well and, I think, I’m the only person in the world with my name. There is no hiding place and my DC use my maiden name on social media.

thelengthspeoplegoto · 05/08/2023 09:25

I know of a Mrs Hooker and a Mrs Nutter

Eyesopenwideawake · 05/08/2023 09:29

I'm the only person in the world with my name. There was another one but she died in 1895 😬

EdithGrantham · 05/08/2023 09:55

Only 36 people with my (DH's) surname according to that website.
At school we had a dinner lady called Mrs Drinkwater and it always seemed to be her job to go round and pour cups of water which I found amusing.

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