Is having a house name a crap idea?

[IsabellaofFrance]

We are moving in a few weeks.

I would like to give our house a name, but DF laughed and said 'oooh how snobby'.

Has anyone house got a house name?

[Sparklingbrook]

www.99sign.co.uk/top-house-names-in-uk-14-w.asp Here's the top names list.

[DadDadDad]

Actually, our house has a name because it's NEWER than the other houses on the roads, so couldn't fit into the existing numbering scheme. (Logically, I'd number it -1 [MINUS ONE] but I can see that causing it all kinds of problems).

The name was chosen by the people who built it (and lived in it), so although I can feel a bit self-conscious using it, and wonder if I do come across as a snob, in reality it's just a label which is recognised officially, and there are more important things to worry about.

[Sparklingbrook]

Dunroamin

[EveBoswell]

I have a friend who has a house in a road (a Close) where absolutely no house has a number. They all have names but they don't have names that reflect them eg You would expect The Cedars to have cedar trees but it hasn't. It's a private road, of course, and the houses are upwards of £900K.

If you give your new house a name, OP, please make it relevant to the house or the people i it. For instance, Brookside should have a brook nearby or as IceLolly suggests, an amalgam of your names. Beverley and Ronald could be shortened to Bevron or Hamish and Sandra to Hamsand.

[JudgeRinderSays]

where houses have been built piecemeal there is often no numbering.We are on a long road where this has happened and most houses have names only lets call the road 'Welly Road'.We are in the newest houses, a little 'parade of semis numbered 1-6 Welly Rd positioned about slap bang in the middle of teh road.Our address is 3 'Welly' Rd But there is another little group numbered 1-6 'Sandal cottages' on the same road We are forever getting deliveries for '3 Sandal cottages' and vice versa. I am trying to think of a house name to distinguish us!

[LurkingHusband]

MrsLH liked the idea of a housename. But only if it was "proper" and came up when you put out postcode into the Royal Mail database.

Royal Mail get their names/numbers from local authorities.

Our LA has a byzantine system, solely intended for housing developments. Trying to process a single house is daunting.

And expensive . Hence we haven't done it.

[WaroftheRoses]

There are no road names in our village so all houses-new or old-have names. Confuses the hell out of the delivery drivers!

[woolyflyer]

Not snobby but naff think hyacinth bucket unless your house has always had only a name

[Contraryish]

The first house we bought had a name (XXX Cottage) and a number. We reverted back to the number as we didn't like the name; it was a 1960s bungalow, not a cottage! Unfortunately, our house then became the only one in the village (and there were no road names, just number then village) with a number, which confused the postie no end. Imagine trying to find number 26 when you can't find 24 or 28, etc.!

We now live in another house with a name, with no possibility of reverting. It is, however, a unique house name so, whilst it's a pain to spell out, we don't get confused for anywhere else!

[Sparklingbrook]

Like putting a personalised number plate on your house. I know people with both.

[TailorMouse]

Bear in mind that if you have a house name, not a number you need to have landmarks or something else by which to direct delivery drivers, taxis, takeaways and all sorts to - growing up with a named house this was a nightmare!
No problem with forms or anything like that as most things have options for names, and I don't see why it's snobby in particular but it can cause additional hassle!

[Tulipblank]

Our neighbour's house has a sign on it saying "Marjon". I presume that's the name of the house, and I also presume theyre called Margaret and John.

Makes me cringe every time I pass.

It's a 1960s dormer bungalow.

[MummyBeerest]

I'm not in the U.K. so it's not really a done thing here, but I love the idea of this. Further proof that I'm too tacky and try hard for Brits.

You could always unofficially call it a name amongst family?

[Sparklingbrook]

'Marjon'.

[bubalou]

We have a house name but it came with it.

DH likes it as coincidentally enough is was also the name of the first building he worked in in London.

I don't use it on our address though, just the house number.

I think if you have a more country style house then a name is cute.

It's up to you guys.

[Behindthepaintedgarden]

Old houses, stand alone houses and country cottages suit names. But houses in the middle of an estate look a little bit daft with 'The Haven' or somesuch engraved on the wall beside the doorbell.

Even worse is when one house in a row of indentical houses on 'Woodmill Drive' has been named 'Woodmill House' by its owners. Lady of the manor (not!)

[Contraryish]

Our house, when built, was originally called Friedland. We are still convinced this was somehow a mistake and somebody copied down the name from the doorbell! (Friedland was, at least back then, a leading doorbell manufacturer!)

[storytopper]

Our housing estate was built in the 1960s - think detached and semi-detached chalet dormer bungalows - very ordinary. Quite a few of the houses have names, including the semis. Some are named after Highland rivers, etc. - we are not in the Highlands. Some are name amalgams - E.g. Marwil. All look ridiculous, especially when the name is burned into a slice of log in terrible handwriting, varnished and hung in the porch.

[AndyWarholsOrange]

A NDN of ours had 2 DCs called Paul, Susan and Michael and they named their house 'Pasumi'. They thought it was the height of sophistication and originality.

[redcaryellowcar]

My parents house has a name no number, but it's in a small village with a non traditional layout so numbers wouldn't help? After many years of it taking ages to write my address on forms etc I'm grateful now to live at 10 the street, anytown, post cde it's quite nice to be simple!

[AndyWarholsOrange]

Sorry, 3 DCs obviously.

[LurkingHusband]

Here's the last reply I had from our LA

Dear LurkingHusband

Please note this is the only office in the Council with the authority to issue addresses. Were a property name to be included with the number we would not be able to remove the house number, you would still need to use the house name and number together to ensure that emergency services and others can locate you. Please can you advise me of your address.

If we do include the house name together with the number this office could write to the Royal Mail but I am unsure how the name would be recorded on their database, my understanding is some aspects of an address are put in different fields, you would need to check this with Royal Mail etc. We would also write to our other contacts that include the emergency services, Elections, Council Tax, Land Registry etc. Due to the work involved we do charge, the charge would be the lowest figure on the attached addressing forms. To add the name we would require the appropriate documents as mentioned on the attached forms. Please note this office does not retain a register of building names so we would need to check with the Royal Mail that any building name would not cause a conflict with similar names.

[wellcoveredsparerib]

I want to do the reverse - our house has both a name and number. We don't use the name (twee and makes me cringe) but it still appears on lots of official type letters. I don't know how to get name removed and am hoping its use will eventually die a natural death if we continue to ignore it.

[CatThiefKeith]

We have a row of very old farm cottages in the village. They all have numbers except one near the end that is called 'Manderley'

Makes me smile every time I walk past.

[monkeysox]

Same as daddaddad. I feel a bit of a dickhead saying "it hasn't got a number, just a name"