Eight middle names

[comfitt]

It turns out that Clarissa Dickson Wright, who died last week had 8 (or was it 7? ) middle names.

I remember the idea of two middle names being quite controversial on this forum a while back.

I know seven or eight is ridiculous and unwieldy (but also quite fairytale-ish and eccentric) but was wondering if it is less unusual than one might think.

Is it just the aristocratic classes that do this?

I would say it's the upper or the working classes who have 4+ middle names.

0/1/2/3 for everybody else.

What were the names, OP, do you know?

Found this from a recent obituary about her name:

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmeralda Dickson Wright was born on June 24 1947, the youngest of four children. “My parents had great trouble deciding what to call me in the first place,” she explained about her abundant christening, “but then they were so delighted they had finally found a name, they got pissed on the way to the church.” To decide which name should come first, “they blindfolded my mother and turned her loose in the library, where she pulled out a copy of Richardson’s Clarissa”.

I have 3 middle names and it is always a total pita when I am calling the bank or tax credits and having to give my full name, or filling in forms trying to squeeze all the names (they are quite long) into the tiny little space.

Fuck having 7 or 8, that must be a total nightmare.

I have read about a few people who give their children 20 or so middle names, usually after a football team or similar so I don't think it's particularly aristocratic.

Very eccentric!

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright

Oops beaten to it. Really should refresh the screen occasionally

'Trilby' is interesting

Trilby would surely also have been from the library shelf.

I work in a job whereby I'm given children's names over the phone and the most I've had is 6 middle names but 3 or 4 is actually quite common.

I hear some lovely names too, I spoke to a lady yesterday with a ds named after a foreign footballer.

So she actually had ten. Sorry for the miscount.

Medi What's the literary reference for 'Trilby'?

It's an eponymous novel by George du Maurier, probably most famous, not for a Trilby O'Farrell herself, but the character Svengali.

Ah. Thank you.

Dumbledore had 3