Is Tarquin a real name?

[littlepetit]

I always hear ‘tarquin’ as a bit of a joke ‘posh’ name but thinking about it I have NEVER met or encountered a single tarquin or even heard of any friends-of-friends-of-friends called tarquin.

Is it actually a real given name or a myth?

[ShadowPuppets]

I knew an adult Tarquin through work about 10 years ago. Really nice guy, he was known as Tarkie or Tarks in the office.

I’ve also worked with a Crispin, he was very much a Crispin (no nickname) though

I think so much of whether you like a name is about whether you’ve known anyone with it. I was bullied by a Sarah so I’ve always had a bit of a visceral reaction about it, even though I’ve met some lovely Sarah’s since!

[Fivebeanchilli]

I've never met a Tarquin either. It reminds me of Tarka the otter
I love the name St John though - I don't like the way it looks as much but I really like the way it sounds.
I've met a Crispin but I'm not keen on that.

[Fivebeanchilli]

I knew a Phineas at uni - I do quite like that.

[FrecklesMalone]

You would have to not like your child very much to call them Tarquin.

[JollyAndBright]

I know two.

DS (14) goes to school with one
And I grew up with one, he is still a close friend of my sister, he’s lovely and he’s in a rock band…. His parents do own a castle though.

[cafedesreves]

I've also taught a Crispin. And was at school with a Jocasta. So odd.

[Farrandau]

@FrecklesMalone

You would have to not like your child very much to call them Tarquin.

Honestly, I’d call my child Tarquin before I’d call him George. Tastes differ!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I read a book that featured a St John when I was Very Young

Jane Eyre?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

not very popular at all

[SpiderinaWingMirror]

Yes. I worked with one. He was 5 ft tall and from the east end. God knows why he was called Tarquin but he was known as Tark.

[Pinetreesfall]

I had a pet called Tarquin - does that count?!

[Srettel]

@Sockpile

According to this article no babies have been named Tarquin in the UK in the last 10 years.

I think that article must mean "no babies named Tarquin born in England" rather than "in the UK" because there have been two in Scotland, one in 2015 and one in 2017.

[Rangoon]

St John is pronounced "Singe in". Thankfully my stepmother in law gave me a heads up before meeting St John.

[toastofthetown]

@Srettel yes, I think many people fail to realise that England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland report separately. What articles like that also fail to note is that (unlike Scotland) E&W (and from a quick look NI too, but happy to be corrected) only release name data where three or more babies were given the name. You cannot say with confidence that no babies in the UK have been called a name in a given year, only that no more than the threshold amount for reporting were born.

[Dmsandfloatydress]

I know two. One posh and one not. It is dreadful though

[Farrandau]

[quote toastofthetown]@Srettel yes, I think many people fail to realise that England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland report separately. What articles like that also fail to note is that (unlike Scotland) E&W (and from a quick look NI too, but happy to be corrected) only release name data where three or more babies were given the name. You cannot say with confidence that no babies in the UK have been called a name in a given year, only that no more than the threshold amount for reporting were born.[/quote]
That’s true about not including certain names in the ONS tables — DS has an unusual name (well, unusual in England/Wales — it’s common elsewhere in Europe), and he doesn’t appear in the stats for his birth year. I’m not sure whether the inclusion threshold is below two or three instances of the name, I think two.

[JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon]

@BathTangle

I also know an Algernon... (Algie)

Now that just makes me think of the poem Algie and the Bear.

Couldn't do that to a child

[Deux]

I know a Ptolemy. He very nice and the whole family is a bit bonkers.

[SpiderinaWingMirror]

Ponders how many of the other mentions of Tarquin might be the one I worked with.

[Doubleraspberry]

I've worked with a Tarquin. He was properly posh. Crispin was fairly everyday posh. St John was also everyday posh. Ptolemy is still a child and his parents are slightly odd. I seem to have come across people with pretty much all these names. My own name has been described on here many times as boring and overused, so I am Not One Of Them.

[Runningupthecurtains]

The Tarquin I meet had a brother called Crispin and sister with a very, very 'normal' name.

[ghislaine]

For shame! If I had a Crispin and a Tarquin, Araminta would have been the minimum starting level on my girls’ list.

[cheapskatemum]

I know a Tarquin. He's an estate agent & sells posh houses, not sure if that makes him posh, probably not! I know 2 StJohns, neither of them are posh. Crispin is quite a common surname round here. There are a couple of singers from the 90s with that 1st name. How about Merlin? There were 2 in our small town when I moved here. Both quite posh.

[SeanChailleach]

Isn't it Tariq with a Latin /Greek case ending?
Tariq is a lovely name.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

No. As mentioned a long way upthread, Tarquinius was the name of an ancient Roman king before they abandoned monarchy and became a republic.