Balls and Bottoms give way to Wangs in name game

[Nagishkaw 510]

LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in Britain with surnames like Cockshott, Balls, Death and Shufflebottom -- likely the source of schoolroom laughter -- has declined by up to 75 percent in the last century.

A study found the number of people with the name ####### shrank to 785 last year from 3,211 in 1881, those called Balls fell to 1,299 from 2,904 and the number of Deaths were reduced to 605 from 1,133.

People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.

"If you find the (absolute) number goes down, it's either because they changed their names or they emigrated," Webber, author of the study, told Reuters on Wednesday.

He said that in many cases, people probably changed their surnames as they came to be regarded as in bad taste. "It's because the meaning of words can change. Take the name Daft -- that as a term for a stupid is a relatively recent innovation."

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Daft meant "mild" or "meek" in Old English, whereas it means "foolish" today.

"That's why there are names which people think aren't really very pleasant names and you wonder why they persisted as long as they did."

Webber, whose work can be seen on the website mapyourname.com, got his data for 2008 from credit card firm Experian and mapping service Geowise. He then compared it with the census of 1881.

Webber also discovered that the most popular names in Britain have not changed over the past 127 years. Last year, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor and Davies held the top five spots, in exactly the same order as they did a century ago.

Webber also found that between 1996 and 2008, the names Zhang, Wang, and Yang and experienced the fastest growth. Zhang rose by 4719 percent, while Wang grew by 2225 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090325/od_nm/us_names_odd

[Oosie 1]

LONDON (Reuters) –

People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090325/od_nm/us_names_odd

I knew a family with the surname Smellie when I was young. They all insisted it was to be pronounced "Smiley"

One of the boys in that family was called #######. He had a horrible time at school especially as the teachers checked attendance by calling out our names by surname then first name.

[fozzie 41]

LONDON (Reuters) –

People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090325/od_nm/us_names_odd

I knew a family with the surname Smellie when I was young. They all insisted it was to be pronounced "Smiley"

One of the boys in that family was called #######. He had a horrible time at school especially as the teachers checked attendance by calling out our names by surname then first name.

[Nagishkaw 510]

0mg!

[fozzie 41]

It should be illegal to name your child in such a way! Are the parents just ignorant to the consequences? Maybe they just find the names cute when they are babies. Or maybe they want to punish their new born child to a life of bullying, who knows!

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

on the other hand, there's been an increase in wankers in britain.

[fozzie 41]

on the other hand, there's been an increase in wankers in britain.

touche, charles. Touche!

[Nagishkaw 510]

I read in the paper some years back that some mother named her child Chlamidia. Can you imagine?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I read in the paper some years back that some mother named her child Chlamidia. Can you imagine?

Good grief. Poor child.

[fozzie 41]

Chris Peacock.

Ben Dover

Phillipa Trolley

I will watch some simpsons episodes before naming my children!

[Nagishkaw 510]

I read in the paper some years back that some mother named her child Chlamidia. Can you imagine?

Good grief. Poor child.

They lived in Detroit. Go figure.

[justashooter 430]

on the other hand, there's been an increase in wankers in britain.

there's been an increase in the number of british wankers in America, and on this forum, in particular.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

I read in the paper some years back that some mother named her child Chlamidia. Can you imagine?

maybe because the mother misunderstood the father when she asked afterward "what's did you just give me?"

[Oosie 1]

on the other hand, there's been an increase in wankers in britain.

Britain gets more like America all the time

[Nagishkaw 510]

I read in the paper some years back that some mother named her child Chlamidia. Can you imagine?

maybe because the mother misunderstood the father when she asked afterward "what's did you just give me?"

:rofl: