Surnames in Blyton

[Katharine]

I worked for a Mr. Lillicrap once.

[Francis]

If you enter Kirrin on the Ancestry site it comes up with lots of matches - unfortunately I am not registered so cannot see any details!

[Fiona1986]

Some very unfortunate names in there. I like it when people who purposely mispronounce their surname to make it sounds better. Bucket at Bouquet and Sidebottom as Siddybohtohm for example.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I think it's fair to say that EB was capable of coming up with some utterly bizarre surnames for her characters. Smugs, Cockles and Smellie to name but a few.

Funnily enough, although it sounds wonderfully Blytonian with its suggestions of smugglers, "Smugs" wasn't Enid Blyton's invention. She tells us in The Story of My Life that the man who inspired the character of Bill Smugs had come up with the name himself as a boy. Enid Blyton met him while on holiday in Swanage and he said he wanted to be in one of her books. She asked whether he'd had any adventures and he said: "No. But I'd like them. I'd like to have been in the Secret Service, or something like that. Couldn't you possibly put me into a book and make me a Secret Service man? I really could have adventures then... Put me in as I am, with no hair on top, and anything else you like. And call me - let me see - yes - call me Bill Smugs, will you? That is what I used to call myself as a boy."

Enid writes: "Well, when I wrote the first Adventure book, The Island of Adventure, lo and behold, up popped Bill Smugs into the story. I was rather astonished. There he was, bald head and all - and in the Secret Service too! He turned out to be perfectly splendid, and I couldn't possibly have done without him in the other books."

[Stephen]

There was a brilliant Australian swimmer in the 1950s called Lorraine Crapp, and I can't help feeling sorry for her. Despite all her achievements, what's the first thing most people would focus on when reading that name?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Crapp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Moonraker]

The variations on a name are interesting too. Julie's surname is Heginbotham (as we all know). This is pronounced Heggin - botham (as the cricketer). I have also know people with the name Higginbottom (pronounced as spelt) and Higgingbottom. More on the name here.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Yes, Stephen (Hubby) did plenty of research on his family history, as they were wealthy land owners. Apparently they owned a place called Chadkirk Hall in Romily, Cheshire. Long since gone now. I've always wanted to be a 'lady of the manor'!!

[dsr]

Loads of bottoms round where I live. Higginbottom, Shufflebottom, Ramsbottom, Sidebottom ...

There's even a town called Ramsbottom. And Ramsbottom Cricket Club plays at Acre Bottom. Bottoms everywhere. You stop noticing after a while - it was only when it was pointed out to me that I realised people could think there was anything odd about a town called Ramsbottom.

(In case anyone's wondering, the ram is an old local name for a flower, and bottom just means the bottom of the valley. Ramsbottom means flowers in the valley. So stop sniggering at the back. )

[shadow]

There was a boy in my class whose last name was Ramsbottom. Luckily he was good looking so the girls only sniggered in private.

[Morgan Jones]

There was a brilliant Australian swimmer in the 1950s called Lorraine Crapp, and I can't help feeling sorry for her. Despite all her achievements, what's the first thing most people would focus on when reading that name?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Crapp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not to mention the German skier, Fanny Chmelar.

[number 6]

I can remember a former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper named Lee Smelt... Pooh! He wasn't very popular with his teammates!

[Moonraker]

There was a boy in my class whose last name was Ramsbottom.

I trust his Christian name wasn't Dick.....

[Yak]

Nigel!


Linton is a surname in Wuthering Heights, and there is a journalist with the last name Smellie .. I must say I think I'd change it if that were the case.

The funeral director who did my dad's funeral was called Mr Jolly..

[Moonraker]

I had an uncle, Mr Gay.

[Katharine]

I hope his surname has been change to Mr. Happy now.