An interesting thing I didn't know until today

[Artificial Hipster]

Unsurprisingly, having a fairly common Irish surname mine is found most commonly in Ireland, with only four cities worldwide having more of us than Manchester. The names of my other grandparents are somewhat rarer though, so in order of decreasing prevalence;

Dad's mum was a Roome, most commonly found in South Africa but in the UK it's most common in South Derbyshire which prior to them moving to South Yorkshire is where her family were miners as far back as the records take us.

Mum's dad was from as unadventurous a clan as could be imagined with not a single one to be found outside of the UK. The name is most common in the South East which again, given that family folklore has it that everyone with the name alive today is descended from one or other of a pair of brothers working as millers in Sevenoaks in the late 18th century, seems about right.

Mum's mum was a Swirles. With 1.2 per million inhabitants in the UK there can't be more than a handful of them knocking about. Ours were leather workers in Arbroath but none seem to have survived north of the border. Perhaps those that remained when ours headed south included the branch who later headed west as there are 2 for every million inhabitants of Michigan. Crossing the Atlantic was clearly enough excitement for these Swirles though as not only are there none to be found anywhere else in the world there are none anywhere else in the States either.

[hobbes]

Reading this whole ‘names’ thing without knowing people’s names is about as interesting as the (f*cking) dreams thread…

My name's Arkwright Flatcap, if it helps.

[hobbes]

First name, Yorkshire.
Surname, Yorkshire.
Top City - Stoke on Trent.
For both.

I'm reet exotic, me.

[WOM]

Reading this whole ‘names’ thing without knowing people’s names is about as interesting as the (f*cking) dreams thread…

[Artificial Hipster]

Dunno. The 80s I guess. That jet had a higher ceiling than any others.

I'm not sure how accurate any of the data on Top Trumps cards was. (Or is)

I had a set of military planes Top Trumps as opposed to just fighters and my recollection that the Starfighter wasn't a card to get excited about has been borne out by flicking through pictures of a pack for sale on eBay. Yes it scored well on "at height" but plenty scored higher which may go some way to answering the accuracy question.

[RaggedTrousered]

I'm surprised that the uk comes after Ireland/Jamaica/Australia for my surname - showing a lack of knowledge re my family tree. Top area is where I grew up so it all computes even though I wasn't born there.

My mum's surname is off the scale in comparison with Ireland far ahead of Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.

[Simon G]

My first name (unsurprisingly - Simon) is apparently more popular in Eritrea, South Sudan, Namibia and Uganda before getting to the United Kingdom, though in the UK it's most popular in the South West - which is where I am (just).

My surname goes Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand and then UK. Areas include Western Australia (where I have family) and Galway & Mayo, where I learned on Saturday I also have distant relatives.

[Uncle Ethan]

One of my friends has a daughter called Kristen who I refer to as Kirsten about one time in three. When I apologise to my friend she says "Don't worry - her dad gets her name wrong all the time too."

My daughter-in-law is Kaylee. I constantly call her Kylie. She's lovely about it, but I die a little inside each time. How hard can it be to get someone's name right?

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Re the Disney comments above, a friend of ours has a Disney professorship at our local university. It must be irritating for him that some people he encounters professionally are likely to assume he owes his living to funding from the animated film megacorp. In fact the chair was endowed by some prosperous 18th century clergyman of the same surname.

[Balderdasha]

The WTF thread sent me down a wormhole of investigating long burning underground coal fires. Which has culminated in finding out about BurningMountain in Australia where the coal seam has been burning for at least 6,000 years: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Mountain

[Etienne]

You named your kid Paddington?

Paddy for short.

[lambers]

My surname is very Anglo centric. The first two regions picked out are in the south of England, while the third is Utah – which suggests that some of my ancestors may have joined the Latter Day Saints.

My German granddad's surname is mostly found in Germany and the Netherlands. When I look at the regional breakdown for the UK, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in this country was directly descended from my Grandad, or married to someone who is.

[jwdd27]

Surname is unsurprisingly Wales

Forename is surprisingly The Philippines, followed by France - I was expecting Israel or USA given its Hebrew origin.

[Benjm]

My first name goes Ghana, Australia, Equatorial Guinea, Israel, then surname Israel, Ireland, USA, Australia.

I wouldn't have guessed Israel's showing in the latter at all, but if anything might have expected more from them in the former.

[San Bernardhinault]

Surname is low almost everywhere except Guyana. Next up South Africa and Papua New Guinea. In my case it was a bullshit anglicisation of a German/Jewish name changed at a time when neither grouping were particularly popular. The only two famous versions of this surname that I know of are entirely made up. So it's not a surprise to find that it's fairly rare. I don't know why it's big in Guyana. Small sample size, perhaps?

[Exiled off Main Street]

My first name is France, Belgium, Luxem,bourg, my last name is Ireland, by a wide margin. Given my grandfather left Wexford as a baby.. to live in Liverpool, no surprise.

[elguapo4]

First name is UK and USA, surname is Northern Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand

[Patrick Thistle]

. Master Etienne is Peru, then Israel, then France.

You named your kid Paddington?

[Patrick Thistle]

"Prof Disney says..."

For me, it was a bit of a jar to be reminded that Disney is an actual surname that people still have. Apart from the mouse guy, I've never come across one before.

There's a footballer called Michael Disney who has been plying his trade in the Cymru Premier. Mickey Mouse team and all that.

[Southport Zeb]

My first name is most common in Nova Scotia, with my surname being most common in Mississippi. Both names are apparently common in Halifax (Nova Scotia, not Yorkshire), so perhaps I'm living on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Apparently the top region for my (very English) surname is the Sangre Grande region of Trinidad. Hmmmmmm!

If I understand right, the rate is 194 occurrences per million inhabitants, which works out at 14 or 15 people if my maths is correct. Feasible, I suppose, though the racial breakdown of the area isn't particularly encouraging in that regard.

My forename seems to be especially popular in New England, which is less surprising.

[Disco Child Ballads]

Unsurprisingly, Wales is the top area for both my first name and surname,

[Nurse Duckett]

First name - Slovakia
Second name - Jamaica, which was a surprise (followed by Australia, US, UK, NZ, so fairly anglo-centric).

Other first names: Mrs D - UK, son D#1 - Liberia, son D#2 - South Sudan. Only the first of those was expected.

[S. aureus]

My surname isn't very common, and shows up in England and New Zealand, and marginally in the US.
My first name is very common, particularly in Slovakia but most anywhere that speaks a European language.
My son's first name is also quite common, especially in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Bahrain(?).
My daughter's first name is quite common in some varied parts of the world, for example Kazakhstan, Czechia and Qatar.
My father's first name is very common indeed in the anglosphere.
My mother's first name is common across the anglosphere, and her maiden name occurs mostly in England, Jamaica and Australia.
My wife's first name isn't uncommon in the Philippines, Ecuador and Italy (and various other countries), her maiden name occurs mostly in Hungary, then German-speaking countries (her ancestor with this name emigrated to the US from what is now part of Austria).

[3 Colours Red]

My first name turns up most frequently in Israel, which considering it's Irish in origin (and currently the most popular name for newborn boys in the USA, which isn't even in the top ten) surprised me. Top five areas all in the UK though.

Surname less so, top 5: UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and USA in that order. The top five areas were Wales (again, not a shock) but then four all in Antigua and Barbuda.