Obscure 18th-Century Man or Fancy Cat?

by Ruth Scobie · January 14, 2016

Is this the name of a prizewinning showcat, or a striking but forgotten example of eighteenth-century masculine nomenclature? YOU DECIDE.

  1. Charles Skrymsher-Boothby-Clopton
  2. Nicodemus Aloysius
  3. Felix Tike
  4. Holdermanes Prowler
  5. Cloudesley Shovell
  6. Mordaunt Ricketts
  7. Wynterwynd Clair de Lune
  8. Marclich Archibald
  9. Dairymaine Chestaton
  10. Oneciphorus Chisle
  11. Clotworthy Skeffington
  12. Lesplushes Aniel
  13. Crisp Gascoyne
  14. Bamber Gascoyne
  15. Azwegie Knock
  16. Eurocastle Mandalay
  17. Colonel John Pollexfen Bastard
  18. Blackerby Fairfax
  19. Archibald Hammon
  20. Cornelius Throft
  21. Quodlibet Alina
  22. Arundel Coke
  23. Kabao von Aristoteles
  24. William Whisker
  25. Atticus of Snugglerags

catfancy

 

 

Answers (with citations! For the men, not the cats):

  1. Man
  2. Cat 
  3. Man
  4. Cat
  5. Man
  6. Man
  7. Cat
  8. Cat
  9. Cat
  10. Man (plasterer and chapman, announces his bankruptcy in Daily Journal, 3 November 1735)
  11. Man
  12. Cat
  13. Man
  14. Man
  15. Cat
  16. Cat
  17. Man
  18. Man
  19. Man
  20. Man
  21. Cat
  22. Man
  23. Cat
  24. Man
  25. Cat

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Ruth Scobie is a postdoc research fellow at the University of Oxford, working on eighteenth-century celebrity culture. She would really like to talk about old newspapers, Sarah Siddons, Mary Shelley, and the flouncier wardrobe choices of British naval captains in the 1780s, if those seem like things you’d be interested in.


63 Comments

  1. Mrs_Peel +73

    I <3 everything about this, and it came at the best possible time.

    (P.S.– I would absolutely like to hear more about old newspapers, Sarah Siddons, Mary Shelley, AND the flouncier wardrobe choices of 1780s British naval captains).

  2. logicbutton +75

    All but four, partly because after a certain point I lowered my threshold of plausibility for human names significantly.

    Also, if I were giving someone a crash course on the ethos of the Toast, this post would absolutely be on the syllabus.

  3. bighairnoheart +54

    old newspapers, Sarah Siddons, Mary Shelley, and the flouncier wardrobe choices of British naval captains in the 1780s

    go on

  4. theowlofderision +80

    I used to work in a military museum, and going through the 18th century Army Lists (which named all serving officers and their regiments), you would find some real gems. Including ‘William Bastard’ and ‘Edgar D’Eath’. I jest not. My favourite 18th century man-name, probably, belongs to the London printmaker Hieronymous Grimm.

    1. sredni vashtar +69

      “It’s spelt Death. Pronounce it anyway you like. Most of the people who are plagued with it make it rhyme with teeth, but personally I think it sounds more picturesque when rhymed with breath….”

    2. Erica_Stratton +21

      Do you think ‘Edgar D’Eath’ named himself? Like he was a proto-Goth and just thought the name sounded cool?

      1. dancingcorvid +7

        we named a cat Turtle, I do not remember why, another cat Rabbit because Manx and hoppy, and a third Telephone because she came home from summer vacation with us in a telephone box with holes poked in for air. She was smuggled with us into the passenger compartment of the plane in the halcyon days before safety was an issue at ALL.

        1. walrathem +2

          See? Great names. I suppose “Telephone” should have its own rule. Unexpected noun? Small common household appliance? Not sure.

      2. indiamos +3

        I once knew a cat named Pig and have been advocating non-cat animals as cat names ever since. Colors are also good—e.g., Green, for a runty black cat.

        1. walrathem +3

          I have always loved the name Nacho for non-orange cats. And my brother has one named Twix (I like the name but it doesn’t fit the cat.) I named one of mine Wellington, but after the boots, not the man.

    2. madknitter72 +15

      I have a Lionhead Rabbit and I named her Baroness von Oreo Bunbun because it befits her pedigree papers.

  8. artdorkgirl +6

    Ms. Scobie. First you had my curiosity, but now you have my interest. I too enjoy 18th century stuff!

    1. threatqualitypress +72

      I like the weird Puritan names. So far my favorite is If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned Barebone, but Kill-Sin Pimple is a close second.

  10. missteenwordpower +13

    She would really like to talk about old newspapers, Sarah Siddons, Mary Shelley, and the flouncier wardrobe choices of British naval captains in the 1780s, if those seem like things you’d be interested in.

    YES YES 1000 TIMES YES

  13. mintjulips +26

    Wynterwynd Clair de Lune
    thought her food was coming soon
    little did she know, the human was out
    not paying his debts and just out and about
    that human is a prune.

  14. silllarskitty +14

    18th century men and fancy cats are pretty much all I desire to fill my life with. Thank you for allowing this to happen.

    Also, thanks for the name ideas – may god save my future children . . .

  15. nicolescchung +36

    wow, whoever chose the images for this post did a really good job; I love that cat on the yard sofa

    1. Ganymede +5

      Almost certainly pronounced “Marchbanks”, if I’m right.

      But then, in my county (UK) there’s a place spelt “Trottiscliffe” and pronounced “Trosely”, so I would think that.

      1. aurorabirdialis +4

        …how do you get “Trosely” from TROTTISCLIFFE. I’ve seen some strange British words, but WHAT

  22. malsperanza +17

    So the takeaway is that Charles Dickens showed a sad lack of imagination in naming characters.

  23. kallioperodman +4

    I recommend googling pictures of all the cats; they really exist and are SUPERSUPER cute

  24. swords-and-spindles +7

    This is brilliant, and I’m stealing 90% of these names in case I suddenly have to write a period fantasy sartire.

  25. jimmyjimjimjim +13

    “Bonus: other black-coated beauties”

    Yes! As a bonus our cat magazine has more than one cat in it! We are delivering some serious value here people!

  26. Ganymede +12

    Proud to admit that not only did I know the name Sir Cloudesley Shovell, also knew what he did for a living!

    Also: Bamber Gascoine, genuine eccentric, swims in the Thames every day (or used to, he’s 81 now) and has an opera company in his house.

  27. twoburgers +2

    My secondary favorite thing about this post is the Cat Fancy cover, because I have a Bombay and they are the Best Cats.

  28. madknitter72 +7

    I’m late to this party, but I can play!

    Theodore Cornelius Maris

    Cat or Man?
    .

    .

    .

    .
    .
    .

    Man! The name of my Great Uncle. 🙂

  30. VioletandIrises +4

    Despite the entertainment value of the Gascoynes, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather will always be my favorite oddly-named father-son duo.

  32. zacharysfletcher +11

    I just reread Prince Caspian, in which there is a mole with the name Clodsley Shovel. I thought it seemed like an oddly un-Narnian (though very molelike) name, so I’m glad to see it was just an obscure British historical reference! That C.S. Lewis, always catering to the interests of The Youths…

    1. Mindy +3

      I scrolled down here to leave this exact comment. Should have known another Toastie was just rereading Prince Caspian too!

  33. walrathem +2

    For some reason when I say #17 in my head I’m saying it as “Colonel-John Pollexfen Bastard” as if “Colonel-John” were his first name.

  35. bookwormV +6

    Clodsley Shovel, the mole gardener of Prince Caspian, is a historical reference? That one went right over my head as a child.

    From Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Wikipedia page: “In order to avoid marriage to Skeffington, she eloped with Wortley”. Completely understandable.

  36. India

    I once knew a cat named Pig and have been advocating non-cat animals as cat names ever since. Colors are also good—e.g., Green, for a runty black cat.

  41. teatablemusings +3

    I did better on this quiz than perhaps anyone should. And I actually squealed when I saw Clotworthy Skeffington and said, “I know him!” Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s idea of hell (her real words!).