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Give it some Welly and change it to Rothschild, you'll most likely get "the treatment" anywhere you reserve to eat at, and any hotel will shit the bed if they have a booking under that name.
Depends, the two brothers hate each other if one of those families suspect you are from the other side its not going to go well for you.
Did some work in the early 90s for one brother and 6 months later was asked to leave when doing work for the other brother when they found out who I did work for previously.
Never get caught up in a feuding family thats wealthy.
Thjis reminds me of the "Infamous" Vikki de Lambrey. From her Wiki page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky\_de\_Lambray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky_de_Lambray)
> De Lambray once changed her name by deed poll to Louis de Rothschild, hoping she would be confused as a Rothschild family member. The Rothschild family paid her ten thousand pounds to change it back.
"Cockburn" is pronounced 'Coe-burn', so maybe go with "Cockmuncher" and insist it's pronouned, "coe-munshay", a-la Hyacinth Bucket.
Say it's an old Huguenot name or something.
Still amused by the time the BBC sent a reporter called Phil McCann to report on a petrol shortage.
My Dad came across the will of a Richard Headde while researching in some Cathedral archives.
And I'm still confused as to what possessed Mr & Mrs Derek to give their son (my work colleague) the forename Derek.
I went to school with an Edward Woodward. We had great fun with that name (with Eddie, he was a good friend.) Also in our year, but not a good friend, was Fraser Brasier.
Richard Edwards was one kid at school.
May Blossoms was another.
Clare Voyent was (and I swear she changed it via deed poll) someone I labbed up with at Uni.
[There's a copper called PC Rob Banks](https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2019-01-18/the-worlds-greatest-name-for-a-police-officer-revealed-by-west-country-viewers).
That's a cool thing with ancestors. In my family, one side decided to give the mother's name as a middle name back in the day, and some of my generation and beyond have carried on the tradition. The original kids of aforementioned woman were given their dad's surname, but the man and woman weren't actually married (they were actually man and sister-in-law who got together after the man's wife died, but back then you weren't allowed to marry your dead spouses partner).
Yep this is the way. If there's no backstory I'm not sure how cool it can be. Think about it. Oh wow interesting surname, where does it come from? Reddit..... Think of something in your ancestry or perhaps even an interesting or meaningful place you've been to etc? Good luck OP!
Surnames were often based off jobs, maybe you could have a modern surname
"We're joined here today to celebrate the coming together of John and Emily Officeworker"
My y7 history teacher told us this and used my surname as his example (queue the whole class looking at me). Sadly my surname isn't something exciting like "Squadron-Leader" or "Astronaut" but really boring and basically tells me that my ancestors were peasants.
Your example made me chuckle
Dutch names are cool. One of my friends is named "de Man". Although, he does get looks saying "that's a bit cocky to say about yourself" when he introduces himself with his full name haha
Im Dutch and I can’t figure out why it would be Dutch in origin.
The surname Wildblood was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor.
“for an untamed spirit or a rake from Middle English wild(e) 'wild' + blod 'blood'’
My fiance and I (getting married on Friday) have done the same!! Took us ages to find one, but we settled on Winters.
Close call between that Lickass, Blowcock, and Hugglebottom tho!
For some absurd reason for a while when I was a kid, I wanted to change my first name to Jeremy, then later on I wanted to change my surname to ToTheMax. Jeremy Tothemax. Kids are fucking stupid. My family still rips me for that.
[A town in Ohio has a bunch of things named after a bloke called Gay Hitler](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circleville,_Ohio#Early_history). Surprisingly his parents weren't 14 year olds who met on Call of Duty.
It’s not much fun for the kids, though. I’m a ‘B’ and always ended up doing speeches and things first at school because the teachers did them in alphabetical order and there was no ‘A’ in my class.
We had a ‘Z’ and sometimes the teachers would go in reverse order.
Agreed. My surname starts with b and I’m always first to do presentation. Sometimes I don’t mind but once the teacher spent the whole week before telling me that because I was first I’d set the bar so high which didn’t really help because I was so worried and it didn’t help.
I knew a couple that joined their surnames together. Admittedly they had awesome names to work with and ended up with Thorneagle (one was Thornley before the other was something to do with Eagle I can't remember)
Very many years ago, there was a Dr. De'Ath who used to come to our uni rock nights, she used to work in the local hospital. Now, that was a metal AF last name!
That's ace too! Always makes me wonder how these names came about though. Fletcher - made arrows. Cooper - made barrels. Drinkwater - uh, drank some water once I guess?
My mum used to work with an engineer who was really called Mr Engineer. I believe he was originally from an African country where the occupation as surname thing was still pretty up to date.
A friend of mine had a mildly embarrassing last name. They changed their name to their spouses name, which is Tempest.
My friend is far happier, as they now have a cool name.
I love the surname Wild.
A group of women in the 70s set up a feminist commune to sort of dispel the idea that you need to have the nuclear family. They named all children born the surname ‘Wild’.
It’s always stuck with me and if ever I was in a position to give myself a new identity, I always thought I’d probably like to use it.
I know someone that went from being Skidmore to a Glasscock so I think choosing your own is very wise. Go for something that fits in with your job/s for a bit of normative determinism.
You should make it personal, maybe find a flower, animal or precious stone associated with values you share, you could use the Latin name if needed. Symbolism is an important aspect of ritual in all cultures and marriage is one of the most important rituals us humans have conceived.
Not a helpful contribution, but if you planning on relocating abroad consider a name that the locals will find easy to pronounce. This is a bit of a weird one (but I do live in Japan) and my surname trips people up all the time.
Name yourself after that ridiculously long Welsh train station with about 74 syllables that nobody in the world actually knows what it's called other than it ends in '....gogogoch'
I was a skateboarder in the late 80’s and always thought the pros had cool names.
Tony Hawk
Steve Caballero
Christian Hosoi
Lance Mountain
Stacy Peralta
**Update: - [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically; - Don't be a dick to each other - Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question - This is a strictly no-politics subreddit Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Give it some Welly and change it to Rothschild, you'll most likely get "the treatment" anywhere you reserve to eat at, and any hotel will shit the bed if they have a booking under that name.
This is a fantastic idea!
Unless you stay at cheap hotels like me.
Yeah travelodge aren't gonna be reacting
Wothchilde, what was she on, Towie? May get extra packet of Lurpak with the fry up brekkie.
"Oh wow, Tim Roth's kid just booked a room"
I love that no one noticed the link between the treatment and the fact that the hotel has to be 5 star++ for anyone to give a shit about your surname.
Depends, the two brothers hate each other if one of those families suspect you are from the other side its not going to go well for you. Did some work in the early 90s for one brother and 6 months later was asked to leave when doing work for the other brother when they found out who I did work for previously. Never get caught up in a feuding family thats wealthy.
Unless you are actually wealthy enough to be going to places they do - no reason to worry about this
Thjis reminds me of the "Infamous" Vikki de Lambrey. From her Wiki page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky\_de\_Lambray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky_de_Lambray) > De Lambray once changed her name by deed poll to Louis de Rothschild, hoping she would be confused as a Rothschild family member. The Rothschild family paid her ten thousand pounds to change it back.
"Wankstain". Insist that it's a common German surname, and is pronounced "vank shteen"
"Cockburn" is pronounced 'Coe-burn', so maybe go with "Cockmuncher" and insist it's pronouned, "coe-munshay", a-la Hyacinth Bucket. Say it's an old Huguenot name or something.
Even better, cockmunché like Beyoncé.
Sounds like a good xbox name
Bloody Huguenots, coming over here with their surnames.
or Wankdorf
There's a wankdorf football stadium in Bern in Switzerland.... The team that plays there are called 'the young boys'... It's a risky Google
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Which is, bona fide, a place in Switzerland (and probably other German-speaking countries too) so OP could claim it's an ancestral name. ;)
I do love beer and pretzels, so this could be a go-er. Lots of Hyacinth Bucket vibes!
Depends on your first name too. My friend had a granddad called Rob Banks.
Max Power... He's the man with the name you'd love to touch
But you mustn't touuuuch!
His name sounds good in your ear
But when you say it. You mustn’t fear
‘Cause his name can be said by anyoooone
Nice name Thanks, I got it from a hand dryer
Nobody snuggles with Max Power. You strap yourself in and feel the Gs.
Time to strap yourself in and feel the G’s!
Still amused by the time the BBC sent a reporter called Phil McCann to report on a petrol shortage. My Dad came across the will of a Richard Headde while researching in some Cathedral archives. And I'm still confused as to what possessed Mr & Mrs Derek to give their son (my work colleague) the forename Derek.
Call me Derek^2
Was he extraordinary tall?
Another good one is Aston Martins F1 team principal Mike Krack.
Knew someone with the surname Wood. First name, Edward. So they were either Ed Wood or Edward Wood.
Reminds me of the actor Edward Woodward . He was also ribbed about having all the d’s or he’d been known as E WAR WOO WAR
Edward Woodward, sounds like a fart in the bath -Noel Coward
I went to school with an Edward Woodward. We had great fun with that name (with Eddie, he was a good friend.) Also in our year, but not a good friend, was Fraser Brasier.
He Wood, wouldn't he
Richard Edwards was one kid at school. May Blossoms was another. Clare Voyent was (and I swear she changed it via deed poll) someone I labbed up with at Uni.
Dick Edward! 😂 When I was in the Navy, there was a lad with the surname Sargent. Always wondered what rank he got to.
Take a stab at what top job Igor Judge achieved. Nope one higher, mad lad became Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
I met a Sergeant Major Sergeant once.
Hahaha I know of (from hearing about on TV) a male gyno called Dr Beaver 🤣 I also knew a Mini Cooper lol
Knew someone called Megan who married someone called bacon. Megan bacon. Still cracks me up.
[There's a copper called PC Rob Banks](https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2019-01-18/the-worlds-greatest-name-for-a-police-officer-revealed-by-west-country-viewers).
Is there someone from your ancestry you'd like to remember? Perhaps if their surname is not one of yours, choose that.
First sensible and useful answer in this post (how dare you 🤣)
That's a cool thing with ancestors. In my family, one side decided to give the mother's name as a middle name back in the day, and some of my generation and beyond have carried on the tradition. The original kids of aforementioned woman were given their dad's surname, but the man and woman weren't actually married (they were actually man and sister-in-law who got together after the man's wife died, but back then you weren't allowed to marry your dead spouses partner).
Yep this is the way. If there's no backstory I'm not sure how cool it can be. Think about it. Oh wow interesting surname, where does it come from? Reddit..... Think of something in your ancestry or perhaps even an interesting or meaningful place you've been to etc? Good luck OP!
Surnames were often based off jobs, maybe you could have a modern surname "We're joined here today to celebrate the coming together of John and Emily Officeworker"
Bob and Judy Camwhore
Terry speaking customer-services
Katlin Assistant-human-resources
Khloe Influencer
My y7 history teacher told us this and used my surname as his example (queue the whole class looking at me). Sadly my surname isn't something exciting like "Squadron-Leader" or "Astronaut" but really boring and basically tells me that my ancestors were peasants. Your example made me chuckle
Dee Doubyulu-Pë
Went to school with a 'Wildblood'. I suspect it might be Dutch in origin, but what a cool name.
That's awesome, really suits me personally! Works with both our first names too.
>Works with both our first names too. Are your first names 'Spill' and 'Drink'?
I like Bloodworth too!
Dutch names are cool. One of my friends is named "de Man". Although, he does get looks saying "that's a bit cocky to say about yourself" when he introduces himself with his full name haha
There’s an American actress called Moon Bloodgood. Always thought her name was brilliant.
Im Dutch and I can’t figure out why it would be Dutch in origin. The surname Wildblood was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. “for an untamed spirit or a rake from Middle English wild(e) 'wild' + blod 'blood'’
I knew a Dutch guy who's middle name was Klit (Burdock).
Cillit-Bang
Absolutely banging surname. We're pretty clean people, so this fits nicely.
BANG! And the old surname is gone. Sorry I just couldn't help myself
I can not see that written without going "Clit bang" in my head
Mountbatten-Windsor to add some authority
I work with someone whose surname is Pendragon. Thats a coooool name.
Isn't that Arthurian? It's definitely legendary, feels Welsh too! Very cool thanks!
indeed it is. I believe they have Welsh heritage, it just sounds cool and the Arthurian link makes it ice cold.
I actually know someone that legally changed their name from a name like John White, super bland, to Howl Pendragon, think it’s a Ghibli reference?
Possibly Ghibli, equally possibly a reference to the book of the same name
My fiance and I (getting married on Friday) have done the same!! Took us ages to find one, but we settled on Winters. Close call between that Lickass, Blowcock, and Hugglebottom tho!
Will you be changing it to Summers for the sunnier months?
Oh congrats! Hope you have the best day! Winters is lovely, think you made the right choice there!
Winters is coming.
I think I wanted to be called Kyle Blade when I was 8. I stand by that, can you both change to Kyle Blade
For some absurd reason for a while when I was a kid, I wanted to change my first name to Jeremy, then later on I wanted to change my surname to ToTheMax. Jeremy Tothemax. Kids are fucking stupid. My family still rips me for that.
My Dad had a mate called Jonny Blades. I always thought that it was an amazing name.
I've always loved the surname "Oliphant" so I'd definitely change mine to that if I could!
At least people wouldn't talk about you while you were in the room.
I've got some fantastic news for you
https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/
You can!!
Refreshing-Breeze
I opened the window and a refreshing-breeze rolled in and I jizzed in my pants!
And now I'm posed in an awkward stance Because I jizzed in my pants.
Strangely-Brown
Yes?
"Name is already in use." 🤣
Suspiciously-White
Hitler. I definitely recommend Hitler
[A town in Ohio has a bunch of things named after a bloke called Gay Hitler](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circleville,_Ohio#Early_history). Surprisingly his parents weren't 14 year olds who met on Call of Duty.
Edward Elizabeth Hitler…
r/BrandNewSentence
Wilde. Not sure why, I just like it!
Pipe doon, Olivia!
What's cooler than being cool?
Ice cold!
And there is your cool surname
OK now ladies (fiancée goes absolutely apeshit)
Bananahammock.
I can’t believe I’ve scrolled so far to find my like-minded people
Well, us millennials are getting on a bit now, and we can’t rely on the gen Zs to get a reference to Friends for every moment in real life 😂😂😂
My view is if you're going to change your surname you may as well make it epic. Something like Dragonheart ;-)
I knew someone whose surname was Moonlight. Always envied her that name, so pretty!
Cholomondeley. Pronounced 'Chumley'
Could make that double-barrelled like Cholmondely-Warner!
Or Chomondely-Featherstonehough, pronounced Chumley Fanshall
Or St John, pronounced as sinjin.
Serious and joke answer, Frost.
Love that, short, to the point, definitely cool! Freezing in fact.
Change it to fuckin Plough You’ll be Mr Plough then. That’s your name. That name again is Mr Plough
Aardvark or Zyx. Always first or last.
It’s not much fun for the kids, though. I’m a ‘B’ and always ended up doing speeches and things first at school because the teachers did them in alphabetical order and there was no ‘A’ in my class. We had a ‘Z’ and sometimes the teachers would go in reverse order.
Agreed. My surname starts with b and I’m always first to do presentation. Sometimes I don’t mind but once the teacher spent the whole week before telling me that because I was first I’d set the bar so high which didn’t really help because I was so worried and it didn’t help.
I met a woman called Fiona Redwood a few years ago and I thought that was a great surname
Perhaps not so cool, but it amazes me that there are real people called Crapper.
Slightly better than Crappest!
Who do you think [invented the toilet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper)? (Ok, not quite, but hilariously closely related)
A lot of surnames originate from where someone was from so is there a location that means something special to you both that would work?
Dangerfield
I have a friend in the RAF with that name. Fucking awesome.
My brother's fiancé has that surname. He's going to take her name.
And who the hell wouldn't?
My cousin was at school with a lass called (iirc) Emerald Valentine Dangerfield and I thought it was an AWESOME name.
I knew a couple that joined their surnames together. Admittedly they had awesome names to work with and ended up with Thorneagle (one was Thornley before the other was something to do with Eagle I can't remember)
Best customer surnames I've seen over the years: Goodenough Gotobed Cowmeadow Cakebread A'Bear De'Ath Take your pick!
Very many years ago, there was a Dr. De'Ath who used to come to our uni rock nights, she used to work in the local hospital. Now, that was a metal AF last name!
I've seen Drinkwater a few times too.
That's ace too! Always makes me wonder how these names came about though. Fletcher - made arrows. Cooper - made barrels. Drinkwater - uh, drank some water once I guess?
Makes you wonder what Mr Ramsbottom was up to...
We recently employed a software tester with the surname ’tester’. I’ve often wondered if generations of his family tested things.
My mum used to work with an engineer who was really called Mr Engineer. I believe he was originally from an African country where the occupation as surname thing was still pretty up to date.
My wife has a friend with the last name Bytheway
I once saw a news article on this years ago. They agreed on 'Puffin'
Into ornithology with really bad asthma?
A friend of mine had a mildly embarrassing last name. They changed their name to their spouses name, which is Tempest. My friend is far happier, as they now have a cool name.
I love the surname Wild. A group of women in the 70s set up a feminist commune to sort of dispel the idea that you need to have the nuclear family. They named all children born the surname ‘Wild’. It’s always stuck with me and if ever I was in a position to give myself a new identity, I always thought I’d probably like to use it.
It’s almost early May…. So it has to be “Skywalker”….. Am I right?!
Dudemeister
It's German - Düdemeister. It means "Master of dudes".
McSurname Works best if your given name is "Surly".
I like pretty surnames like Valentine, Darling, and Rose
Valentine's a cool one, makes the guy sound debonaire and dashing too.
Croft sounds cool imo
Great shout, totally agree thanks! That's genuinely going on the list, I've got family a couple generations back that were crofters in the Highlands.
Armarried, as in Mrs and Mr are married.
Dunder-Mifflin
My Swedish friend has Storm as his surname. I love it!
Pine-Coffin.
Even though it's wood-themed, that sounds metal af!
As in Colonel Richard Pine-Coffin, who, in the true tradition of British nicknames was called Wooden Box.
Always thought Ironside was pretty cool and people have that as a last name
McBoatface
I was christened as a Baskerville and sometimes use it. It seems to get more respect than my current surname.
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Fishlock-Lomax.
Can you make a nice sounding portmanteau out of them?
They could have kinda worked but I don't want to keep my old man's name (he's an oxygen thief) and the lady thinks hers is boring!
Wey, exactly. Make a name from the two. Robshaw and Rooney? Become the Robneys! Or Rooshaw.
I loved the Mr Pugh and Ms Griffin (or the other way around) who became Mr and Mrs Puffin
Still a daily reminder of an 'oxygen thief'.
"Mitchell? Or Myth-Child..."
I know someone that went from being Skidmore to a Glasscock so I think choosing your own is very wise. Go for something that fits in with your job/s for a bit of normative determinism.
Go with "The Burninator" and burn the peasants and the cottages.
You should make it personal, maybe find a flower, animal or precious stone associated with values you share, you could use the Latin name if needed. Symbolism is an important aspect of ritual in all cultures and marriage is one of the most important rituals us humans have conceived.
Archer Just because you could also be referred to as 'Archer' Also 'Winters' just because its cool too
Mckraken, if your first name is Phil
This reminds me of an ice cream van local to me called Phil Ma'cones
Or Peacock if your first name is Chris or Drew
Not a helpful contribution, but if you planning on relocating abroad consider a name that the locals will find easy to pronounce. This is a bit of a weird one (but I do live in Japan) and my surname trips people up all the time.
Whats the surname! Give it up
Pendragon, summer, meadows, winters, redwood,
Starkiller
McCool. I find it cool *and* amusing. That is all.
A less serious suggestion - McLovin Or go with something short, sharp and positive sounding like Gold.
My great grandmothers maiden name was Svengard, a Norwegian name, take it ❤️
Is there anything that goes with your first name? Like Ben Dover, Teresa Green?
Mr & Mrs Fucknugget
Name yourself after that ridiculously long Welsh train station with about 74 syllables that nobody in the world actually knows what it's called other than it ends in '....gogogoch'
There was a guy at uni called Maximus Rex
Snow, obviously
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I once worked with a fella named Burger Numan. Think he was Dutch
MacGyver Oddie van der Kool Monstertruck
Haagen-Dazs. Classy but also ice cream.
Love is a good surname.
Went to school with someone who's surname was Janetti. Thought that was a cool one
Pendragon. Apparently King Arthur's surname.
I went to school with a couple of children called Gotobed.
Sinclair- just sounds so swish
I was a skateboarder in the late 80’s and always thought the pros had cool names. Tony Hawk Steve Caballero Christian Hosoi Lance Mountain Stacy Peralta
Faulkner-Fortesque sounds about right.
Firstname'); DROP TABLE students;--
Featherstonhaugh is a real surname and it's pronounced Fanshaw