The [name_m]London[/name_m] Foundling Hospital was opened in 1739 as an institution to care for orphaned or abandoned children. When children arrived at the Hospital (note that we’d probably refer to it as a children’s home today, as it wasn’t solely or primarily a medical facility), they were given new first and last names to protect the privacy of themselves and their parents, though detailed records were kept of birth names so they could be reunited with their families later on if possible. I recently came across a list of some of the first children to live in the Hospital, and I found the names so interesting that I wanted to share them!
All of these children were born in the 1700s and named by the caregivers at the Foundling Hospital in [name_m]London[/name_m], [name_f]England[/name_f].
Interesting first names:
[name_f]Etheldred[/name_f]
[name_f]July[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucretia[/name_f]
[name_f]Eunice[/name_f]
Epaminondas
[name_f]Urania[/name_f]
Bifsell
[name_m]Columbus[/name_m]
[name_m]Champion[/name_m]
Margarretta
[name_m]Eliakim[/name_m]
Ethlered
[name_f]Desdemona[/name_f]
Hopegood
Boscawen
[name_m]East[/name_m]
Admirall
[name_f]Sophy[/name_f]
Cloudesley
[name_m]Hutton[/name_m]
[name_f]Prudence[/name_f]
[name_f]Biddy[/name_f]
[name_f]Charity[/name_f]
[name_m]Inigo[/name_m]
[name_m]Romulus[/name_m]
[name_m]Dionysius[/name_m]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]
[name_f]Sutton[/name_f]
[name_m]Lancelot[/name_m]
[name_m]Jenkin[/name_m]
[name_f]Harriot[/name_f] (this spelling, used for multiple children)
[name_m]Lambert[/name_m]
[name_m]Perkin[/name_m]
Cleyton
Stern
[name_m]Nahum[/name_m]
[name_f]Mercy[/name_f]
[name_m]Houghton[/name_m]
[name_f]Ursula[/name_f]
[name_f]Constantia[/name_f]
Lachary (no, not Zachary!)
[name_m]Soloman[/name_m]
[name_m]Godfrey[/name_m]
[name_f]Cicely[/name_f]
[name_m]Lazarus[/name_m]
[name_m]Giles[/name_m]
[name_f]Constance[/name_f]
[name_m]Obadiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Erasmus[/name_m]
[name_m]Humphry[/name_m]
Witham
[name_m]Hannibal[/name_m]
[name_m]Valentine[/name_m]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Drusilla[/name_f]
[name_m]Uriah[/name_m]
[name_f]Dorcas[/name_f]
[name_m]Augustine[/name_m]
[name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m]
[name_f]Leonara[/name_f]
[name_m]Ephraim[/name_m]
[name_m]Philadelphia[/name_m]
[name_m]Sylvanus[/name_m]
[name_m]Malachy[/name_m]
[name_f]Magdalen[/name_f]
[name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Titus[/name_m]
Theophilis
[name_f]Lettice[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenia[/name_f]
[name_f]Aminta[/name_f]
[name_f]Hester[/name_f]
[name_m]Belvidere[/name_m]
And some first name/last name pairings that I found interesting:
[name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_m]Caesar[/name_m]
[name_m]Julius[/name_m] [name_m]Caesar[/name_m]
[name_m]Robin[/name_m] Hood
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] Cromwell
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_m]Parr[/name_m]
[name_m]Walter[/name_m] [name_m]Raleigh[/name_m]
[name_m]Geoffrey[/name_m] [name_m]Chaucer[/name_m]
[name_m]Francis[/name_m] [name_m]Drake[/name_m] (multiple children named for him!)
[name_m]Isaac[/name_m] [name_m]Newton[/name_m]
[name_m]Francis[/name_m] Bacon
[name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m]
[name_m]John[/name_m] [name_f]Doe[/name_f]
[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]John[/name_m]
I was impressed by the amount of ancient Latin and Greek influence, as well as the popularity of surnames-as-first names and uncommon word names! Of course there were plenty of Johns and [name_f]Marys[/name_f] as well, but overall they seemed to give many of the children unique and interesting names! Much of the list felt like it was straight from a “Puritan or Pilgrim character name generator,” as they also chose a number of words to use as surnames!
What are your favorites of the names? [name_m]Or[/name_m] most surprising? I’m also happy to DM the full list to anyone who is interested.
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Wow, what a great find! There’s some really interesting names on that list.
These ones really stood out to me;
Bifsell
[name_m]Champion[/name_m]
Hopegood
Cloudesley
[name_m]Hutton[/name_m]
[name_m]Perkin[/name_m]
[name_m]Erasmus[/name_m]
[name_m]Philadelphia[/name_m]
[name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Augustus[/name_m] [name_m]Caesar[/name_m]
[name_m]Robin[/name_m] Hood
[name_m]Francis[/name_m] Bacon
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This is such an intriguing list! I love the appearances of [name_f]July[/name_f], [name_m]Inigo[/name_m], [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], [name_f]Mercy[/name_f], [name_f]Ursula[/name_f], [name_m]Valentine[/name_m], [name_m]Giles[/name_m], [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_m]Uriah[/name_m], [name_m]Humphry[/name_m], [name_f]Hester[/name_f], [name_f]Dorcas[/name_f], & [name_f]Eugenia[/name_f]. Others that stood out to me are [name_f]Etheldred[/name_f], [name_m]Eliakim[/name_m], [name_m]Romulus[/name_m], [name_m]Titus[/name_m], [name_m]Philadelphia[/name_m], & [name_f]Lucretia[/name_f].
I love the first/last name pairings, so many iconic namesakes!
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[name_f]Amazing[/name_f]! Thank you for sharing. I would love to see the full list, if you don’t mind.
Some of my favourites:
[name_f]Etheldred[/name_f]
[name_f]Eunice[/name_f]
[name_f]Desdemona[/name_f]
[name_f]Prudence[/name_f]
[name_f]Mercy[/name_f]
[name_f]Constantia[/name_f]
[name_m]Valentine[/name_m]
[name_f]Drusilla[/name_f]
[name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m]
[name_m]Titus[/name_m]
[name_f]Hester[/name_f]
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I wonder if part of that was since they weren’t obliged to use any of the conventional honour names? [name_f]Pretty[/name_f] sure Dickens plays around with the idea in [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] Twist when one of the caregivers explains how he names the kids alphabetically and chooses a word he likes
Anyway, thank you for sharing all these names!
Intrigued by: [name_f]Etheldred[/name_f], [name_f]July[/name_f], Epaminondas, [name_m]Champion[/name_m], [name_m]Eliakim[/name_m], Hopegood, Boscawen, Cloudesley, [name_m]Romulus[/name_m], [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], [name_m]Lancelot[/name_m], [name_m]Nahum[/name_m], [name_f]Ursula[/name_f], [name_f]Constantia[/name_f], Lachary, [name_m]Erasmus[/name_m], Witham, [name_m]Sylvanus[/name_m], [name_f]Lettice[/name_f], Theophilis, and Belvidere!!
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What a gem, thank you for sharing this!
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourites:
[name_f]Lucretia[/name_f]
[name_m]Romulus[/name_m]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]
[name_m]Lancelot[/name_m]
[name_m]Valentine[/name_m]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_m]Augustine[/name_m]
Most surprising:
Epaminondas
Cloudesley
[name_m]Hannibal[/name_m]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_m]Parr[/name_m]
[name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m]
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So many of these are fascinating! I bet some of the people working there had fun with the naming. I think [name_f]July[/name_f], [name_m]Eliakim[/name_m], [name_f]Leonara[/name_f], [name_m]Valentine[/name_m], and [name_m]Hutton[/name_m] have a lot of modern potential, and obviously a few like [name_f]Sutton[/name_f] and [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] are already used today. I have always loved the names [name_m]Malachy[/name_m] and [name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m] (I really wish we could make [name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m] come back, lol.) And I feel kind of bad for the kids who had to grow up named [name_m]Julius[/name_m] [name_m]Caesar[/name_m] and [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] - a lot to live up to!
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@PeachyMum Thank you! I also found the ones you pointed out very interesting. Hopegood’s last name was “Helpless” which overall is just fascinating and so puritanical. Hopegood Helpless!
I’m sure you’re right! I also considered that when you have dozens, if not hundreds, of children to name, you start to run out of “normal” names and need to branch out if you don’t want too many kids with the same name. I didn’t notice any alphabetical patterns like in [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] Twist, but there were a few where they gave subsequent children themed surnames like [name_m]Sparrow[/name_m], Swallow, and [name_f]Lark[/name_f], or [name_m]Gold[/name_m] and [name_m]Silver[/name_m], or [name_m]Mountain[/name_m] and [name_f]Valley[/name_f]. (They were very into word surnames too!)
I feel the same way! Especially because I imagine a [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m], especially in [name_f]England[/name_f] in that time, would probably be assumed to be a relation of the original, and it could be quite awkward and very personal to explain to strangers that it wasn’t the case/how he got that last name. And I totally agree with you about wanting [name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m] to come back!
@Julie_NameNerd and @Demoiselle I’ll send you both the full list!
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So many gems !! Thank you so much for sharing 
I especially love [name_f]Etheldred[/name_f], [name_f]Eunice[/name_f], Margarretta, [name_m]Eliakim[/name_m] !!, [name_m]Inigo[/name_m], [name_m]Romulus[/name_m], [name_m]Houghton[/name_m], [name_f]Constantia[/name_f], Lachary !!, [name_m]Lazarus[/name_m], [name_m]Obadiah[/name_m], [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m] !!, [name_m]Valentine[/name_m], [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_m]Uriah[/name_m], [name_m]Augustine[/name_m], [name_f]Leonara[/name_f], [name_m]Ephraim[/name_m], [name_m]Sylvanus[/name_m], [name_f]Magdalen[/name_f], [name_f]Eugenia[/name_f], [name_f]Hester[/name_f], [name_f]Aminta[/name_f] & [name_m]Belvedere[/name_m]
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Nice find! This is quite a quirky list. I like a great deal of these names but particularly ones I don’t see so often such as:
[name_f]Etheldred[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucretia[/name_f]
[name_f]Eunice[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorcas[/name_f]
[name_f]Lettice[/name_f]
[name_m]Romulus[/name_m]
[name_m]Eliakim[/name_m]
[name_m]Lancelot[/name_m]
[name_m]Erasmus[/name_m]
[name_m]Humphry[/name_m]
[name_m]Ephraim[/name_m]
Beldivere
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