View Message

I've read that in the 18th century Irish names were considered unfashionable in mainland Britain so Irish people with ambition used to change their names to something more acceptable! Bridget became Bedelia, weirdly, and Patrick became Peter. Luckily for this family, the practice didn't last long.

---

Alexander Pope was cheeky about a man he called Lord Petre (who broke the laws of God and man and metre); Petre apparently started off as Patrick.