Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Enid Blyton Characters



After writing about Enid and her famous namesake author Enid Blyton, I thought it might be fun to look at some of the names that she used in her stories.

Keeping in mind that Enid Blyton was writing (approximately) from 1922 to 1967, her stories are reflective of a different time and society, often containing views that are now unacceptably racist and sexist. This has led to some of her books being banned at times, and heavily edited and revised in other cases. But the names remain something of a time capsule, a glimpse into a time when the given names Dick and Fanny or nicknames Fats and Podge wouldn't automatically lead to bullying by your peers.

Here's a list of as many of them as I could dig up, although I'm sure there's plenty more. I've tried to stick to just children's names - the names of the pets alone would be enough for another post! Nicknames or the name the character most often went by are in brackets, although there are a few that are quite probably nicknames that I couldn't see a full name for. At least, not without trying to re-read every Enid Blyton book! With that in mind, here is a list of some of the gorgeous vintage gems that can be found within the pages of her well-loved stories.

The Boys

Andy
Barnabas (Barney)    
Benjy
Bill
Bob
Bobby
Bonaparte (Bony)
Brock
Claude (Podge)
Colin
Cyril



Dan
David x2
Dick
Edgar
Ernest (Ern)
Francis
Fred
Frederick (Fatty)
Fric
Gareth
George
Henry (Harry)
Jack
Jeffery
Jimmy
Jocko
John
Jo
Julian
Ken
Kenneth
Kit
Lawrence (Larry)
Len


Leonard
Michael
Mickey
Mike
Nick
Nicky
Richard
Robert
Robin
Roderick (Roddy)
Roger
Rory
Patrick (Pat)
Paul
Percy (Perce)
Peter (Snubby)
Peter
Philip
Philip (Pip)
Sam
Sidney (Sid)
Tom
Tony
William

The Girls

Alicia
Alison
Alma
Amanda
Amelia Jane
Amy
Angela
Anna
Anne
Anne-Marie
Annette
Antoinette
April
Arabella
Barbara
Belinda
Bessie
Betty
Biddy
Bonnie
Bridget
Carlotta
Catherine
Christine
Clare
Clarissa
Claudine
Connie
Daphne
Darrell
Deirdre
Delia
Diana
Dimity (Dimmy)
Dinah
Dora
Doris
Edith
Eileen
Ellen
Elsie
Elizabeth (Bets)
Elizabeth (Lizzie)
Elizabeth
Emily
Erica
Esme
Eunice
Fanny
Fay
Felicity
Fenella
Georgina (George)
Gillian
Gladys
Gwendoline (Gwen)
Gwyneth
Hannah
Harriet (Harry)
Henrietta (Henry)
Hilary
Hilda
Irene
Isobel
Ivy
Jane
Janet
Jean
Jennifer
Jill
Joan
Josephine (Jo)
Joy
June
Katherine
Kathleen
Katie
Laura
Lotta
Louella
Lucy
Lucy-Ann
Margaret (Daisy)
Margery
Marilyn
Mary
Mary-Lou
Maureen
Mavis
Melisande
Millicent
Mirabel
Moira
Mollie
Molly
Nora
Olive
Pam
Pamela
Patricia (Pat)
Pauline
Peggy
Penelope
Penny
Prudence
Rachel
Rita
Roberta (Bobby)
Ruth
Sadie
Sally
Sheila
Sophie
Susan
Susie
Suzanne
Sylvia
Tessa (Tessie)
Vera
Veronica
Violet
Wilhelmina (Bill)
Winnie
Yolande
Zerelda


There are so many interesting things about the names here, but here are a few fast facts for you:
  • Peter and Jack were the boys names Enid Blyton used the most
  • And Pam/Pamela was the most popular girls name, closely followed by Susan and Rita 
  • In case you're wondering, the girls list is much longer mainly due to the number of books Enid Blyton wrote that were based in girl's boarding schools. But it seems a lot of them preferred to go by quite boyish nicknames, such as George, Bill, Henry and Bobby.
  • Enid also named a few sets of twins in her stories. A couple of notables were David and Delia (I love this combination!) and "The Harry's" - twins Henry who went by Harry and Harriet who also went by Harry.
What are your favourite Enid Blyton names? Are any of these names on your list because of an Enid Blyton character? Or have you perhaps used one already?


7 comments:

  1. I really enjoy the nicknames Enid Blyton chose for her characters. I also enjoy many of the given names, of course; they are quite charming.

    Britishbabynames did a similar post last year (http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2012/12/names-from-the-works-of-enid-blyton.html), if anyone is a huge Enid Blyton fan.

    Thanks for another great post!

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  2. Thanks for sharing this posting. I am looking some baby names for boy and girl in this article. Congratulation on maintaining a great blog.

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  3. Ooh look, a Dimity! Not to mention Bonaparte and Zerelda ...

    Some of these "old fashioned" names now look really stylish, like Elsie, Louella and Vera.

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  4. What a fun post! I loved Enid Blyton books as a child and this has brought lots of memories back. I always thought Darrell and Felicity Rivers from the Malory Towers series were a strange pair of names for sisters: one rather masculine sounding name and one so feminine. I remember how much Alicia and Wilhelmina (from the same series) hated going by these names and went by boy nicknames instead just as you mentioned a lot of her tomboyish characters did.

    I also loved Elinor M. Brent Dyer's series: The Chalet School. The school started in Austria and moved both to Britain and the Channel Islands throughout the 62 book series so as you can imagine the names were many, varied and awesome! Elisaveta, Bette, Gisela, Evadne, Margia and a curious girl known as 'The Robin' who was actually called Marya Cecilia were some of the first girls at the school. Later, Helena, Constance and Margot were the main character Josephine Bettany's triplets and I seem to remember that she also had a Felicity whose twin was called Felix! I'll stop before I get royally carried away...

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    Replies
    1. I've never heard of The Chalet School series, but the names sound fantastic! I can see why you're so enthusiastic about it ☺

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  5. As a real life "Enid" I enjoyed reading this blog post!

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  6. Isabel not Isobel but everything else is right. Also I love June!!!

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