Weird and wonderful names found in marriage records

1-2 minute read

By The Findmypast Team | January 29, 2020

We've found Romeo marrying Juliet and everything in between, but the question is: are these names for better or worse?

We've rummaged through our marriage records and discovered entries that prove an embarrassing name doesn't put everyone off their betrothed.

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Here is a selection of the names we found in the records:

Keeping up with the Mary Christmases

It seems that a large number of Marys have continued the Christmas theme with their name and married someone with the festive surname, Christmas.

Mary Christmas married Richard Ring in 1719.

There are over 400 Mary Christmases in our marriage records. The earliest recorded Mary Christmas married in 1719 in Oxford and gained the new surname Ring. On a slightly related note, ever wondered why there used to be so many Christmas Day weddings?

Where for art thou?

We've discovered a pair of real star-crossed lovers in our marriage records: in 1971, a Romeo married a Juliet in Lambeth, London.

Romeo A Ramson married Juliet Alli in Lambeth in 1971.

We also found the marriage records of Oscar Fingal Wilde and Constance Lloyd in Kensington, London in 1884, Jude Law and Sadie Frost in Westminster, London in 1997 and Kate Winslet and Jim Threapleton, in Reading, Berkshire in 1998.

With this record I thee wed

Our family research found that the most popular county to get married in was Lancashire, with 11.66 million records listed between 1837 and 2005. London followed closely behind with 11.62 million.

The five most popular cities to be married in over the same time period were:

Birmingham, Warwickshire with 1,656,516 marriages recorded
Manchester, Lancashire with 1,127,584 marriages recorded
Sheffield, Yorkshire with 988,541 marriages recorded
Leeds, Yorkshire with 980,207 marriages recorded
Bristol, Somerset with 899,885 marriages recorded

When you explore Findmypast's marriage records, our clever MarriageFinder™ will match up your ancestors' records, providing you with one definite marriage match, or at least a small list of possible matches. This is hugely helpful when, for example, a maiden name eludes you.

Feeling inspired to discover your own family's marriage records? When you start a family tree on Findmypast, we'll help you unlock family love stories in a matter of moments with hints, our clever clues to your past.

Made amazing matrimonial discoveries of your own in marriage records? We'd love to hear what you've found over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.