The Edwardians loved rhyme and alliteration in names. Beatrice Bessie Battiscombe, Albert Hubert Harman, Reginald Ronald
McDonald and Lulu Lillian Lock (all found on the 1911 census) were highly fashionable and not at all uncommon for the era. In fact, the more letters and sounds repeated the better. Take a look at some of the 1911 Census Name Combos and you will find many more examples of the matchiness in Edwardian appellations.
On the 1901 England and Wales census we can find Henry and Amelia Sturman with their daughters Menta, Mabel and Blanche. Only Menta and Mabel seem to share the same initial -- nothing so remarkable there -- but when we move ten years on to the 1911 census we see the girls have been listed by their full names:
Alice Aramenta Amelia
Mabel Maud Mary
Beatrice Blanche Bessie
Some Edwardian parents extended the alliteration even further by applying the same letter across all their progeny. Below are three examples of these alliterative Edwardian sibsets.
Francis and Eliza Aris named their Edwardian brood:
Albert Alfred Aris (1896)
Arthur Alexander Aris (1898)
Amelia Adelaide Aris (1900)
Agnes Alexandra Aris (1902)
Augustus Archibald Aris (1905)
Arnold Adolphus Aris (1908)
Aubrey Archibald Aris (1909)
James and Kate Boddy named their children:
Bertram Basil Boddy (1899)
Bernard Bryan Boddy (1900)
Beatrice Blanche Boddy (1901)
Bertha Brenda Boddy (1903)
Bessie Barbara Boddy (1906)
Brian Benjamin Boddy (1907)
Beryl Breta Boddy (1909)
Matthew and Elizabeth Mann called their daughters:
Millicent Mary Mann (1897)
Margaret Maud Mann (1899)
Martha Muriel Mann (1902)
For more information on Edwardian alliteration and other Edwardian trends, take a look at my blog on Edwardian names over at nameberry.com
