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Silly names

By C. Max Magee posted at 7:04 am on September 14, 2005 0

C.S. Forester’s fictional naval hero, Horatio Hornblower (of the Hornblower series of adventure novels), has one of the more memorably silly names in literary history. So, British researchers were quite surprised when they found a real life Hornblower in centuries old census records. Other silly names uncovered: Boadicea Basher, Philadelphia Bunnyface, Faithful Cock, and many more.

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C. Max Magee created and edits The Millions. He is co-editor of the collection of essays The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books, called "funny, poignant, relentlessly thought-provoking" by The Atlantic. He has appeared on NPR’s “Weekend Edition”, Minnesota Public Radio’s “Midmorning”, and ABC Radio National's "The Book Show" and has written for a number of publications. He and his family live in New Jersey. If you'd like to correspond, please don't hesitate to email.

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