Now the girls!
Olivia
Ruby
Emily (Amal – German)
Grace (Gratia – Fr/Latin
Jessica (Hebrew – Yiskah)
Chloe (Khloe – Greek)
Sophie (Sofia – Greek)
Lily (Lilium – Latin)
Amelia (Amal – German)
Evie (Eva – Hebrew)

Jewish names: Michael, Joshua, Daniel, Joseph, David, Adam, Elizabeth, Hannah,
Mary.
German names: Robert, Edward, Roger, Albert, Carl, Alfred, Rosalind, Emma, Eric, Matilda.
French names: Charles, Henry, William
Celtic names: Alan, Brian, Jennifer
Greek names: Eleanor, Stephen, Alexander, Andrew, Peter, Gregory, George, Christopher, Melissa, Margaret, Nicholas, Jason, Timothy, Chloe, Zoe.

If you want an English name, you probably have to go back to Godel or Hereward (although I think they were Danes) maybe Boudicca?

“Well, Andy G, you are a bit tetchy. I'll put it down to youth, and perhaps a drop of the hard stuff!”

Patronising nonsense.

Then you admit you didn't read the original post properly, but dived in on your own little (very “local”) hobby-horse.

Which I am not interested in discussing, as I've made abundantly clear already. Nor do I regard it as of any great significance, for reasons stated previously.

“It's really what people are
trying to articulate when they talk about indigenous and
non-indigenous.”

More nonsense, and again, well you know it. Which invasion do we have to precede to be “indigenous” – hmm, can you hear that plaintive little BNP dog-whistle?

As I've said twice already, but you seem incapable of understanding, go read the Birmingham phone book. This is the 21st century, we're not playing Saxons vs. Normans any more.

Since you're so obsessed with a tiny, parochial little village where nothing has apparently changed since Magna Carta, why don't you change your pseudonym to “The Village Idiot”.

It would be far more appropriate, given the evidence.

Enjoy having the last word. I'm done – I don't have the time or energy to do this any more.

But I'm not playing your game.

I'm responding solely to what Mr. Hobbins said, and 'Jessica Parker's re-iteration of his statement.

“Normal” is too heavily-loaded a term not to have been used deliberately.

Also let's not confuse citizenship and nationality – which can be two quite separate things, as you full well know. Oh, and while we're in that vicinity, careful how you bandy the “racist” term about, please. (Yes, it was blatantly obvious what you're trying to pull, don't bloody pretend otherwise. I've got a 6-year old son who's better at hiding what he's up to than you are).

I thought I'd add the “born in Engerlund” rider to deflect potential objections to certain names, that's all. You're the one who seems to have the strange concern for some kind of established ancestral precedent –
“My own surname is the name of a Shropshire village, and is very
localised. Those above are strongly represented locally. Their
ancestors lie in local graveyards.” (wasn't that in the League of Gentlemen, somewhere?)

But you won't reveal your crucial historical cut-off point for allowing a name to be “normal”, which makes establishing a definition so much harder. Ho hum.

Come up here to live and of course you can become a naturalised Scot (4 years and you could play sport for us), we'd welcome you with open arms, even if your accents are almost certainly nowhere near as accurate as you think they are. (while we're on this topic – Eddie Izzard's are *woeful*, and his Sean Connery..oh dear. Nae mind. Johnny Lee Millar is the best non-Scot I've ever heard. Brilliant in “The Flying Scotsman” film)

I used the rugby example with good reason – Mr. Hobbins was complaining about the names of people seeking to represent his party. I was providing examples of people representing his country on an international stage, whose names he would categorise as not being “normal”. Perhaps he, just like yourself, could have a wee look in the Birmingham telephone directory to see what “normal” and “typical” English names can run to?

And just for fun, from the Scotland team against Australia on Saturday:

Cusiter (French name, though a long time ago), Danielli, De Luca, and Strokosch.

And they were all bloody brilliant.

The issue here is that some aporth in his ignorance (and possible sour grapes) has made a comment on the names, rather then the conceivable ability of potential candidates. And, as Andy Gilmour quite rightly points out, that selectivity where 'normal English names' become an issue. No problem if Cueto or Panesar represent the UK in sports but heaven forbid Gumraj or Zaidi should want to stand as prospective candidates for a political party?

Hartley, Thompson, Kingsley, Lumley, Milligan, Orwell, Thackery, Kipling, Masters, Tully, Corbett, Webb, Dorsey, Ashdown, Woolmer, Best, Durrell.

True, some of them didn't and don't live in India, but they were and are Indians, nevertheless, because they were born there:

http://www.indiamike.com/india/chai-and-chat-f7...

But why should you have to be born somewhere to count as a citizen? It seems a bit racist to me. After all, I've been to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Stirling. I've eaten haggis, tablet and neeps. I've drunk Scotch whisky, heard the bagpipes and I can do a reasonable Glaswegian and Morningside accent. I don't see why that shouldn't be enough to make me a Scot.

You know Abdul. We should think of changing our name to something with a solid English 'feel' to it. Griffin perhaps or Barnes.

After all that Margaret Hodge is an immigrant and changed her name to something far less exotic.

And look how far she's got. The adoration of all lib lefties and a hoity toity penthouse flat up West. She doesn't even have to live in a dump like Barking now.

Peace be upon us.

Nice try, but anecdotal cobblers, and you very well know it.

The word “normal” was used, and “normal” was meant. I accede nothing, nor do I have to…

Also, your experience is inevitably localised, and possibly holds for the rest of your country only if you regard as “English” a limited proportion of those born and raised there. Looked in the Birmingham phone book, recently? And what's the time limit for acceptability, Trofim? Two generations? 4? Is there a random cut-off date, like 1850? Please do tell.

So, which of these guys who played for England (representing you, Trofim, and all the villagers you know and love) on Saturday are “normal” Englishmen?

Mark CUETO (father's family from Spain, c.100 yrs ago)
Ugo MONYE (born in North London, went to same school as J. Wilkinson)
Ayoola ERINLE (born in Lagos, came over aged 18months, so presumably can be discounted?)
Shane GERAGHTY (born in Coventry, Irish father, mother's family also Irish backgorund)
Matt BANAHAN (Channel Islander, so allowed to choose their “home country”)

I haven't got time to do this properly, but would anyone like to apply a “cricket test”?

can start with Monty PANESAR, born in Luton to immigrant parents
Mark RAMPRAKASH, born in Hertfordshire, dad from Guyana.

please feel free to join in, it's fun (and educational)

How about substituting “typical” for “normal”. Surely Andy
Gilmour, even you would accede to that? Would not
MacPherson be a more typical Scottish name than Smith, or
Krzyszkowiak? O'Shea a more typical Irish name than Kuznetsov?
Shavlakadze a more Georgian name than Griffiths? You can only
take relativism so far. I come from west Worcestershire, and here
is a list of people I went to school or grew up with: Tudge, Rowberry, Birchley, Capper, Blissett, Vine, Rastall,
Hankins, Wilde, King, Pratt, Robinson, Roberts, Baggott, Sampson, Gardner, Harrison, Baskerville, Benbow, Gwilliam.

My own surname is the name of a Shropshire village, and is very
localised. Those above are strongly represented locally. Their
ancestors lie in local graveyards. They are certainly typically English barring Gwilliam – an Welsh-English
hybrid. I recently met some at a village do, and knew some by facial features even though I'd never met them before.

I used to wonder about MPs and so on with weird 'foreign' names – Konni Zilliacus and Van Straubenzee and so on but the electorate – by and large – seems unbothered much one way or the other. I doubt if anyone normal really cares.

While on the subject of PC and non-PC, some of you remeber Joan Baez. Yes?

Here's a link to a delectable parody.

Please empty your bladder before proceeding:

http://illfolks.blogspot.com/2007/06/sacrilege-...

Desperate measures from the left, but why are we surprised? It is possible that after the next election there could be more ethnic Tory MPs than Labour ones.

This of course is an abomination for the left, which claims to be the sole arbiter and representative of ethnic minorities.

From the perspective of settled (i.e. pre-1997) minority communities, the Labour government has been a disaster. Racist parties have made substantial electoral gains. The IPSOS-Mori key issues poll – the single best long term indicator of topical issues in Britain – shows a marked rise in race-related tension since Labour came to power.

You can't blame it all on the meeja. Labour played a huge part in creating this mess. It would be nice if someone on the left would raise their hands and say sorry, as opposed to just turning up the volume and trying to frighten ethnic minorities into voting for them.

You know, I was watching the England vs New Zealand rugby match highlights earlier, and I'm a little confused – could you possibly help by defining “normal English names” for me, please?

Cheers.

The fact remains that candidates have to be selected but before they can be selected they have to make themselves available for selection. I am not going to join the baying hound till I know which fox I will be chasing. In other words, could it be that those bearing what I assume you would call a 'normal English name' are not that keen on putting themselves up for selection?

The sentiment may not have been politically correct but the observation was!