The Top 10 Algernons

A name, from the Norman French for ‘with whiskers’, that has become a comedy staple

Algy predated Rupert, who was created in 1920 by Mary Tourtel (Getty)

This list was Robert Hutton’s idea, after I had been inspired by Algernon Newton, the artist described by Steve Edmonds as “England’s Canaletto”, to do a Top 10 extinct boys’ names. Algernon wasn’t on that list in the end because it is not quite extinct: three boys born in 2016 were named Algernon.*

1. Frederick Algernon Trotteville. The name was already a comic archaism by the time of Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers books, the first of which, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, was published in 1943.

2. Algernon Swinburne. The poet, 1837-1909. Nominated by Allan Holloway and Stewart Slater.

3. Algernon John Cringeworthy, teacher at Bash Street School, and Algernon “Spotty” Perkins, one of the Softies in Dennis the Menace, also from The Beano. Thanks to David Alston.

4. Algernon Freeman-Mitford. First Baron Redesdale, grandfather of the Mitford sisters (known as Barty, from his middle name, Bertram). From Ian McRobert.

5. Algernon Moncrieff. Lady Bracknell’s nephew in The Importance of Being Earnest. Thanks to David Alston, J65 and Bashingon.

6. Algernon (Algy) Lacey. Cousin and wingperson of Biggles (James Bigglesworth), in the series by WE Johns, since 1932.

7. Algy Pug from Rupert Bear. Algy predated Rupert, who was created in 1920 by Mary Tourtel, according to Alfred Bestall, who took over as illustrator and story writer in 1935. Nominated by Ian Rushforth, Rob Jackson and Stewart Slater.

8. Algernon Kingscote. British tennis player, 1888–1964, who won the Australasian championship in 1919, was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1919 and was ranked world No 3 in 1920. Thanks to Robert Boston.

9. Flowers for Algernon. Short story about a laboratory mouse of that name, written in 1958 by Daniel Keyes, and later expanded into a novel. Adapted many times for stage, TV, film and a rock opera. The film in 1968 was called Charly, after the main human character, presumably because the studio thought no one would watch a sci-fi film about ethical dilemmas with Algernon in the title. From Robert Boston and StavRibot.

10. Q in Never Say Never Again, 1983, “the Bond film that isn’t a Bond film”, according to Stewart Slater. As I don’t watch Bond films, I don’t know what he is talking about. Anyway, the first name of the Q person in that film was Algernon. James Edmondson agrees.

Honourable additional mention for David Alston, who nominated Ogden Nash’s Algy: “Algy met a bear/ A bear met Algy/ The bear was bulgy/ The bulge was Algy.”

No room, thanks to all these fictional Algernons, for Algernon Rutter, first president of the Rugby Football Union in 1871, or for Algernon Maudslay, 1873–1948, British yachtsman who won two gold medals at the 1900 Olympics in Meulan, France, both nominated by Robert Boston, who has followed Blackheath RFC “for more years than I can remember”. Or for Algy Cluff, soldier, businessman, author and former owner of The Spectator, whose name is actually John Gordon Cluff.

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*After Marmaduke Hussey, the former chair of the BBC, was in the news for his widow’s comments at a Buckingham Palace reception this week, I looked up his name on the Office for National Statistics database: it is still recorded occasionally – most recently, three boys born in 2019 were called Marmaduke.

Next week: genuine job titles, after we came across a Putter Togetherer, responsible for final assembly of handmade hairdressing scissors at Ernest Wright, Sheffield.

Coming soon: unimplemented policies in the most winning manifestos, starting with the repeal of the Human Rights Act, promised by the Conservatives in 2010, 2015 and 2019.

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk