What's in a name? Ask Obedience or Truth

New archive material unearthed in Cornwall, from as far back as the 16th century, demonstrates the merits of simply selecting a characteristic you hope your child might possess.

A list of the more than 1,000 unusual names found in censuses, and births, deaths and marriage records reveals gems such as Boadicea Basher, the rather more attractive Philadelphia Bunnyface, and one unfortunate child who cannot have had an easy time when answering to the name of Faithful Cock.

There was little disguising the pessimism of the parents of Susan Booze, Edward Evil and one who was probably not Cornwall's prettiest: Offspring Gurney. Children like Obedience Ginger had more to commend them, though the qualities of Fozzitt Bonds, Truth Bullock, Charity Chilly and Gentle Fudge are more difficult to detect.

Rene Jackaman, the archive assistant at Cornwall County Record Office, initiated the list after discovering the name Horatio Hornblower in a census entry. Mr Hornblower's father was determined to festoon the town with offspring whose names would be easy to recall: Azubia, Constantia, Jecoliah, Jedidah, Jerusha and Erastus.

But the game is up for the scriptwriters and marketing gurus who seemed to have invented names of eye-catching originality. Charity Dingle was baptised in South Petherwin, Cornwall, in 1702, 300 years before becoming a character in ITV's Emmerdale, and there are no prizes for guessing what Levi Jeans wore when he married in Padstow in 1797.