Posh Name Generator

A posh name announces its owner's class before they open their mouth. British upper-class first names fall into a few recognisable sets: Latin and Greek revivals (Peregrine, Tarquin, Ptolemy, Araminta, Cosima, Hermione), sturdy Edwardian classics the gentry never abandoned (Rupert, Hugo, Humphrey, Henrietta, Clementine, Lavinia) and old-fashioned diminutives used well into adulthood (Freddie, Monty, Kitty, Pippa, Bertie). Surnames come from the landed families of Burke's Peerage and their imitators, and the surest tell is a double or triple barrel created when two estates married: Fortescue-Smythe, Pleydell-Bouverie, Leveson-Gower, Chetwynd-Talbot.

Pronunciation traps are part of the game. Cholmondeley is said Chumley, Featherstonehaugh is Fanshaw, Marjoribanks is Marchbanks, Mainwaring is Mannering, St John is Sinjun and Ralph is Rafe; knowing this is how insiders spot outsiders. Titles add another layer: an earl's daughter is Lady Arabella, a viscount's son is The Hon. Tarquin, a knight is Sir Humphrey and his wife is simply Lady Tollemache. And behind all the formality sits a nursery nickname that sticks for life: Bunty, Binky, Tuppy, Boofy, Pongo, Squeak.

The list mixes all of these registers, from sober royal-style triple names to Wodehouse-grade silliness, so you can cast a regency heroine, a Sloane Ranger, a country-house murder suspect or a satirical Tory backbencher.