Merry monikers

Is Scotland home to the most Christmassy person in the UK?

A new study carried out by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association has found that Moray in Scotland is a hotspot for the surname Santa while Robins hark from Perthshire and the Scottish Highlands is home to more people called Yule than anywhere else in the UK.

Meanwhile, people called Christmas come from Cambridgeshire, those named Rudolph from Kent and all three wise men – Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar – can be found in Bedfordshire.

The news comes as the BCTGA launches a nationwide search for the man or woman with the most Christmassy name.

Harry Brightwell, secretary of BCTGA, said: “If you know a Mary Christmas, Miss L Toe, Robin Redbreast, Gabriel Angel or Frank Incense, we want to hear from you.

“We know there are Stars out there, a few Advents and a Grinch or two and we suspect some of you – a Douglas Fir or a Scott Pine maybe – might share a moniker with a specific type of Christmas tree.”

BCTGA has used national data to find the number of people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with obvious Christmas surnames. It has also mapped the hot spots for these surnames around the country.

Mr Brightwell said he was on the lookout for someone whose name epitomised the history and traditions of Christmas in the UK.

“UK Christmas traditions include stockings, mince pies, turkey, pudding, Santa Claus and decorating Christmas trees, something we have been doing since the reign of Queen Victoria.

“This year BCTGA are launching a Keep It Real campaign to encourage more people to buy a real tree. To celebrate we want to give the winner of our Christmas Name Competition a real tree to take pride of place in their home for December.”

People with Christmassy names are asked to celebrate Christmas early and enter the competition on the BCTGA Facebook page.

Favourites will be shortlisted by a panel of BCTGA judges at the end of September and the public will be asked to vote for the winner from a final five.