Photo: Vauxhall/edited image
We all tend to personalize our cars and sometimes we even go a little too far. Naming them, however, is a harmless activity that says absolutely nothing about our sanity. What, we all do it, right?
Somebody thought it would be nice to take a survey among car owners and see what names they choose for their beloved vehicles. Since today, October the 2nd, is the international ‘Name Your Car Day’, carwow.co.uk revealed what are the most popular names among the British motorists.
For male cars (don't ask), it seems the most widely used name is 'Bob', followed shortly by 'Fred'. The winner on the feminine side is 'Betty', with the runner-up being the not so very different 'Betsy'.
While Bob and Fred have no real story behind them (I guess when you want to use a generic name, you just go for 'Bob', like when the car won't accelerate as fast as you'd like it too and you go "Come on, Bob!"), Betsy and Betty have more substance to them. For example, Betsy is believed to stem from the 1978 film with the same name ("The Betsy") while Betty could be short for HRM Queen Elizabeth the Second. Because, you know, God saves the Queen so he may keep an eye on your car too if it has the same name.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a slight pattern depending on the age of motorists. In the 45-54 age group, 'Herbie' emerged as a pretty common name, remembering the Volkswagen Beetle that went by the same name in several movies of the `60s, `70s and `80s.
There were, of course, some less than flattering names used, including 'Oink Oink' (probably the owner's fault for not cleaning it up), 'Loser Cruiser' (guess the model), 'Moby Dick' (probably belonging to a lonely man), 'Mr. Darcy' (probably belonging to a lonely woman) or 'Costly' (probably belonging to a poor man now).
Here is the entire top 10 of names used by British drivers:
1. Bob
2. Betty
3. Betsy
4. Fred
5. Bertha
6. John
7. Baby
8. Bessie
9. The Beast
10. Harry
Now be a sport and take advantage of the anonymous internet and tell us your car's name in the comments.
For male cars (don't ask), it seems the most widely used name is 'Bob', followed shortly by 'Fred'. The winner on the feminine side is 'Betty', with the runner-up being the not so very different 'Betsy'.
While Bob and Fred have no real story behind them (I guess when you want to use a generic name, you just go for 'Bob', like when the car won't accelerate as fast as you'd like it too and you go "Come on, Bob!"), Betsy and Betty have more substance to them. For example, Betsy is believed to stem from the 1978 film with the same name ("The Betsy") while Betty could be short for HRM Queen Elizabeth the Second. Because, you know, God saves the Queen so he may keep an eye on your car too if it has the same name.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a slight pattern depending on the age of motorists. In the 45-54 age group, 'Herbie' emerged as a pretty common name, remembering the Volkswagen Beetle that went by the same name in several movies of the `60s, `70s and `80s.
There were, of course, some less than flattering names used, including 'Oink Oink' (probably the owner's fault for not cleaning it up), 'Loser Cruiser' (guess the model), 'Moby Dick' (probably belonging to a lonely man), 'Mr. Darcy' (probably belonging to a lonely woman) or 'Costly' (probably belonging to a poor man now).
Here is the entire top 10 of names used by British drivers:
1. Bob
2. Betty
3. Betsy
4. Fred
5. Bertha
6. John
7. Baby
8. Bessie
9. The Beast
10. Harry
Now be a sport and take advantage of the anonymous internet and tell us your car's name in the comments.
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