Mine’s Harry, what’s yours called?

If youve named your car George or Mildred, you’re not the only one. A recent website survey revealed that over 4.5 million Britons, equating to one out of five UK car owners, have given their car a pet name and think of their ‘little baby’ motor as engendered, rather than an it.

Popular names included Fred, Monty, George and Betsy and the research conducted by Fish 4 Cars also indicated that people buying their first ever car are most likely to christen it; 32% in total, or almost one in three admitting to doing just that. However, there was a definite gender split with one in four men and a much higher proportion of women, four out of ten, admitting to naming their car. But as names that reflected the owner’s perception of their car’s performance, such as The Beast were much less popular, perhaps that was also an indication of the gender bias in naming cars.

People under 35 were more likely to name their four wheeled friend, with 22% admitting to doing so against 18% across all ages, although 27% of the over-55s questioned admitted to naming their very first vehicle, many years ago.

Not surprisingly, the research also revealed that those affectionately naming their cars and therefore giving it an identity tended to be more careful owners, meaning that anyone looking for a second-hand bargain should first ask the seller if the motor has a name. Such owners are also more likely to ensure that any minor damage or fault with the car is repaired sooner, rather than later.

Results gathered from 200 car dealers across the UK also noticed a difference in the way that named cars were maintained, suggesting that as many as three-quarters of them boast a full service history (FSH) and are more likely to be kept overnight in a garage.

Interestingly, the research also found there was no correlation between makes of cars and the owner’s propensity to give them a name. A brand new Rolls Royce was just as likely to be a Roger as a third or fourth hand Ford Focus, as the bestowing of a name merely reflects the owner’s sentimental attachment to the vehicle and is not related to its monetary value. Unfortunately, naming a vehicle is unlikely to have any effect on the vehicle’s car insurance premium, either!

Some of the more bizarre names that owners admitted giving to their vehicles included Romford Rustbucket, Buffy the Fiesta Slayer, The Little Orange Basket and Huff Puff the Silver Bullet. However, the joint top names from 15,000 respondents in the survey were Betsy and Bessie, with Fred coming in second and Baby third.

Daniel Collins writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.