# Can Brits give any house a name instead of a house number? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348 "2003-03-18T19:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Unisource](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Unisource](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unisource)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/1 "2003-03-18T19:15:44Z")
I keep reading British “procedural” mysteries, and the bobbies with tell the detective a suspect’s address is (I quote) “Cuckoo’s Nest, East Riding Way, Nether Poppleton”. And then add that the Cuckoo’s Nest part was his cynical way of saying he was adopted. I had a Brit friend who’s name was Phelleck and Gave his address as Phelleck Symbol, … (I didn’t get it, but he said to say it out loud). So, anyway, can you really dispense with the street digits and still get your mail delivered to you? I suppose the house name would have to be where the number usually goes? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/2 "2003-03-18T19:22:49Z")
Yes you can, but the post office don’t like it if you live on a long street. Your house will still have an official number, but if you put up a prominent name sign, then mail will be correctly posted to your house if the name is used instead of the number. With a name it is even more important for the poster to get the post code (zip) correct. Cheers, Bippy ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/3 "2003-03-18T20:41:45Z")
From [Royalmail.com](http://Royalmail.com): > [@](#): > > Royal Mail doesn’t name and number properties or streets. This responsibility lies with the local authorities naming and numbering departments (sometimes known as Engineers or Highways). You’ll need to put your request to them in writing and they’ll make checks (including asking for our opinion for delivery purposes) to ensure that the name doesn’t already exist within the local area. It may pay to suggest alternatives. > > Be aware that if your property is officially numbered you can’t drop the number but you can use a house name in addition to it. In practice though, once the name is established, dropping the number will not cause a problem. I’m pretty sure that renaming your house is somewhat akin to the approval process with planning permission and that there are guidelines to which you must adhere; you couldn’t (I don’t think) name your house MonkeyFuck Cottage. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/4 "2003-03-18T20:49:50Z")
Lots of streets in the UK, especially in rural areas, aren’t numbered. In a small village with only a few dozen houses, there’s really no need, as anybody knows where, say, Rose Cottage is. In the town where I grew up there were quite a few streets, mostly unsealed roads on the outskirts, with no house numbers at all. I used to do a paper round and it took a long while to figure out where they all were - especially as the orders were listed in alphabetical order of house name, which of course bore no resemblance to the order on the street. Remember, too, that house numbers are not necessarily a very good guide to where you’ll find the house - in the UK we don’t use a block numbering system like you find in the US. This does have the benefit that you don’t end up with ridiculous numbers in the 30,000 range… ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/5 "2003-03-18T21:14:03Z")
It’s not exactly completely factual in nature, but here’s an amusing [rant](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136337) by **Nostradamus** on the trials of naming his house. ---
**Author:** ![chiefgnome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@chiefgnome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiefgnome)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/6 "2003-03-18T21:52:48Z")
In practice you can, but the post office _don’t like it_ My parents’ house has a name rather than a number, and every few years the post office used to send a stern letter telling us to put a number 17 up outside as well to make it easier for the postmen. We never bothered… ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/7 "2003-03-19T00:10:21Z")
\<\\> Try pronouncing it phallic. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/8 "2003-03-19T00:19:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*Remember, too, that house numbers are not necessarily a very good guide to where you’ll find the house - in the UK we don’t use a block numbering system like you find in the US. This does have the benefit that you don’t end up with ridiculous numbers in the 30,000 range… \*\* Like the time I drove all the way to the Valley in search of 27,215 North Sepulveda…and the real address was 27,215 _South_ Sepulveda, in Orange County… Trinopus ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/9 "2003-03-19T00:37:03Z")
Not only can you more or less name your house whatever, but you are not compelled by law to display the house name or number anywhere. In Germany, for example, it’s required by law (or so I was once informed). This can often make it hard to locate a specific address, but some people don’t seem to be bothered about that, and it only takes a little while for the post man to learn who you are and deliver your mail accordingly. Typical English lack of care, organisation and efficiency, but there you go. We are what we are. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/10 "2003-03-19T01:09:25Z")
**HA!** Try finding an address in Tokyo. I dare you. Many, many times, I’ve spent long minutes trying to describe local landmarks with a cell phone clutched to my ear (even to locals), so that we can have some faint hope of meeting up. _Nanashi no nihon no michi no kado ni imasu!_ ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/11 "2003-03-19T01:27:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\* > Remember, too, that house numbers are not necessarily a very good guide to where you’ll find the house - in the UK we don’t use a block numbering system like you find in the US. This does have the benefit that you don’t end up with ridiculous numbers in the 30,000 range… \*\* So, who can tell us what and where is the highest (legit) street number in the USA? Perhaps somewhere on the ALCAN Highway? (Although strictly speaking, it’s not entirely in the US, so let’s say, North America. ) Is this Switchboard.com-able? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/12 "2003-03-19T01:45:47Z")
Yonge Street in Ontario is something over 1000 miles long (from Lake Ontario in Toronto up to Thunder Bay, IIRC). Every 10,000 or so street addresses, they start counting at 1 again. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/13 "2003-03-19T02:17:29Z")
Who says it’s just in Britain? Here in Minneapolis many major buildings in the downtown area are referred to by a name (e.g. “The Roanoke Building”). Technically all buildings have a number, but often people use the name even in things like phone listings and return addresses on mail. If you don’t already know where that building is, finding it can be a hassle. Even worse are the office parks that have sprung up off of major freeways, where sometimes there just aren’t any neighboring buildings to provide a regular number sequence. e.g. “XYZ Staffing, Suite 1500 Bloomington Office Park, I-494 in Bloomington”. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/14 "2003-03-19T04:09:11Z")
They promote Yonge Street as the longest street in the world, but what they’re really talking about is Provincial Highway 11, which includes Yonge Street. Both routes start at the T-junction at Queens Quay and Yonge. Lake Ontario is on the south side of this intersection. The headquarters of the Toronto Star newspaper is on the northeast corner, at One Yonge. On the northwest corner is a public art installation that I call ‘The Atomic Eggbeater’. Yonge Street proper, however, ends at the town of Holland Landing. It’s Highway 11 that continues to Rainy River. Street addresses are continuous, I believe, from One Yonge all the way to Newmarket at least, the last town before Holland Landing. I fairly certain I’ve seen ads that say things like ‘Dave’s Motors, 17 000 Yonge St, Newmarket’. But I don’t think the name or numbering continue past Holland Landing. I _could_ be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/15 "2003-03-19T04:15:21Z")
So how do computerized maps work in the UK? Does the database store house names? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/16 "2003-03-19T08:21:47Z")
Yep. The Royal Mail website has a postal address finder that displays all addresses they have recorded for a particular post code. It does include names (although not necessarily regularly updated). ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/17 "2003-03-19T14:21:41Z")
Street numbers in the Detroit area get up to some pretty impressive figures. I’ve seen addresses such as 30000 W. 13 Mile Road. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/18 "2003-03-19T14:34:00Z")
Perhaps worth adding: as others say, you _can_ name your house, but it’s another matter whether you _should_. It’s considered a bit of a joke when someone in a mid-terrace gives their house a name (such names are almost invariably naff). And there’s the syndrome of one-horse home businesses inventing addresses like “Mercantile House” to fool mail-order customers into thinking they have big company premises. ---
**Author:** ![chiefgnome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@chiefgnome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiefgnome)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/19 "2003-03-19T14:48:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raygirvan \* > **Perhaps worth adding: as others say, you _can_ name your house, but it’s another matter whether you _should_.** Too right. THe house my parents own was at some point (thankfully before we lived there) called “Ers’n’Mine” _the shame!_ ---
**Author:** ![Arturas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@Arturas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arturas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348/20 "2003-03-21T01:27:25Z")
Try rural US addresses. Most places do not mark the route or the box number and if marked, usually just the latter. So if you wish to live anonymously… Actually, there are maps in places showing the route numbers, or so I’ve heard. Never saw one myself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-brits-give-any-house-a-name-instead-of-a-house-number/162348.md?page=2)