On 14/07/2018 23:01, Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , Java Jive

Aw, now you've gone an' ruined a perfectly good joke!

I understand that many Belgians (and Dutch) have silly names. A Belgian
works colleague (whose surname was Pannekoeke (Pancake) (the
aforementioned Berliner Pfannkuche in German?) told me that this dates
back to the days of Spanish occupation. Other Belgians with silly names
I came across were Pee and Vlug (Quick). When stopped and asked for
their names, the locals would often give something false and comical,
Their oppressors (of course) didn't know any better -Â* but the names stuck.

Likewise when Gaelic was banned in Ireland and Scotland. The Clancy
Brothers & Tommy Makem used to perform this, and used to say when
introducing it: "It wasn't written so much as to show the great love
between the Irish and the Jews, as much as it was to show the stupidity
of the British!" ...

http://www.irishsongs.com/lyrics.php...ew&Song_id=245

(BTW, IIRC Briscoe mentioned in the song was a Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin.)