A couple have genuinely named their son after a flavour of crisp

There sure have been a few unusual names making headlines in recent years – such as billionaire Elon Musk and musician Grimes’ son X Æ A-12 – but the choice of name for one child from East London takes the biscuit.

Or rather, takes the crisp packet.

Pauline Bacon, 32 (you can probably tell where this is going), gave birth to Theodore Smokey Bacon in October last year, and both her and husband Maxwell believe the name is “a celebration of a unique family tradition”.

As if this wasn’t weird enough, Pauline’s maiden name is the Swedish surname Fridh – pronounced exactly how you think it’s pronounced – meaning Ms ‘Fried’ got married to Mr Bacon in December 2020.

We promise we aren’t joking.

The couple also plan to continue the punny names with future children, calling a girl Maple Bacon and their third child the gender-neutral name of Crispi Bacon.

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Speaking to The Sun’s ‘Fabulous’ section, Pauline said: “When we first started dating, Maxwell told me how his grandfather – Smokey Bacon’s great grandfather – had gone by the nickname ‘Streaky’ all his life, as his surname was Bacon.

“There were a few times [Maxwell] was bullied, but like his father and grandfather, he stepped up and embraced the name and no one ever teased him again.

“We were both determined to continue this delicious family tradition. Family is important to us both and we couldn't let the generations of proud Bacons down by not following in their footsteps.”

She went on to add the two of them had agreed to call their firstborn ‘Smokey Bacon’ at “the start of dating” as a couple, and that nurses “did a double take” when they gave their son’s name to them after his birth in Stockholm, Sweden.

Pauline explained: “When you register a birth name there, it cannot be a word that is in common use or known as an identifier. For example, I couldn't name him Paris as that’s the capital of France.

“When I tried to register Theodore Smoky Bacon with the normal spelling of Smoky, I was told it would be impossible as ‘smoky’ describes a fire.

“So, we added an ‘e’ to Smokey and officials approved it. It's not a spelling error, it's down to officials who helped us keep our unusual name and tick the bureaucratic boxes.”

She also said she is “used to the silence” which comes with stating their son’s name to others and has a picture of his passport photo to hand if she is asked to prove it.

Apparently, they’ve even had passport officials check the name and call colleagues over because they – like Pauline - “think it’s funny”.

We’d beg to differ, seeing as a smoky aeroplane suggests there’s something seriously wrong with the engine.

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