British girl named Diot Coke in 1379

LONDON (AP)  Naming your child after a popular soft drink could be seen as a little bit faddish, but the parents of young Diot Coke might be forgiven — they gave their baby daughter the name way back in 1379.

Researchers at Britain's National Archives believe that the little girl, born in West Riding in Yorkshire, was the unfortunate victim of the corruption of the name Dionisia. One of the diminutives derived from that name on its path to the modern day Denise was Diot.

The girl's surname is believed to be a variation on the name Cook.

Archivist George Redmonds, writing in the organization's Ancestors magazine, discovered in his scrutiny of the birth archives that names now considered to be masculine, such as Philip and Thomas, were once used for girls in the 14th century.

Redmonds also found that names such as Godelena, Helwise, Idony, Avice and Dionisia were more popular than some of the names now considered traditional, such as Mary.

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