h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not only does Midsomer Norton exist, Mrs Zen, but so does Gurney Slade, which became famous in 1960 when the TV series 'the Strange World of Gurney Slade' hit the screen (although the Gurney Slade in that show was a character played by Anthony Newley).

There's a sub genre here of villages which have been used as names. A couple have been mentioned already, but Jilly Cooper took took the name France Lynch and gave it to one of the characters in her Rutshire / Gloucestershire books - Ricky France Lynch as I recall. I drove through France Lynch regularly and it irritated the life out of me when I read the book, though the character is amiable enough.

There is also an author who has taken the name Maisie Hampton as a nom de plume (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maisie-Hampton/e/B001K8XH1U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 ), which is based on another Gloucestershire village Meysey Hampton.

And a large number of Georgette Heyer's characters have English place-names as surnames.

Wasn't Paris Hilton (who?) named after the city?

Has anyone mentioned the Meaning of Liff yet?

Not to mention Chelsea Clinton and Brooklyn Beckham.

I feel you have undersold the piddles so far, plus the map you linked to is not in the Piddle valley which is in Dorset.

A few examples are

(most famously) Tolpuddle

but much, much sillier are

Puddletown
Piddlehinton
Affpuddle

and best of all

Piddletrenthide


And if you fancy a walk they do a sponsored walk through the valley each year called the Piddle Valley Plod

Near St Andrews in Fife is quite good for silly names too.

Kings Kettle and Yetts O'Muckhart spring to mind along with the home of the Proclaimers, Auchtermuchty.

Llantwit Major is a local village to me these days and very nice it is too. They get quite a few twits in in the evenings too I hear

http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/


A403642 LlanfairPG

Need I say more?

And then of course there is Twatt in Orkney, and another in Shetland.

Yes, I'd heard there were two in Scotland

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01000/Brown-Darling_1000051c.jpg

Oh of course, my Sister used to work taking bookings for a ferry company over the phone and got someone from there... I think she managed to keep her job