What’s in a name? Well, if it’s the name of your house then the answer is ‘quite a lot’. Imagine for a moment a home called The Old Rectory. Now imagine another, this time called, for argument’s sake, Acacia Villa in Sycamore Crescent, or even Gas Works House, Canal Street. It’s not difficult to summon up a mental image of each of those – and they’re going to be very, very different.

When we see or hear a house name it tells us quite a lot, but whether what we assume is correct or not is another matter. It certainly matters to house-hunters. There’s a large section of home-owners who would far rather live in a house with a name rather than a number, even though 17 The High Street in an English market town might be a very grand Georgian residence.

As Mark Rimell of property specialists Strutt & Parker says, ‘So far as status goes, the most prestigious address – apart from a castle or a palace – is a manor house, the name of which is also the name of the village or town. So Thornfell Manor, Thornfell is about as good as it gets.’

Alongside that there would be The Old Manor or The Old Hall, both of which indicate the great antiquity which the English so famously love. Not far behind would be house addresses which show slightly lower status but do suggest great age and maybe architectural distinction, such as The Dower House, Thornfell Park, Whatsit Lodge or The Grange. In fact a grange was never anything more than a farmhouse that happened to be owned by a monastery, but it does suggest ancestry going back to the first half of the sixteenth century or before.

Mark adds, ‘An association with the church is always seen as desirable. It might be Church House or Chapel House, but the most popular are The Old Vicarage or The Old Rectory. These immediately suggest age, maturity, and tranquillity – even if nowadays the bypass only passes fifty feet from the front door. Recently a society has been formed for owners of Old Vicarages and Old Rectories, and the image one has is of sun-dappled lawns, afternoon tea being taken under a weeping willow and the distant sound of a cricket match. Mind you, either of those would be trumped by The Bishop’s Palace!’

Farm houses can be vast and prestigious buildings or can be surprisingly modest – or worst of all, modern! – but both are very desirable addresses. They might indicate its location such as Thornfell Farm, the characteristics of the landscape such as High Moor Farm, or a local feature – Elm Tree Farm or Castle Farm.

The English also love the word cottage, misused though it often is. Flowers, trees and shrubs are all pressed into service – Rose Cottage, Beech Cottage, Hawthorn Cottage, as are birds, animals and any number of country features.

Again, any suggestion of age wins points. In the north of England Toad Hall is quite common, but it shouldn’t suggest loud checked waistcoats and motor cars going poop-poop, it’s in fact derived from T’old House.

Mark McAndrew who is based at Strutt & Parker’s London office adds, ‘The second word is important in that it indicates the size of the building. We assume that Oak House is going to a larger building than Oak Cottage, but Oak Hall is grandest of all and is going to be the largest home in the village.’

Any association with streams, rivers or the sea will have home-buyers’ mouths watering. Riverbank Cottage sounds idyllic, as does South Bay House. Brookside isn’t so good, thanks to the TV series of the same name, and no matter how lovely Seaview might be it is always going to sound like a 1950s bed and breakfast establishment.

Very modern names have become more popular in recent times. Strutt & Parker are currently are marketing homes whose names include Thunderbird, Moonraker and Bowie. Yes, named after the rock star. The person who is naturally drawn to a Rose Cottage is unlikely to be racing to buy Bowie!

Really quirky house names might conceivably put a potential purchaser off, though it is a very simple process to change your home’s name – you only have to inform the post office. ?????? says that while he has seen house names made up from the Christian names of the owners and their families – such as Mileoranjack, to indicate the abode of Mildred, George, Susan and Jack – he has actually never seen a Dunraomin. Perhaps that only exists as a modern myth.

There again, it doesn’t help to be too snooty. Addresses can be deceptive: Don’t forget, the royal family refers to Buckingham Palace as Buck House, and while 10 Downing Street is a terraced house it’s actually an enormous building … oh yes, and world famous too!