Subject

Civil engineer. Born Portsea, Hampshire. Constructions include: Great Western Railway and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Died at home, 18 Duke Street, Westminster, the house where he had lived and worked for much of his professional life. A very popular Brit, as illustrated in the terrific animated short film from 1975 by Bob Godfrey: "Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)".  Good post at London Historians.

We cannot get to the bottom of his name "Isambard". He shared it with his father, also an engineer, and it does not appear to be a nickname in either case, but it is an early Germanic name meaning (depending on source) 'glittering iron', 'iron giant' or 'man of iron'.  Is this a case of nominative determinism, as exampled by the architect Rem Koolhaus?  And we read that Unity Mitford's gynaecologist was pleasingly named Dr Becket Overy.