Kalleh's thread on the names of wiskey brands got me to wondering what the history of the name, "Assange" - as in the Wikileaks guy - might be. "Ass," of course, is donkey, a beast of burden, and "ange" is French for "angel," and an angel is a messenger. Somehow it all seems to fit together.

I realise you're joking, Geoff, but nobody seems to know the origin. It's not a common name, and I did not find it in either of my British surnames dictionaries. The media have been having fun pronouncing it as though it's French or Middle-European. It's not even his name, but the nae of his stepfather Brett Assange. All I could find out about him is that he is Australian, too.

Yep, he is an Australian citizen and apparently wants to go back .

It evidently pays to do everything you can to get your name in the media.