A father has told how he gave his daughter the middle name '21a' in the hope it will help her achieve pop stardom.

Zaedea Fotherby is thought to be the only child in Britain with a number registered as part of her name, which her father says came to him in a dream before she was born.

Eric Fotherby, of Ripley, Derbyshire, believes he is blazing a trail by bestowing the distinctive moniker on his daughter.

Its strangeness even eclipses the eccentricities of celebrities such as Bob Geldof - father to Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches and Pixie, or Frank Zappa who named his children Dweezil and Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuuka Rodan and Diva.

But Mr Fotherby, who also says he also dreamt the name of Zaedea's sister - nine-year-old Zanya Obea - insists his daughters are happy.

"They are as proud as punch. They both love music and, with names like theirs, they are tailor made to be pop stars."

Confusion at school

However, seven-year-old Zaedea has had problems getting her school to accept her name.

When she first began writing it in class, teachers pulled her up, thinking she must have meant to write Tula or Toola.

Mr Fotherby also admits he had problems when trying to register the names.

"I had a terrible time getting the registrar to accept the spelling of 2la, but that was how I dreamt it so I stuck to it and they eventually agreed."

He added: "She is the first baby in Britain to be registered with a number in her name."

Zaedea herself said she would not trade in her name for the world: "It is unusual. I wouldn't swap it for any of the names of the other girls in my class at school," she said.

Jack and Chloe are the current favourite names for boys and girls, but there is a wider trend for choosing the unusual.

The most recent edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary of First Names included a clutch of neo-names such as Bijou, Gobnat, Beige, Raven, Karma and Zenith.

Elsewhere the trend is repeated, although in Peru there was a row when the Government tried to crack down on names such as H2O.

And in France, a couple who wanted to call their son Zebulon were told they faced court if the name could expose the child to mockery.