Is it possible for a British peer to have the same surname and title? As in William Podunk, Duke of Podunk?
I had been quite sure of the thing's impossibility till I thought of a counterexample: there was a Richard (of) York, Duke of York.
On the other hand, is "of York" even a proper surname? I feel I am a bit out of my depth here.
EDIT
As @Pieter pointed out, the counterexample is wrong. It's Richard Plantagenet.
It is very common to have titles based on the surname such as Barry Jones, Baron Jones or with a location so as to reduce ambiguity such as Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham
There are others with minor spelling differences such as Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (note the extra r) who renounced his hereditary peerage but was later awarded a life peerage as Baron Carington of Upton (single r)
But in the comments you seem to be looking for of X examples. I am not aware of any dukes (David Somerset is Duke of Beaufort, while the Duke of Somerset has the surname Seymour, going back to the family of Henry VIII's third wife). There are some earls and countesses, such as Elizabeth Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland and Benjamin Craven, 9th Earl of Craven and Rupert Onslow, 8th Earl of Onslow, as well as the slightly odder example where the surname includes of namely Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar
There have been several dukes whose titles match their surnames.
These include Frederick Schomberg, a German-born general who, at various times, commanded forces for France, Brandenburg and Portugal. In 1673 he was invited to England to plan and lead an invasion of Holland, which was cancelled. He later did the opposite, accompanying William III in the Dutch "invasion" of England and was killed at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. In 1689 he was created Duke of Schomberg, in the peerage of England.
Phillip Wharton was created Duke of Wharton, in the peerage of Great Britain, at the age of 19, in 1718.
Charles Lennox, the natural son of Charles II, was created Duke of Lennox, in the Scottish peerage, in 1675.
In Scotland, if a name and title are the same the phrase "of that ilk", meaning of the same name or place, is sometimes used. Sir Iain Moncrieffe, baron of East Moncrieffe, for example, was known as Moncrieffe of that Ilk.
Yes, it is possible for a British peer to have the same surname and title. Although it depends on what period you're considering. In more recent times, not every title is based on giving title to land and, therefore, the title isn't tied to an actual place (and not every title, therefore, has 'of' in it).
For example, the first Baron Kenyon was Lloyd Kenyon. One of his contemporaries was John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell. Another was the naval commander Sir George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baronet who became the 1st Baron Rodney.
