I associate
Algernon with the character in "The Importance of Being
Earnest." Chic, witty and just a little naughty.
I'm in the U.S. too. I should have the same aversion to the nn Algie, but my love for the 1950's version of "Being
Earnest" overrides the algae thing. (Technicolor
Oscar Wilde is to die for.)