Royal Baby Names: Our Top 12 Choices

Prince George Arthur Phillip Charles

Princess Diana Caroline

I like all of these! 🙂 My younger son is named George Frederick. I love Arthur too. Albert or Alfred would be a little more surprising to me – but still very nice. I guess I like the boy names more than the girl names. My favourite from the girls list is Alice – that’s one I had on my own list once too.

I would love to see Diana, but the Queen would definitely veto that, but possibly could be a middle. Alice Caroline Diana would be beautiful.

I see a Leopold, George, Caroline, Victoria, or an Eleanor…

I really think it will be something that can have a nickname… Maybe with 3 middles, they will express their creativity there.

Good luck to them!

Philip is the name of the baby’s great-grandfather, wife of the reigning queen.

“wife of the reigning queen.”

Lol. I think he’s the husband.

If they have a girl, I think they’ll be a nod in there to Princess Diana.

I think you guys are missing the point a little bit. Very rarely do british royalty ever go by nicknames…so names that you think they will used based on a nickname seem a little off…
the baby will likely go by its full name.

Dayjoysky….what about Henry Albert Charles David, aka Harry? 🙂

I would be very surprised if Diana was the first name (boy or girl, this baby will be monarch one day so I think they will stick with tradition for the first one) but it will very likely be one of the numerous middle names. My money is also on Elizabeth for one of the names. It’s Catherine’s middle name — and, of course, the queen.

Apparently, Eleanor was the favourite name of Charles and Diana if they had had daughters. However, William now has a cousin of that name (and one cousin has it as a middle name as well). He also has cousins called Amelia, Charlotte and George, so he may not want to repeat them.

I think Philip, Arthur, Elizabeth and Diana all have a very good chance of being middle names.

Elea or BritishAmerican or any other Britberries — is there anything to the rumor that Arthur like John and Richard is also considered unlucky? If so, why?

I hope it’s a girl named Alice. That would just be perfect. Little Princess Alice. Too cute. For a boy, Frederick. Prince Freddy! Love it! But I really do hope it’s a girl.

Pam…my understanding is that every heir has Arthur as one of their names…Charles Philip Arthur George, William Arthur Philip Louis

With Kate and her family being from Wales, I wonder if there will be a welsh middle name.

Phillip would also honor maid of honor and sister, Phillipa, or Pippa.

Interesting, didn’t know that! It’s moving up, so maybe the baby will be Arthur Charles Philip Michael. Or something like that.

My mistake…that only started with Elizabeth’s father, Albert Frederick Arthur George

They will ascend the throne of the United Kingdom nameberry, not England.

That aside, I love the idea of a little Prince Arthur. I doubt they will use Elizabeth, a minor royal already used this a while back and the queen made it very clear that it was in honour of her mother and not her. They also won’t be using any names of close relatives like cousins and I don’t think Diana is at all likely as a first name.

My guess is that they will either look back quite far into royal history for a name that hasn’t been recently used, Alice and Eleonor seem like good candidates, but I think, that while they will go with something quite classic they may break with tradition and choose a name not previously connected with the royal family.

spotlightstarlit – Kate and her family are not from Wales. Kate’s father was born in Leeds, her mother in Ealing (London) and Kate and her siblings were all born in Berkshire. All places in England.

By the time this baby becomes monarch, will the United Kingdom still be?!

All of those boy names sound old fashioned and dusty. Dont like any of them

I believe the Queen has to give an official okay to the baby names. She actually named Eugenie, Fergie and Andrew’s (?) daughter. I like Alice best for a girl, and that is one of Princess Anne’s middle names (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise). Royal babies usually get four names, probably to honor relatives. A boy will almost certainly have Charles and Philip in there somewhere, and I’m betting the girl will have both Elizabeth and Diana stuck in the middle too.

arunciblespoon, for a moment there I read United Kingdom of Nameberry. Not yet, not yet, and if there were such a kingdom, I’m sure we’d have a lot of fun naming its royal family!

I know of no negative association with Arthur. Queen Victoria first used Arthur for one of her sons (The Duke of Connaught) because he was born on the birthday of the Duke of Wellington (Arthur) who was also a godfather. George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) was most likely given the name after him (Arthur was his uncle), and Prince Charles was probably given the middle name because the Duke of Connaught was the queen’s godfather.

Albert is the name that has the reputation for “never to be king.” Both Edward VII and George VI had it as a first name but, for various political reasons decided to change the “official” name, and Prince Albert Victor was first in line to the throne, but died in his 20s.

Charles was also considered very unlucky for a kingly name (the first was beheaded, the second was deposed for a while) and the queen caused a bit of a stir when she used it for her first-born.

Personally, I think the first baby (as the future monarch) will have an established already-been-used-by-a-king/queen-name-and isn’t-a-political-hot-potato (aka James). That does limit the pool considerably to only a small handful. Any other children will probably have names from a broader range, but I doubt this first one will.

I would love to see a little
Charlotte Diana Elizabeth, or a little George Arthur Philip!

I forgot to add a fourth name in there:

Charlotte Diana Elizabeth Jane
George Arthur Philip Henry

What about Adelaide for a girl? A UK Queen back in the 1700’s

I would like to see Alexander or Matilda.

Pippa’s middle name is Charlotte, so if Kate chose that for a first or middle name it could also honor her sister.

[…] of twelve top traditional choices for a new royal baby boy or girl. Whatever the couple decides, she writes, their choice is likely to be trendy “for decades to […]

Pam the medieval King John was a very bad king and a more recent Prince John (son of George V I think) died aged 13 from an epileptic seizure so it is considered an unlucky name for Royal children.

Richard is a no-no because of Richard III who is believed (a beief helped along by Shakedpeare’s portrayal of him) to have murdered the two young Princes in the tower.

Hope that helps!

Many of the suggested names are very popular in England, so my vote goes to Arthur, which is in the Top 100 but closer to the end. If it’s a girl I’d choose Victoria as well, which is not on the Top 100 at all so it could set a major trend overseas.

I think for the first-born it’ll be something very traditional like George or Victoria aka something already well-established as a Royal name, and then if there are any more following this baby, they’ll go for something a little less strictly traditional.

Also, what about Margaret or Mary? Margaret was the Queen’s sister, so I think she at least has a stand-in at getting at least in the middle somewhere.

My personal favourite, though, would have to be the idea of a little Princess Alice. 🙂

Oh I hope they don’t use Arthur or Matilda or Eleanor. These are all favourites of mine, and I’m betting they would become unusably popular should Will and Kate choose them.

I guess I have a thing for royal sounding names! I love most of the choices on this list!

I’m surprised to see Elizabeth and Alexandra missing, as names of the current monarch I would expect to see something like that. Also William, Henry and Charles are definite possibilities for a male middle names. My guess is Victoria Diana Elizabeth Anne and Arthur Charles Philip Henry. I think it is highly likely that Diana will be one of the middle names, but defintly not a first as its not a ‘royal’ name.

Thanks for all this insight, everyone! Punchbuggy, I don’t think the name will be Elizabeth because of the current monarch AND her mother — there’s been such a long run of royal Elizabeths, that I think that while they’ll choose something very traditional, they won’t want their child to be too overshadowed by recent history. But I debated Alexandra as well as Alexander, though ended up just not feeling either as one of the final choices. Mary feels too dowdy, Margaret too wild card, Adelaide too adventurous though of course very cute.

For a boy, unless they want their son to be “The First” (which sounds very unlikely, IMO), William and Kate do not have many choices. All the kingly names (William, Henry, Charles, Richard, James, Edward, David) are taken by close family members, and the family doesn’t seem to keen on repeating names. The only ones left are George – probably the best choice -, John (which sadly is considered unlucky by the Royal Family) and Stephen. Alternatively, I would love it if they looked into the Anglo-Saxon or Scottish kings: I’d love a King Alfred, Harold, Alexander (IV) or Robert (IV). As for “new” names, Albert and Arthur are out of the question – there won’t ever be a “King Arthur” (obviously) nor “King Albert” (the name is only associated with Victoria’s husbands, and the 2 Prince Alberts who assumed the throne since his death all reigned under their middle names).

For a daughter, I don’t think they would be expected to pick a name with an ordinal because there are only four of them – Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Victoria (the best possibility, IMO – rumoured to be the name picked by William’s parents if he had been a girl). While I would love a little Elizabeth III, the Queen is not at all keen on having children named after herself so I doubt they will use it upfirst. There were also Queens named Jane, Matilda, and Margaret – but they were all disputed and Margaret is far to associated with the Queen’s late sister. Personally I’d love to see them go with an Old Royal name that hasn’t been used in a while: Charlotte (there was almost a Queen Charlotte), Eleanor, Cecily, Alice, Sophia, Amelia, Caroline, Adelaide, even Catherine!

I doubt very much they will use Diana as the first name of the heiress to the throne – not only it would be an affront on the Queen and Prince Philip (despite of her achievements and tragic death, Diana did a lot of damage to the Royal Family and caused her parents-in-law plenty of heartache) and, most of all, because it would be a burden to grow up as “Diana, Princess of Wales” under the shadow of her grandmother. I have no doubt it will be among her names, though, and I’m sure a second daughter or Harry’s daughter will be called as such.

Of course, knowing the current trends among the younger “commoner” royalty around Europe (who seem to ignore history and tradition and only care about their privileges), and looking at the names of William & Kate’s closest friends, I wouldn’t be surprised if they used “a named they like” and the UK will end up with a Prince Joshua or a Princess Chloe.

As an example – most of the royal couples of Europe picked “names they like” for their children, even if they don’t have an ounce of historical precedent or even a nice family/religious/cultural background: the Princesses Alexia and Ariane of the Netherlands, Princess Athena of Denmark, Leah Behn of Norway, Savannah Phillips of the UK… However, all of them went with “proper” royal names for the direct heir to the throne.

And yet, when the future Queen of Sweden was born last March, she was named not Kristina, Ulrika or Maria but Estelle – a perfectly nice name, but one that isn’t neither royal, family related, or even Swedish. Eventually the parents “saved face” by saying she was named after a distant relative-by-marriage who did a lot of charity during World War II, but it caused controversy nevertheless. Hopefully William and Kate have more sense!

There was one unlucky Arthur. Henry VIII’s older brother was named Arthur. Everyone loved him and was excited for him to be king. They married him to the princess of Spain (Catherine of Aragon), but Arthur died suddenly and quite young–so young, that the royals argued that Catherine and Arthur never consummated their marriage, thereby allowing them to marry her off to Henry and maintain the political alliance. This little discrepancy (married but not consummated according to her) was what Henry used to try to get the Pope to annul the marriage so he could marry Anne Boylen.

I don’t know if that’s enough to make Arthur unlucky, though.

There’s Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, (12th/13th century) and he had an unlucky history as well. It was the subject of Shakespeare’s play “The Life and Death of King John.” This Arthur was a possible heir and threat to John, the reigning king, and there’s the unanswered question as to whether or not he was murdered by King John or one of his associates.

I think there may be enough that Arthur could be considered an unlucky name.

I can’t see them using Victoria as a first name, yes the name chosen is supposed to have a history but this one just has too much recent history for its own good. Queen Victoria was such a presence her name came to define an entire age! True so did the first Elizabeth but the first and second of that name were separated by 400 years not a mere century.
I’d be surprised if Diana wasn’t included somewhere in the name as well as Elizabeth but neither will be first. I would guess Charlotte or Alice.
For a boy I’d love to see Leopold but I think the queen would lean more towards George.

I do love the idea of a Prince Frederick. Even in its full form, it is adorable on a little boy, and still nice on a teenager and adult. Maybe Frederick Philip Arther George?

For a girl, I like Victoria, but I’m afraid it’s a little too close. I also like both Matilda and Alice. Princess Matilda Elizabeth Diana Alice, anyone?

There have been a few unlucky royal Arthurs (Henry VIII’s elder brother being the most notable), but I think the sense is that a King Arthur is just a little bit gauche, with all of the mythological baggage that it has. As a middle name it’s a much more acceptable nod to that heritage. Also, King Arthur/Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table is a very English tale (with Welsh influences)-and while things may change in the next 50 years or so-the baby when it’s born will be presumably the head of state not only in England and Wales, but the whole United Kingdom *and* the 16 realms of the Commonwealth. Arthur’s a bit too exclusively English, and the Cambridges a bit too canny about their popularity overseas, to go with it as a first name (I think).

Alfred’s an interesting one, isn’t it? I almost wonder if the wide popularity of Alfie over the last decade might actually make Alfred a more likely choice for the Cambridges. It no longer has the absurdly stuffy feeling it had in the 20th century, and giving the heir to the throne a name popular with his peers and their parents isn’t exactly a bad idea.

Quite apart from all the expectations on a little Victoria II (and burdens-have you seen how frequently the older, fat, and widow’s-weeds-wearing Victoria is parodied in Brit pop culture?!), Victoria is a bit of a dated name in the UK- decidedly 70s/80s vibe. It probably felt more natural a choice in the 80s than it would now (besides which, a first-born Victoria in 1982 wouldn’t necessarily have inherited the throne; a first born Victoria now certainly would). I think it’s more likely as a middle name for a Cambridge daughter.

I LOVE Arthur and Caroline <3

I would hope they would name her Diana. It’s been said in many articles that they are planning on naming their first born daughter Diana.
On another note, Will and Kate are seen as this new and modern royal couple. Will has defined the new monarchy by marrying a commoner and Kate does not seem like an old-fashioned woman to me. Whose to say they won’t go with one of the popular names like Oliver or Jack? Maybe they will have a Prince Max or Leo? I think they are going to put their new modern twist one something that has been so medieval.
My Top for Boys:
1) Max
2) Jack
3) Oliver
4) Alfie
5)

* Leo was my fifth choice

Queen Victoria’s first name was Alexandrina. I’ve always liked it since I first learned that.

Maude is one of those names you HAVE to be British royalty to consider and were I British royalty you can bet I wouldn’t let the option pass me by.

I do love Caroline though. My mom was shocked I liked it and said “we aren’t rich enough to have a Caroline…” I suspect William & Catherine could pull it off. 😉 I vastly prefer Caroline to Charlotte.

Victoria itself is probably more likely than Alexandrina but I’m not sure I prefer it. I hope that they use the, ahem, Victorian-era, nickname, of Vita. I don’t know what this mishegoss about “the Royal family doesn’t use nicknames” is, has anyone told Wills and Harry?

The bookies are picking Frances/Francis.
Not sure how I feel about this ask they’re the two frontrunners for my lil bump.
It might take some of the sting out of people’s nasty comments about my taste in names, however, I don’t want my lil one to be one of dozens with the same name.
My Francis was my amazing maternal great-grandfather. I haven’t even told my mum my name choice yet but I know she’s going to approve.
I think there are far worse namesakes than a future king or queen though 🙂

I think top contenders are:
Charlotte
Adelaide
Mary

George
Edward
Albert
Arthur

Charlotte Elizabeth Anne Diana
(Charlotte was a daughter of King Wm IV)

Edward George Arthur Phillip

I hope that they give the children refreshingly modern choices. I don’t mean a Prince Kai or a Princess Rilee but what about something Welsh or Cornish or Scottish?

Prince Gareth, Denzil or Lachlan for first names followed by well loved royal names like Diana and Elizabeth for a daughter and William and Louis for a boy.

When they got married I was asked what I thought they would name their first child, I went with Frederick or Amelia. I will stick by that guess 🙂

I envision something like:
Matilda Frances Rose Mary
or
Malcolm George Phillip Edmund

[…] of twelve top traditional choices for a new royal baby boy or girl. Whatever the couple decides, she writes, their choice is likely to be trendy “for decades to […]

Mary, Victoria or Alice.

Mary has been the name of two queens and also Mary of Teck, current queen’s grandmother aswell as being one of the queens middle names. Its a name known very well internationally and would suit a future queen of the commonwealth.

Victoria as the namesake Queen Victoria, Prince Philip’s grandmother name was also Victoria. the couple are friendly with David and Victoria Beckham also one of Britain’a cyclist who won gold at the London olympics is called Victoria Pendleton. Suit a baby conceived in the Jubilee year.

Alice is the name of Prince Philip’s mother and is the name of an aunt of the queen who just passed away.

Elizabeth, Caroline and Diana are probably going to be used as middle names.

Quote in blog reads: Philip is the name of the baby’s great-grandfather, wife of the reigning queen.

Correction: Philip is the HUSBAND of the reigning queen.

Philip is the HUSBAND, not the wife, of the queen 🙂

Philippa would be a good choice as well.

It would be funny if they wanted to name the baby Diesel or something!

Ohhh it HAS to be Diana!! That would be so perfect!
Also love Eleanor and Caroline

Eleanor Diana would be the best i think!

I would really love Richard for a boy (I’m a huge supporter of Richard III) but it seems unlikely.

Isn’t Olivia the name of Catherine’s grandmother? Although it is not a royal name, it would be an interesting choice for a middle name.

Very exciting!
I’m not sure if my guesses have been already said but I’m going to go with-

James Henry Spencer Charles

or

Alice Elizabeth Diana Mary

Congratulations to the royal couple on the happy news!

How tricky if they named their girl Spencer! Wouldn’t everyone just gasp.

I’d fully support the name Edwina being used. Ooh or perhaps Wallis.

Mischa and Dresdendoll, I’m appalled at my sexist slip — and further appalled that NO ONE caught it till now! Sharp eyes; thank you.

If Adelaide isn’t on the table (and it should be!), I’m hoping for a little Alice Diana Elizabeth. Or Frederick George Charles.

Another strike against Arthur is that the current Prime Minister has a young son with that name. Too trendy.

I would love to see a girl named Victoria or Adelaide, or something lesser-known from centuries ago like Eleanor, Caroline, Alexandra (okay, well the last century) or Charlotte. I doubt they’d use Diana (too loaded) or Elizabeth (not while there’s already one) as a first but they’d be amazing middles! Or even Catherine. Victoria Elizabeth Diana Catherine would be lovely.

For a boy I would love to see Arthur; I also love the names William and Edward but I doubt they’d use a living royal’s name as a first.

As a total royalist and general Anglophile I’m so excited! I wish more people here in Canada would recognize our country’s British roots.

My Grandma’s Middle Name was Maude. At first I didn’t think it was very cute but after you say it a few times, it grows on a person!! 🙂

Boy – George
Girl – Alice

Their son will be King, so they will choose a very serious former monarch name and I think George will be it for sure.

Alice was Queen Victoria’s daughter, there hasn’t been an Alice recently, and it’s also the name of Prince Philip’s mother. Although I REALLY hope they either have a boy or choose a different girl’s name because I adore Alice and want to use it soon!

Should have also added – obviously, they’ll choose three names to go with their first choice! For a boy, I think George Arthur Philip Charles. For a girl, I think Alice could be followed by any number of pretty girl’s names, including Adelaide, Alexandra, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, etc.

I´ve a strong feeling that Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Michael Middleton will be on of the godparents.

[…] The baby’s name won’t necessarily be revealed immediately; Montclair’s own baby name guru Pamela Redmond Satran of nameberry.com has already revealed her best bets here. […]

[…]  The Nameberry blog has called George a front runner but also suggested Albert, Alfred, Arthur, Frederick, Leopold and Phillip were possibilities. […]