It's A Boy for Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank: February 9, 2021

[Heavs]

Maybe they're fans of Ethan Hawke . I suppose August has got Hanoverian links. That's certainly an "original" choice ... I suppose he can always call himself Phil if he fancies being known as something more traditional! Lovely picture.

I suspect he might be Gus or Augie as a baby/toddler.

I doubt he'll be the only one with that kind of name at his school, he'll be one of a crowd of Wilfreds, Tobiases, Algernons etc. But he does have Philip if he wants to be less conspicuous in general.

It's not exactly what I was thinking but it is "old fashioned/classical with a twist" which is what I predicted.

 

[W.Y.CII]

August! Quite surprised but kind of expected. That's a lovely name. I guess Augusta for a girl so I'm not completely wrong I think

 

[Jennywren]

Maybe he'll be Gus Brooksbank?

 

[Biri]

His name should be already entered into the title of the thread.

 

[sophie25]

If she had wanted to honour a grandad it would have been nice to have chosen Ronald rather than Philip as Sarah was so close to her father. The families of the 'married in' partners always seem to get ignored when naming children. [.....]. Still, little August is a lovely little baby, very cute indeed.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

I love the name Hawke, but would have never thought of it for one of little Brooksbank's names. It's nice that Prince Philip was honored. I wonder where the name August comes from in terms of their selection of it for a first name at that. Did they happen to meet in August??? Maybe that's the connection.

Well, other than the tribute to Philip, it seems like a totally unique name for little Brooksbank. They seem so happy and besotted with their son and with each other. That's a beautiful thing. Best wishes to them, and I hope they are enjoying Frogmore and environs.

Augie Brooksbank ?

 

[lallettac]

Latin name, it is considered very old-fashioned also in Italy

 

[Sancia]

That is such a lovely name! Auguste is becoming quite trendy in French-speaking countries. Maybe August will become as popular in United Kingdom.

 

[Lemon Lyman]

Maybe he'll be Gus Brooksbank?

Yep that’s what I’m assuming. Very cute

 

[Heavs]

If she had wanted to honour a grandad it would have been nice to have chosen Ronald rather than Philip as Sarah was so close to her father. The families of the 'married in' partners always seem to get ignored when naming children. [......] Still, little August is a lovely little baby, very cute indeed.

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being close to anyone. I adored my grandfather and my father, but I'm certainly not going to be giving a boy their names which like Ronald are very old fashioned but not in a classic way. I don't think there are any rules or ignoring married in families.

[.....]
By the time you start looking at Great Grandparents there are a lot to choose from and they just went with one who is still alive and hopefully about to mark his 100th in the year this baby was born.

 

[Molly2101]

If she had wanted to honour a grandad it would have been nice to have chosen Ronald rather than Philip as Sarah was so close to her father. The families of the 'married in' partners always seem to get ignored when naming children. [.....] Still, little August is a lovely little baby, very cute indeed.

[......]

I have to say I am surprised by the choice but I kind of like it. The addition of Hawke is unusual but I imagine there is a meaning somewhere. I am somewhat surprised they didn’t put the meaning of the name choices in the post.

I also have to say as a midwife it makes me smile to see how grateful Eugenie and Jack are to their own midwife. It’s a professional I am extremely proud to say I do.

 

[Lady Chiara]

Quite unexpected but I like the name a lot.
August gives me the feeling of one of those very classic names that are having a comeback in the UK (but I'm not British so I'm not sure).
Finally Prince Philip is honored by one of the great grandchildren in the year of his 100 birthday. It's a nice touch and I love the name Philip.
Hawke is definitely the most unexpected (totally convinced the would have used Stamp) but it's a nice name.

 

[Mbruno]

Latin name, it is considered very old-fashioned also in Italy

It is more common in Latin-derived languages as a second given name meaning "grand" or "venerable" (i.e. functioning in practice as an adjective). My paternal grandfather, who was Italian, was named "Mario Augusto" for example.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Latin name, it is considered very old-fashioned also in Italy

Right. I understand the derivation. I was just curious about their choice of that particular name, since it is rather unusual these days. Plus, I don't think it's a family name on either side.

It would be interesting to know whether they did meet in August. It would seem to be in character for them to choose something romantically meaningful to them in that way. ?

I also like the idea of picking out names that are unique to the child, and not a laundry list of famous, boring, traditional royal family names, just because.

 

[Biri]

I read somewhere that they met during winter holidays in Switzerland.

 

[Heavs]

Well we at least know he wasn't conceived in August. It probably does have some sort of special meaning for them but maybe not one obviously apparent to us.

She may explain the two names at a later date.

 

[Mbruno]

I read somewhere that they met during winter holidays in Switzerland.

I would go with the theory of a Hanoverian connection. Take for example King George III's sons:



King George IV: George Augustus Frederick .



Prince Frederick, Duke of York: Frederick Augustus.


Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: Edward Augustus.


Ernst Augustus, King of Hanover.


In all the cases above, however, Augustus is used as a de facto adjective in the Roman tradition. The use of August as a first name is what surprised me the most, although it is not unheard of in English and somewhat more common, I think, in German (maybe the German members of the Forum may comment).


EDIT: One of George III's sons, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, had Augustus as a first name though, but since word order is not fixed in Latin, I suppose it could be interpreted in the same way as if it were used as a second name.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Ahhh, thanks @Biri and @Heavs. So that rules out the month of August as having some significance, at least not to our knowledge. It's probably a different connection. Or else, it's simply that they looked at lists of names and their meanings and really liked the sound of 'August' altogether, and feel it suits their little one.

@Mbruno, that makes quite a bit of sense. Thanks for sharing. I'd forgotten about the prevalence of the name 'Augustus' in the annals of British royal family history. 'August' sounds more modern than 'Augustus.'

Quite unexpected but I like the name a lot.
August gives me the feeling of one of those very classic names that are having a comeback in the UK (but I'm not British so I'm not sure).

Finally Prince Philip is honored by one of the great grandchildren in the year of his 100 birthday. It's a nice touch and I love the name Philip.

Hawke is definitely the most unexpected (totally convinced the would have used Stamp) but it's a nice name.

Yes, it's an overall unexpected and unique choice. And it's lovely to finally honor Philip in this next generation of young royals.

I wonder if the 'Hawke' is a reference to 'Ethan Hawke,' or whether to the noble bird, which signifies power, strength of spirit, and a warrior's mentality.

 

[Stefan]

Apparently Haws is a Family name of the Brooksbanks and was asecond name of Jack's grandfather.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

Totally different using August - adore the fact Phillip has finally been used as a name in one of his great grand kids

 

[Pranter]

I would go with the theory of a Hanoverian connection. Take for example King George III's sons:



King George IV: George Augustus Frederick .



Prince Frederick, Duke of York: Frederick Augustus.


Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: Edward Augustus.


In all the cases above, however, Augustus is used as a de facto adjective in the Roman tradition. The use of August as a first name is what surprised me the most, although it is not unheard of in English and somewhat more common, I think, in German (maybe the German members of the Forum may comment).

Prince Augustus Frederick, sixth son of George III, and later Duke of Sussex.

 

[Mbruno]

Prince Augustus Frederick, sixth son of George III, and later Duke of Sussex.

Yes, I edited my previous post to note it above. Thanks.


What I was tying to say is that "Philip August" with "August" as an adjunct to Philip would more common than "August Philip", but in Latin you could actually use both with the same meaning as word order is not fixed.

 

[Alison H]

Prince Albert was Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, so there's a bit of a link with Augustus there, and maybe they made it August to avoid the Augustus Gloop comments!

 

[Betsypaige]

Aww, baby August is absolutely beautiful !

 

[Heavs]

So after her grandfather and 5 x great grandfathers on both sides. That makes it far back enough both to be fair and interesting in the naming department.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

August is the German form of Augustus. Prince Albert, known as Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel in Britain, was born Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel in Germany.

I imagine that's the connection, especially since Beatrice and Eugenie's names are also connected to Queen Victoria. And perhaps they liked August better than Augustus - I believe it's also used in English-speaking countries these days.

I like that it's a name that's both traditional and modern, and to me personally it also sounds beautiful. Great that they chose Philip as a middle name!

 

[Denville]

well not a very attractive name, IMO, apart from the name Philip. But i feel that Philip doesn't wnat his name used too much... however as a great grandchild born just before he turned 100 Im glad they used it. But August!!! I like some old Germanic or Latinate names.. but Augustus isn't one of them.. (or Adolphus).

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Eugenie's Instagram story about the names is linked in the 'baby names' thread.

 

[Skippy]

August Philip Hawke Brooksbank.... I love it! A strong, sturdy name. Wow.

 

[Heavs]

August is the German form of Augustus. Prince Albert, known as Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel in Britain, was born Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel in Germany.

I imagine that's the connection, especially since Beatrice and Eugenie's names are also connected to Queen Victoria. And perhaps they liked August better than Augustus - I believe it's also used in English-speaking countries these days.

I like that it's a name that's both traditional and modern, and to me personally it also sounds beautiful. Great that they chose Philip as a middle name!

It is since she mentioned it in her updated instagram stories post. I like the touch that she was named after Victoria so named her son after one of Prince Albert's names.

It's not a name I would chose but it clearly has meaning for them.