Naming Customs of British Royalty, Favourite Name, Regnal Name and Numeration

[Lumutqueen]

I like the name Henry better than Harry. The changing names is silly.

 

[Mirabel]

I like the name Henry better than Harry. The changing names is silly.

I agree; it's more unusual and also, imo, more dignified.
It will be a better name when he's older, as well.

I don't know about other people, but I can never hear the name Harry without thinking of Harry Potter!

 

[HRHHermione]

I agree; it's more unusual and also, imo, more dignified.
It will be a better name when he's older, as well.

I don't know about other people, but I can never hear the name Harry without thinking of Harry Potter!

I believe Henry VIII was known as "Good King Harry" early in his reign so there's precedent for this nickname in the royal family

 

[Mermaid1962]

Henry is the tradition in the family, I suppose. I remember seeing a commentator on TV talking about Harry's name at the time and saying that there was a resurgence among upper class British people to give their sons traditional names like George and Harry. So with Henry known as Harry, they got a traditional Royal name plus a trendy one???

If the BRF wanted to call him Harry, then why not just name him Harry? Why name him Henry at all?

 

[Leslie2006]

The fact that the name John is considered unlucky in the British Royal Family is indeed true. It's not only because of Edward VII's son John, who died the day after birth, but also the youngest son of King George V, Prince John, who died of epilepsy at age 13.

 

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

"John" is also mainly in disuse in the Royal Family because of King John...
KJ has a bad reputation in history, although I think this perhaps is ill deserved!

Larry

 

[Mirabel]

Yes, King John wasn't as black as he was painted, while his brother Richard wasn't the shining hero he was held to be!
But I prefer the name James to John.
Still, if William has a son, I see no reason why he shouldn't be John.

(I suspect a daughter will be Elizabeth).

 

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Mirabel,

Yes, I agree with you about Richard indeed... Ironically, there's a huge statue of him outside Parliament in London - as if he's responsible for the place!! Incredible!! - although the statue is beautiful...

And, I like James also; even though all those James's weren't that great as Kings either...

Elizabeth would be a nice name for ER's great granddaughter - wonderful...

Cheers,
Larry

 

[eliz]

i reckon that a daughter would be a diana... even though the thought saddens me on harry's behalf: william's wife is having diana's engagement ring, it would be fairer if harry as well could honour officially and pubblicily him mum's memory by calling a daughter of his after her...

 

[Leslie2006]

I don't think William or Harry would name a daughter Diana...not for a first name anyway. That wouldn't be fair to her; she'd be compared to her grandmother by default and the press would hound her, just like they did with the boys' mother. However, I could see William using Diana as a second name for his daughter, or even Frances, which was Diana's second name and the first name of her own mother. Elizabeth is certainly in the cards for a middle name...not sure about a first though, since it's the queen's first name. Mary is definitely in the running, and obviously, Catherine. I don't know why, but I see them (William and Kate) using Adelaide as a first name. She was the wife of King William IV - Queen Victoria's uncle, whom she succeeded.

For boys, I could see James as a second name (it's already the first name of William's little cousin, James of Wessex). David, Michael, George, Nicholas, Edward could be others. Those are all family names either from the royal side, the Spencer family or the Middleton family...or one of each. Alexander is a nice name - very English sounding and it would honor Prince Philip's Greek background.

William, when he becomes king, and if he chooses to use his first name, will be King William V. His father, again, if choosing to use his first name, would be King Charles III and if it went to Harry, he would be King Henry IX.

 

[melissaadrian]

Victoria was the Roman goddess of Victoria and (according to both my index of names books, and Wikipedia), appears in 17 Indo-European languages. Wikipedia's list of famous Victorias doesn't have any in Britain before Queen Victoria.

But, knowing the extensive knowledge of people on this board, perhaps someone knows of a British Victoria (as a non-royal name) before Queen Victoria?

There have been so many Victorias since the Queen, it's hard to imagine that the name was new to Britain when she was given it; but it could very well be the case.

Any experts on naming in the 18th century?

She was named for her mother, Mary Louise Victoria Princess of Sax-Coburg-Saalfeld, better known as the Princess Victoria

 

[melissaadrian]

I believe Henry VIII was known as "Good King Harry" early in his reign so there's precedent for this nickname in the royal family

Actually he was usually referred to as Hal I believe.

 

[melissaadrian]

I don't think William or Harry would name a daughter Diana...not for a first name anyway. That wouldn't be fair to her; she'd be compared to her grandmother by default and the press would hound her, just like they did with the boys' mother. However, I could see William using Diana as a second name for his daughter, or even Frances, which was Diana's second name and the first name of her own mother. Elizabeth is certainly in the cards for a middle name...not sure about a first though, since it's the queen's first name. Mary is definitely in the running, and obviously, Catherine. I don't know why, but I see them (William and Kate) using Adelaide as a first name. She was the wife of King William IV - Queen Victoria's uncle, whom she succeeded.

For boys, I could see James as a second name (it's already the first name of William's little cousin, James of Wessex). David, Michael, George, Nicholas, Edward could be others. Those are all family names either from the royal side, the Spencer family or the Middleton family...or one of each. Alexander is a nice name - very English sounding and it would honor Prince Philip's Greek background.

William, when he becomes king, and if he chooses to use his first name, will be King William V. His father, again, if choosing to use his first name, would be King Charles III and if it went to Harry, he would be King Henry IX.

I'd like something for first children maybe like:

Prince David Andrew George Patrick- for the four patron saints of the UK, David first for the Welsh prince

Princess Alice Elizabeth Diana Catherine- Alice for Philip's mum, Elizabeth and Diana as middle names to get away from the heavy burden of living up to the reputation

But other nice names for a boy
Michael-royal name but also for her dad
James- middle name since there is James of Wessex, but Kate's brother
Francis-her dad's middle name, but also the masculine of Diana's middle name
Philip-Prince Philip, but also masculine of Philippa for Kate's sister Pippa

or for a girl
Caroline: royal name, but honors both families, Caroline is the latin form of Charles (North/South Carolina) and a form of Kate's mum's name
Elizabeth: mentioned above but is also Kate's mum and her middle name
Charlotte: english feminine of Charles, Pippa's middle name
Frances: instead of the male above, the female for his maternal grandmother

 

[MRSJ]

I'd like something for first children maybe like:

Prince David Andrew George Patrick- for the four patron saints of the UK, David first for the Welsh prince

Princess Alice Elizabeth Diana Catherine- Alice for Philip's mum, Elizabeth and Diana as middle names to get away from the heavy burden of living up to the reputation

But other nice names for a boy
Michael-royal name but also for her dad
James- middle name since there is James of Wessex, but Kate's brother
Francis-her dad's middle name, but also the masculine of Diana's middle name
Philip-Prince Philip, but also masculine of Philippa for Kate's sister Pippa

or for a girl
Caroline: royal name, but honors both families, Caroline is the latin form of Charles (North/South Carolina) and a form of Kate's mum's name
Elizabeth: mentioned above but is also Kate's mum and her middle name
Charlotte: english feminine of Charles, Pippa's middle name
Frances: instead of the male above, the female for his maternal grandmother

I think they'd Name a daughter Victoria in case she's queen one day, maybe Victoria Diana....

 

[Leslie2006]

I noticed the queen only has 3 names; her father and his siblings all had 4+ given names. All of the queen's children each have 4 names, as do William and Harry. For all we know, William and Kate's children may only be given 3 names, like their great-grandmother. So the names of Wills and Kate's children could be something like this:

Girl:
Catherine Diana Elizabeth

Boy:
William Philip Charles

 

[melissaadrian]

I think they'd Name a daughter Victoria in case she's queen one day, maybe Victoria Diana....

I do hope they change the rules, when Charles becomes king, to allow for equal primogeniture. They spoke of it a long time ago but never did. It never affected Elizabeth as her eldest was a son, or Charles as he only has sons, but I'd like if William had a daughter, she had the right to inherit before a brother.

I still like Alice for Philip's mum

Alice Diana Elizabeth Victoria:can choose between Elizabeth or Victoria for reignal names, Elizabeth not only for queen but middle name of Kate's mum
Victoria Mary Elizabeth Anne- for names of women who have ruled England in their own right. Victoria, Elizabeth I and II, Mary (William and Mary, Bloody Mary), and Anne (Queen Anne, Mary's sister)

boy still like the saints or perhaps

David Michael Charles Philip- Saint David of Wales, grandpas, great grandpa
George Edward Albert Philip- the last four kings/consort (albert for elizabeth's dad's name before he became king)

 

[Zonk]

Let's get back on topic....we are not going to speculate on potential names for any children of William and Catherine or Harry.
Those posts have been moved to the Favourite British Royal Names thread.

 

[CSIQueen92]

Names Response

The practice of using Roman numerals to distinguish kings and queens started only after there had been several with the same name, and particularly when there was a succession of father, son, grandson like Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III. Before then it was common for chroniclers and historians to use sobriquets such as Edward the Elder, Edward the Martyr, Edward the Confessor, Edmund Ironside, Aethelred the Unready, Alfred the Great, Harold Harefoot etc before this became impractical.

 

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

It would be nice if the British Royal Family used some older names that have gone unused for centuries:

Charlotte and Constance and Eleanor and Joanne and Philippa

Alexander and Geoffrey and Patrick and Richard and Robert

I was happy when The Queen named Charles and Andrew;
and when Andrew & Sarah used Beatrice;
and when Edward & Sophie used Louise and James...


If I had my druthers, I'd like to see William's & Catherine's children called;
Geoffrey
and
Charlotte


Larry

 

[rossop7]

Not necessarily all Royal names per se but personally I love these names....

Boys:
William - and not just because of Prince William, I've always loved this name!
David
James
George
Albert
Richard (though I hate that a short-form for it is Dick & that's asking for too much trouble down the line with potential pun headlines in the tabloids etc )
Frederick
Not technically a Royal name that I'm aware of but love the name Leo (I know Leopold has been/is used in some royal houses but I only like it when it's just Leo )
Thomas

Girls:
Elizabeth (and almost any variation on Elizabeth like Isabella etc)
Gabriella
Victoria
Alice
Mary
Emily
Anne/Anna/Annabel

And if we were predicing potential names for any of William's kids I reckon they'll have very traditional BRF first names eg: Elizabeth, George etc but perhaps a bit of modernity/unusual name may appear as a middle name. Can certainly see them having at least one name in amongst all the other names (but not a first name) that is perhaps not expected/traditional for BRF, like how Edward & Sophie have Theo in James' name. I also reckon any daughter wouldn't have Diana as a first name but as a middle name.

 

[rossop7]

I was happy when The Queen named Charles and Andrew;

I was always a little shocked that Charles was called Charles seeing as obviously they knew he was/would become the heir & so King one day & yet they went with a name that hashad a fairly iffy history when it comes to the two King Charles. Kind thought it was weird to name the child that knew was destined to be King (assuming everything went according to plan) a name that is associated with misfortune, turmoil, notoriety etc.

Then again obviously neither the Queen nor the DoE must be superstitious about names & they must have just liked Charles as a name. I have read that Charles intends to go by George if/when he becomes King since that is one of his names.

 

[Grandduchess24]

Well for me
Girls :
Catherine
Elizabeth
Anne
Mary
Charlotte
Alexandra
Sophie
Alice
Diana
Victoria

Boys:
Albert
George
Edward
William
Philip
Henry
David
Alexander

 

[Zonk]

Let's get back on topic...your favorite British royal name is the name of a living or deceased member of the British royal family.

Not the name of a potential child of William or anyone else that hasn't been born yet.

 

[Jacknch]

I love Queen Victoria's first name - Alexandrina. I think it is the most regal of names!

 

[Princess Martine]

My favorites are Elizabeth Alexandra Mary and William Arthur Philip Louis

 

[imojeen]

Definetely Arthur!

 

[Mirabel]

I was always a little shocked that Charles was called Charles seeing as obviously they knew he was/would become the heir & so King one day & yet they went with a name that hashad a fairly iffy history when it comes to the two King Charles. Kind thought it was weird to name the child that knew was destined to be King (assuming everything went according to plan) a name that is associated with misfortune, turmoil, notoriety etc.

Then again obviously neither the Queen nor the DoE must be superstitious about names & they must have just liked Charles as a name. I have read that Charles intends to go by George if/when he becomes King since that is one of his names.

I really hope he doesn't! It seems silly to change when he's been known as Charles for over sixty years now.
Time to get away from all those Georges (and I like the name Charles better anyway).

I think the BRF must not be superstitious- good for them!

 

[nascarlucy]

Liked the name Victoria. Always have liked this name.

 

[Mia_mae]

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary and Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel.

 

[lsloan]

Beatrice Elizabeth Mary

How is it decided what a child will be named? I mean, is there a list of royal names given to the parents and they are told to pick four per gender? LOL.