Baby Cambridge: Potential Names and Godparents

[Baroness of Books]

Queen Linda Louise Elizabeth Diana Caroline Alexandra; six names, has a certain royal ring to it!

 

[Lumutqueen]

Queen Linda has no royal ring to it. Pick any of the 5 middle names and you've got a winner.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Ah, but it makes such a nice alliteration with Louise, and a nice melding of the old and the new.

 

[LaPrincesseJasmine]

What about Clemence if the baby is a girl?

 

[NGalitzine]

What about Clemence if the baby is a girl?

Might work for a French parlour maid but this child will be a future British monarch.

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

I don't understand why people persistently think that William and Catherine are gonna give their child a modern name or a "name out of the ordinary". I'm a bit of a name geek myself, and over at nameberry, I've heard as ridiculous suggestions as Imogen, Aurora, Vivienne, Jamison eek and Alister. Let's be realistic; they're naming a future British King or Queen, not a fairytale Prince or Princess. I'm 99.9% certain that they wont pull a Victoria and Daniel and name their baby something completely untraditional.

 

[QueenS5]

How about:

Amelia
Ethan

 

[Isabella]

I don't understand why people persistently think that William and Catherine are gonna give their child a modern name or a "name out of the ordinary". I'm a bit of a name geek myself, and over at nameberry, I've heard as ridiculous suggestions as Imogen, Aurora, Vivienne, Jamison eek and Alister. Let's be realistic; they're naming a future British King or Queen, not a fairytale Prince or Princess. I'm 99.9% certain that they wont pull a Victoria and Daniel and name their baby something completely untraditional.

Indeed, some people seem to think they're picking they next Disney princess name or something. Or the view William and Kate as some kind of celebrities, not realizing the tradition involved in a choice like this. Personally, I'm glad of all the tradition; I'm no fan of newfangled names. My main "concern" is that they'll name their child something that I have planned for my future children (e.g. Alice) and then I won't be able to use it because I'll look like a copycat.

 

[royalistbert]

What's wrong with traditional names that stand the test of time and not flash in the pan names that will go out fashion soon.

 

[Lady Kathleen]

How about:

Amelia
Ethan

Amelia is a possibility, but Ethan will definitely not be chosen.

 

[Grandma828]

Queen Elizabeth was named after her Mother. Why not name the baby after her Mother. I think Catherine Elizabeth Diana Carole would sound good. It cover mom, both grandmothers and great grandmother.

 

[Mariel]

Ethan is a Biblical name but I don't know where in the scriptures.

Aidan has strong Scottish roots. St. Aidan was important in Scottish history in the early Middle Ages when clergy--even saints--ruled large areas and challenged secular rulers.
If I am remembering correctly, Aidan was a founder of Glasgow in one of its incarnations.
My medieval ancestors lived in Glasgow (or what is Glasgow now) but after Aidan's time. My "uncle" Elias was a canon of Glasgow Cathedral before the present edifice was built. The interior of the cathedral has the same strong gothic arches (heavy, dependable) as the sewer system of Paisley Abbey (sorry, trivia time, but Glasgow has a fascinating history and Scotland is part of the UK). Princess Alice and also Elizabeth the Queen Mother came from Scotland. Some have commented that Scottish blood tempered the Hanoverian bloodline, and the more the merrier to do just that. Not that it would change Baby Cambridge's very English genes through his very English mum.

Here's to a very English baby!

 

[Lady Kathleen]

Ethan is a Biblical name but I don't know where in the scriptures.

Ethan the Ezrahite is the author of the 89th psalm.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

I have asked several times but have yet to get an explanation as to what is considered a "modern" name, aside from Blue Ivy, Brooklyn, Lemon or Apple. What exactly do you consider modern names, especially when this child could be a future monarch of the UK?

I get how Louise isn't typical in modern times (and I would think it's unlikely to be the name, as that's the name of Edward's daughter), but how is Philip out dated?

Let's put it this way...every Philip and Louise I know are over the age of 45.

Blue Ivy, Apple aren't what I consider modern at all...those names are really tacky, but they get away with it cause their celebs.

I think a modern name with a traditional hint would be something like Charlotte, Alexander, Jonathan, Alexandria, Taylor, Victoria (although they can't use that name), etc. Just not Philip!

 

[miche]

^ All those names are (centuries) old

 

[Isabella]

Let's put it this way...every Philip and Louise I know are over the age of 45.

Blue Ivy, Apple aren't what I consider modern at all...those names are really tacky, but they get away with it cause their celebs.

I think a modern name with a traditional hint would be something like Charlotte, Alexander, Jonathan, Alexandria, Taylor, Victoria (although they can't use that name), etc. Just not Philip!

Some of these things (i.e. whether a name sounds out of fashion or not) can depend a lot on where a person is from. Louise has maintained more popularity in the UK compared to the US. In the US, I don't think I know anyone named Louise who's under the age of at least 60, but I know plenty of younger people named Louise in the UK.

I also know a several people - on both sides of the pond - named Philip who are definitely under the age of 45. I don't think of it as an old name at all, but I do find people's different perceptions of such things interesting.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Alison was a common name in the Middle Ages. Derek came into English usage in the 15th century, Melissa is a name from Greek mythology and has been an English given name since the 18th century. Karen is a Danish variation of Katherine that has gained popularity in the English world since the 1940s. Linda is a medieval short form of Germanic names that end in "linde." Caitlin is an anglicized form of the Irish form of Katherine, Brianna is the Irish feminine version of Brian. Cody and Brady come from old Irish names, Ashton is an Old English word turned surname turned given name.

That's nice and all, but I wasn't debating the linguistic derivations or origins of the names. I was well aware before you responded what language those names stemmed from, and what parts of the world they stemmed from. Unless you can provide for me a list of well-known people born between 0 A. D. and 1950 with those names, we're going to go ahead and call them modern. Because I sincerely doubt there were people running around Middle Ages Europe named Cody, Ashton, and Brianna. Let's be real, here.

 

[Molly2101]

Let's put it this way...every Philip and Louise I know are over the age of 45.

Blue Ivy, Apple aren't what I consider modern at all...those names are really tacky, but they get away with it cause their celebs.

I think a modern name with a traditional hint would be something like Charlotte, Alexander, Jonathan, Alexandria, Taylor, Victoria (although they can't use that name), etc. Just not Philip!

I have family friends whose children are called Phillip and Louise and they are in their 20's, but that is only one example. The name Louise is a very popular middle name - I know a lot of people with the middle name Louise.

I think names are very subjective as my name (Molly) to me suits a younger person more than someone in their 30's and 40's. The name, however, is a popular name in the elderly generation as a variation of the name Mary.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

My 12 year old has a friend named Phillip. I like it as a boy's name because it is not overused yet traditional.

However, Louise as a royal name is tremendously overused, and I would be dismayed if it's this baby's first name. If you look at Wikipedia (which actually has some very fine articles on royals), it ranks "Louise" as the top name for British princesses since Hanoverian times.

Now, I do think that the derivation "Louisa" is starting to gain popularity among the masses and is in fact a much prettier name. I would not mind seeing this used. Louisa Elizabeth would be a wonderful choice.

While we're on the subject of Louise/Louisa, I have a question Victoria's daughter Louise, who was Louise Caroline Alberta. However, the earliest reporting of her name was "Louisa Caroline Alberta." I'm wondering if the Germanic Albert and Victoria, used to German pronunciations, named the daughter "Louise" which in English in French has a silent "e" at the end, but really intended her name to sound more like "Louisa."

I also think that out of all the British Queen names, Anne is my favorite. Simple, traditional. I especially like it paired with another feminine name. One of Queen Anne's daughters was "Anne Sophia." Is that not a very pretty name? Unfortunately, like all of Anne's children, she died young, but had she lived, we might have had a Queen Anne Sophia.

 

[BrazilianEmpire]

I also think that out of all the British Queen names, Anne is my favorite. Simple, traditional. I especially like it paired with another feminine name. One of Queen Anne's daughters was "Anne Sophia." Is that not a very pretty name? Unfortunately, like all of Anne's children, she died young, but had she lived, we might have had a Queen Anne Sophia.

I think she would be Queen Anne II, because there was never a English or British Monarch with a double regnal name.

 

[Sister Morphine]

I think she would be Queen Anne II, because there was never a English or British Monarch with a double regnal name.

There would have been, though. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's son Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence, had he lived, more than likely would have been King Albert Victor, per his mother's wishes. He didn't live though, and brother Bertie reigned instead, but opted to forgo any nominal reference to either of his parents.

 

[BrazilianEmpire]

There would have been, though. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's son Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence, had he lived, more than likely would have been King Albert Victor, per his mother's wishes. He didn't live though, and brother Bertie reigned instead, but opted to forgo any nominal reference to either of his parents.

Prince Albert Victor was Queen Victoria's grandson. His father was King Edward VII, who chose not to rule as King Albert Edward.

 

[Ish]

There would have been, though. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's son Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence, had he lived, more than likely would have been King Albert Victor, per his mother's wishes. He didn't live though, and brother Bertie reigned instead, but opted to forgo any nominal reference to either of his parents.

Albert Victor was the son of Edward VII, not Queen Victoria.

Victoria named her first son Albert Edward, and he named his first son Albert Victor. When Albert Edward came to the throne he decided that he didn't want to use the double monichor, as he wanted the name Albert to continue to be associated with his father. It's likely that had Albert Victor lived he would have similarly stopped one of his names when he became king.

 

[Ish]

That's nice and all, but I wasn't debating the linguistic derivations or origins of the names. I was well aware before you responded what language those names stemmed from, and what parts of the world they stemmed from. Unless you can provide for me a list of well-known people born between 0 A. D. and 1950 with those names, we're going to go ahead and call them modern. Because I sincerely doubt there were people running around Middle Ages Europe named Cody, Ashton, and Brianna. Let's be real, here.

I wasn't able to find many pre-19th century examples, owing to the fact that common people (with commoners names) aren't likely to have Wikipedia pages.

Alison Begbie (1762-1823)
Alison Cockburn (1712-1794)

Derek is a name commonly associated with the Keppel family. The first Earl Keppel's father was named Derek van Keppel and died in 1646.

Karen Kotte died in 1509, Irish republican Caitlin Brugha was born in 1879 and died in 1959.

Cody as a surname ha been seen in figures like Buffalo Bill Cody and Henry John Cody, both active in the 19th century. An alternative spelling, Kodi, is seen in India through Kodi Ramamurthy Naidu (1882-1942).

Briana was the name of a character in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, first published in 1590.

Brady is an Anglicized surname derived from the name "Mac Bradaigh" which means "son of Brady." While I didn't find any one with Brady as a given name, several Bishops of Kilmore were Mac Bradaighs.

Brothers and English cricketers Gilbert, Claude, Hubert, and Percy Ashton were all born between 1895 and 1901.

Linda appears in Estonian mythology, Melissa in Greek mythology.

So, actually, yeah, I do believe that there may have been people named Cody, Ashton, or Brianna in premodern times.

 

[BrazilianEmpire]

In my opinion, what really matters here is if the suggested name was used by the British Royal Family in the past or not.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will stick with a set of very tradiotional names for their baby.

They'll be naming a future British Monarch, this demands a traditional name.

 

[Elenath]

I agree they will use a tradional name, but it doesn't have to be one the RF has used before. Every name they use now has been used a first time at some point. Why not again...

 

[Sister Morphine]

Cody as a surname ha been seen in figures like Buffalo Bill Cody and Henry John Cody, both active in the 19th century. An alternative spelling, Kodi, is seen in India through Kodi Ramamurthy Naidu (1882-1942).

Brady is an Anglicized surname derived from the name "Mac Bradaigh" which means "son of Brady." While I didn't find any one with Brady as a given name, several Bishops of Kilmore were Mac Bradaighs.

Brothers and English cricketers Gilbert, Claude, Hubert, and Percy Ashton were all born between 1895 and 1901.

We're not talking about surnames, we're talking about first names. Someone in the late 1800s with the last name of Ashton is not an example of someone with a first name of Ashton. Face it, these are modern first names, which has been my point this whole bloody time.

 

[QueenS5]

Amelia is a possibility, but Ethan will definitely not be chosen.

I'd like those names for my children too. If I ever have any!!!

 

[CrownPrincess5]

Some of these things (i.e. whether a name sounds out of fashion or not) can depend a lot on where a person is from. Louise has maintained more popularity in the UK compared to the US. In the US, I don't think I know anyone named Louise who's under the age of at least 60, but I know plenty of younger people named Louise in the UK.

I also know a several people - on both sides of the pond - named Philip who are definitely under the age of 45. I don't think of it as an old name at all, but I do find people's different perceptions of such things interesting.

That's what I'm thinking..I'm not sure which names are considered modern in the UK. But Philip and Louise and Henry isn't modern here in the US. That doesn't mean there aren't young people with those names but I'm generally speaking.

Really? Every Philip I know is old.

 

[miche]

Old names are making a comeback in the US. Everything old is new again. Its the circle of life.

Last year American Idol winner Philip Phillips is 22