Gender, names, and godparent guessing for Harry and Meghan's first child

[Denville]

that was a long time ago, and I don't really see it reviving.

 

[Yeine]

I read that it was blossom in several articles on southern African names.
Also, I read that Tswana was the language spoken in Botswana, a country with which they certainly do have a connection.
I am no expert and was relying on information that was supported in multiple sources.

Fun fact: there are 3 times more Batswana in South Africa than there are in Botswana. There are probably a few dialectical variations between the Setswana spoken in Botswana and the Setswana spoken in South Africa so Sethunya might mean flower in Botswana. However if all your sources are Western I remain skeptical.

As for their connection to Botswana, I'm sorry but enjoying a country as a holiday destination doesn't entitle you to any part of that country's culture. They weren't born in Botswana, have never lived in Botswana and aren't descended from anyone who's Tswana. I'd be willing to bet that they don't speak more than 3 words of the language. Most westerners who give their children African names can't even pronounce them properly.

 

[DaphneHarridge]

True, Ps Alice of Cambridge would have been OK, but Sussex not so good. I don't think that Philip really is keen on his name being used, otherwise I would have expected William to use it as a middle name for one of his boys.. I don't know what H and Meg are going to go for.. think it is too hard to guess...

I've wondered about the same thing, Denville, about Philip's not wanting his name used.

Has David been discussed here? (I'm late to this conversation.) It's one of Harry's names, and I like it a lot, but do you think HM would approve it as a first name? After all, she did name her son Edward...

I don't know why I'm feeling so strongly about Richard especially since I think the baby is a girl.

Richard Henry Alexander Philip
Matilda/Margaret Elizabeth Diana Doria

 

[Denville]

I can see Philip being grumpy and saying he didn't want a load of Philips, unlike all the Alberts that Q Victoria insisted on having in the family. I don't think Richard is likely.. there si already the D of Gloucester and I think they think of it as a slightly unlucky name..
I don't know about Matilda, to me it sounds awfully medieval.. but you never know.. Maybe Margaret as there is no Margaret now..
I wonder if David IS a possibility.. as its one of Harry's names. and the Patron saint of Wales...and it would be a new name since the D of Windsor was officially called Edward

 

[jacqui24]

I don’t think HM would have any issues if they wished to use David as a first name. After all, Princess Margaret did name her son David.

 

[Denville]

after the queen Mothers brother, David. It would be nice to have a new name... though Wll and Kate have brought in Louis

 

[Princess Larisa]

Time is running out, so here are my final predictions.

Born: April 14
Gener: boy (but I REALLY want a girl)
Godparents: 6, 3 from Meghan and 3 from Harry.
Not sure on names, but I think Princess Eugenie and Mark Dyer have a good shot. Some of Meghan’s close friends are disqualified since they’re not baptised, so that will narrow the field for her.

Names:
I think they’ll surprise us with a first name, but use honoring names as middle names.
I’d like to see:

Alexander Charles Philip
Noah Charles Dorian
Jacob Alexander Charles

Emma Frances Doria
Olivia Diana Elizabeth
Amelia Doria Diana

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Daphne Dunne, the Australian fan of Harry, passed away Monday, April 1. She was 99 years old.

I was so sad to hear that news. I didn't know about it when I posted my previous message. I knew Ms. Dunne was ill and still in the hospital when H&M sent her the birthday card. They must surely be thinking about Daphne a lot and remembering her fondly.

 

[kathia_sophia]

Time is running out, so here are my final predictions.

Born: April 14
Gener: boy (but I REALLY want a girl)
Godparents: 6, 3 from Meghan and 3 from Harry.
Not sure on names, but I think Princess Eugenie and Mark Dyer have a good shot. Some of Meghan’s close friends are disqualified since they’re not baptised, so that will narrow the field for her.

Names:
I think they’ll surprise us with a first name, but use honoring names as middle names.
I’d like to see:

Alexander Charles Philip
Noah Charles Dorian
Jacob Alexander Charles

Emma Frances Doria
Olivia Diana Elizabeth
Amelia Doria Diana

I like your name choices, specially the girls I also like the traditional ones like Mary or Victoria, but Harry and Meghan seem like modern people to me, maybe they'll go the unconventional route for their baby's name.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Marianne could be used as a middle name for a daughter.

Franklin could be used as a middle name for a son.

 

[Countessmeout]

Whilst the BRF traditionally seem to use a lot of honour names, names don't *have* to honour relatives and can equally honour friends or famous fans like Daphne. I think it would be a sweet, warm gesture though do agree that it's more likely Daphne would be a middle name or a name for a second child if it were ever considered in honour of Mrs. Dunne.

What makes Daphne any more special then the soldiers, sick kids and other people Harry has connected with over the years?

While Daphne has touched the heart of many fans on this board, and Harry, is it enough to single her out for such an honor? Over any others he bonded with? I doubt it.

Time is running out, so here are my final predictions.

Born: April 14
Gener: boy (but I REALLY want a girl)
Godparents: 6, 3 from Meghan and 3 from Harry.
Not sure on names, but I think Princess Eugenie and Mark Dyer have a good shot. Some of Meghan’s close friends are disqualified since they’re not baptised, so that will narrow the field for her.

Names:
I think they’ll surprise us with a first name, but use honoring names as middle names.
I’d like to see:

Alexander Charles Philip
Noah Charles Dorian
Jacob Alexander Charles

Emma Frances Doria
Olivia Diana Elizabeth
Amelia Doria Diana

I don't think they will go way out of the box and choose names with no royal/family connection. Unlike Anne's grandchildren, these ones will have titles, and be grandchildren of the king one day.

A few of your choices do have some royal pedigree to them:

Alexander has a royal pedigree. It is one of George's names. It perhaps doesn't have the best British royal pedigree as a first name for boys, as the only time it was used as a first name was the short lived son of Edward VII. Scotland had three kings though. Prince Philip's great uncle was Prince Alexander of Battenberg and his great-grandfather.



-Queen Emma was wife of 2 kings, mother of 2 kings, stepmother of 2. And was the aunt of William the conqueror (his claim to throne through her).

-George II and III both had daughters named Amelia

There is of course already Lady Amelia Windsor, granddaughter of the Duke of Kent. But names are commonly reused in the royal family so no ruling that out of use.

 

[Gawin]

Alexander would be nice. It was the name of Prince Philip's great-grandfather, Prince Alexander of Hesse (father of Philip's grandfather Louis of Battenberg and great-uncle Alexander of Battenberg) as well as three medieval Kings of Scotland.

 

[Biri]

Marianne is more associated with France than with the UK.

 

[Countessmeout]

Princess Margaret was formally called Princess Margaret Rose while she was a girl.



Not currently, but double names were common in the British Royal Family during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The BRF had double first names in the 18th and 19th centuries reflecting their Hannoverian roots. Unlike the UK, it was and is still common in the upper classes, for double names in the German states. It started with George Louis (George I). By the reign of Victoria we see a change in that. Only her eldest son has a double first name. Alfred, Arthur and Leopold all had singular names despite their mother and father both being German.

Marianne is more associated with France than with the UK.

Yes, Marianne aka Lady Liberty is certainly a French personification, not British.

Not sure Cyril considered the association. Many names Cyril chooses seem to just be random ones liked.

True, Ps Alice of Cambridge would have been OK, but Sussex not so good. I don't think that Philip really is keen on his name being used, otherwise I would have expected William to use it as a middle name for one of his boys.. I don't know what H and Meg are going to go for.. think it is too hard to guess...

Its also just possible William and Kate didn't like the name. And chose other ways to honor him like Louis and George, both names of his Uncles. Both served as mentors to him, George first before he died of cancer, serving as Philip's guardian.

 

[Lilyflo]

The Telegraph has printed a sweepstake if anyone wants to play it with friends.

Victoria = 8/1
Diana = 10/1
Isobella/Isabella & Alice = 12/1
Arthur = 14/1
Edward, James, Phillip, Elizabeth, Alexandra & Grace = 16/1

Lots more names suggested in the sweepstake.
https://cf.eip.telegraph.co.uk/embe...-Sweepstake-2019/BabyName-Sweekstake-2019.pdf

 

[Denville]

Margaret wasn't officially a double first name, it was just how she was called.

The BRF had double first names in the 18th and 19th centuries reflecting their Han



Yes, Marianne aka Lady Liberty is certainly a French personification, not British.

Not sure Cyril considered the association. Many names Cyril chooses seem to just be random ones liked.



Its also just possible William and Kate didn't like the name. And chose other ways to honor him like Louis and George, both names of his Uncles. Both served as mentors to him, George first before he died of cancer, serving as Philip's guardian.

Even if they don't like the name, I can't see why they could not give it as a second name.. he is getting on and he's a beloved grandfather to WIlliam. So I suspect that (since the name hasn't been given that muc in the family.. Charles has it as a second name.. so does Will and so does Ed's son).. Perhaps PHilip does not want there to be loads of Philips..

 

[Denville]

Whilst the BRF traditionally seem to use a lot of honour names, names don't *have* to honour relatives and can equally honour friends or famous fans like Daphne. I think it would be a sweet, warm gesture though do agree that it's more likely Daphne would be a middle name or a name for a second child if it were ever considered in honour of Mrs. Dunne.

why? There are lots of people that harry has met in his work.. why single one person out?

 

[Mirabel]

Alexander would be nice. It was the name of Prince Philip's great-grandfather, Prince Alexander of Hesse (father of Philip's grandfather Louis of Battenberg and great-uncle Alexander of Battenberg) as well as three medieval Kings of Scotland.

I really like the name Alexander.
(I was hoping William and Kate would use that but instead they went with Louis, a name I'm meh about!)

But really I think Baby Sussex will be a girl.

 

[MARG]

I hope it is a girl and I would love it were she named Princess Alice, the last Princess Alice being Prince Philip's mother.

She ticks all the boxes. She was a woman ahead of her time, treated shabbily by her philandering husband and conveniently shipped off to a Swiss Sanitorium so they could 'cure' her schizophrenia! Come the war she ran toward the danger rather than from and set up home in Athens, Greece.

When the island was occupied they obviously knew exactly who she was . . . Princess Andrew of Greece and a close relative of the BRF. Nevertheless she was both a devout Christian and a patriot to her bones and gave no quarter. While living close to yhe Germans she helped the jews and hid a Jewish family and was posthumously recognised as "Reightous Among the Nation's"

Oh, did I forget that she was born profoundly deaf. There are books written that will tell you the true misfortunes of her life but it didn't break her. Mistreated, wrong headed, passionare, pig-headed, she was in no way perfect but she was never raised to live the life she did and she made the most of the hand she was dealt.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Jacquetta Loyce Frances. Jacquetta is steeped in royal history. I heard of the witchcraft claim but Harry and Meghan got married on the anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution. No superstition here. Loyce is Doria's middle name; Frances is Diana's. Joseph (Ragland) Arthur (Charles) Henry (Harry) for a boy. No Markle names.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

why? There are lots of people that harry has met in his work.. why single one person out?

I didn’t mean to single anyone out or favour someone over another, it was simply because she had been mentioned here and I was continuing with the discussion that I found interesting. But clearly my post has been misread by a couple of people here and I have caused offence which I didn’t mean to, so I will delete it to avoid further upset...
I’m sure there are many people who the Sussexes have met and who have touched them though as I said, it was purely because she was a recent news topic that I mentioned Mrs. Dunne. Someone could’ve mentioned another person whom the Sussexes equally corresponded with and it would have had the same effect because it’s an interesting idea. I didn’t say they had to, I merely said it would be a nice thought but unlikely. I didn’t think people would read more into it but I apologise if I caused any upset

 

[Gawin]

I hope it is a girl and I would love it were she named Princess Alice, the last Princess Alice being Prince Philip's mother.

She ticks all the boxes. She was a woman ahead of her time, treated shabbily by her philandering husband and conveniently shipped off to a Swiss Sanitorium so they could 'cure' her schizophrenia! Come the war she ran toward the danger rather than from and set up home in Athens, Greece.

When the island was occupied they obviously knew exactly who she was . . . Princess Andrew of Greece and a close relative of the BRF. Nevertheless she was both a devout Christian and a patriot to her bones and gave no quarter. While living close to yhe Germans she helped the jews and hid a Jewish family and was posthumously recognised as "Reightous Among the Nation's"

Oh, did I forget that she was born profoundly deaf. There are books written that will tell you the true misfortunes of her life but it didn't break her. Mistreated, wrong headed, passionare, pig-headed, she was in no way perfect but she was never raised to live the life she did and she made the most of the hand she was dealt.

Prince Philip is definitely his mother's son.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Margaret wasn't officially a double first name, it was just how she was called.

I don't quite understand what you mean, as she was officially called HRH The Princess Margaret Rose until the 1940s.

 

[jacqui24]

At this point, I just wish that baby would get here already so we’d know.

 

[Fijiro]

I hope it is a girl and I would love it were she named Princess Alice, the last Princess Alice being Prince Philip's mother.

She ticks all the boxes. She was a woman ahead of her time, treated shabbily by her philandering husband and conveniently shipped off to a Swiss Sanitorium so they could 'cure' her schizophrenia! Come the war she ran toward the danger rather than from and set up home in Athens, Greece.

When the island was occupied they obviously knew exactly who she was . . . Princess Andrew of Greece and a close relative of the BRF. Nevertheless she was both a devout Christian and a patriot to her bones and gave no quarter. While living close to yhe Germans she helped the jews and hid a Jewish family and was posthumously recognised as "Reightous Among the Nation's"

Oh, did I forget that she was born profoundly deaf. There are books written that will tell you the true misfortunes of her life but it didn't break her. Mistreated, wrong headed, passionare, pig-headed, she was in no way perfect but she was never raised to live the life she did and she made the most of the hand she was dealt.

Prince Philip's mother was the great granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

.

 

[Tarlita]

It has taken me this long to guess a name for baby Sussex. If the baby is a boy, my best guess for a name would be Nelson after Nelson Mandela. Or Nelson to be in amongst the middle names.
I have no idea what names they would chose for a girl. Best guess Victoria.

 

[Countessmeout]

I hope it is a girl and I would love it were she named Princess Alice, the last Princess Alice being Prince Philip's mother.

She ticks all the boxes. She was a woman ahead of her time, treated shabbily by her philandering husband and conveniently shipped off to a Swiss Sanitorium so they could 'cure' her schizophrenia! Come the war she ran toward the danger rather than from and set up home in Athens, Greece.

When the island was occupied they obviously knew exactly who she was . . . Princess Andrew of Greece and a close relative of the BRF. Nevertheless she was both a devout Christian and a patriot to her bones and gave no quarter. While living close to yhe Germans she helped the jews and hid a Jewish family and was posthumously recognised as "Reightous Among the Nation's"

Oh, did I forget that she was born profoundly deaf. There are books written that will tell you the true misfortunes of her life but it didn't break her. Mistreated, wrong headed, passionare, pig-headed, she was in no way perfect but she was never raised to live the life she did and she made the most of the hand she was dealt.

Yes Princess Alice was a remarkable woman. She was honored as a Righteous Among Nations, an honor given by the state of Israel to people who saved Jews during WWII.

When Philip and his sister Sophie went to Israel when their mother was honored he said of her

I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special. She was a person with a deep religious faith, and she would have considered it to be a perfectly natural human reaction to fellow beings in distress

She was also rewarded the 'Hero of the Holocaust' title, one rewarded to British citizens who assisted in rescuing victims of the Holocaust. The title has only been bestowed on 27 people.

She wasn't the last Princess Alice in the family though. The Queen's Aunt, Princess Alice of Gloucester who died in 2004 would be. The Duchess was involved with the red cross during WWII and the Womens auxiliary of the air force. She was the first and only woman ever appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Bath.

Princess Alice, Countess of Althone was a daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. During WWII she served as president of the Women's auxiliary naval in Canada. Her and husband were active in the war movement in Canada. Their grandchildren lived with them in Canada during the war.

Victoria's daughter Alice was a huge supporter of social justice and the care of her people. A friend of Florence Nightengale, she learned a great deal about nursing and worked to improve hospitals with things like ventilation. She even established a hospital to help the poor and sick. She also created groups to promote education of women, and to train nurses.


Certainly the name Alice has been held by a number of strong intelligent women in the family

For a self-proclaimed feminist like Meghan, certainly Alice has a legacy of very strong women.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

Yes Princess Alice was a remarkable woman. She was honored as a Righteous Among Nations, an honor given by the state of Israel to people who saved Jews during WWII.

When Philip and his sister Sophie went to Israel when their mother was honored he said of her



She was also rewarded the 'Hero of the Holocaust' title, one rewarded to British citizens who assisted in rescuing victims of the Holocaust. The title has only been bestowed on 27 people.

She wasn't the last Princess Alice in the family though. The Queen's Aunt, Princess Alice of Gloucester who died in 2004 would be. The Duchess was involved with the red cross during WWII and the Womens auxiliary of the air force. She was the first and only woman ever appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Bath.

Princess Alice, Countess of Althone was a daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. During WWII she served as president of the Women's auxiliary naval in Canada. Her and husband were active in the war movement in Canada. Their grandchildren lived with them in Canada during the war.

Victoria's daughter Alice was a huge supporter of social justice and the care of her people. A friend of Florence Nightengale, she learned a great deal about nursing and worked to improve hospitals with things like ventilation. She even established a hospital to help the poor and sick. She also created groups to promote education of women, and to train nurses.


Certainly the name Alice has been held by a number of strong intelligent women in the family

For a self-proclaimed feminist like Meghan, certainly Alice has a legacy of very strong women.

Wow. I really now hope that if they have a daughter, her name will be Alice. What an legacy!

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Marianne is more associated with France than with the UK.

Mary and Anne are honoring different ladies.
Mary is after Prince Harry's great-great-grandmother Queen Mary.
Anne is after Princess Anne, The Princess Royal.

 

[BorgQueen]

I think they will look to Meghans' side for names as well. I don't know if Doria has middle names, or maybe her mothers' names. I think Meghan mentioned her maternal Grandmother on the Tig, talking about growing up and childhood memories of eating a favourite food, but I can't remember exactly what she said now. Much as I like the idea of honoring family names though I think it can get a bit much, for the child as well as the family. My own family has three males with same name so we've end up with the last one just getting 'Junior' and 'Little X' which kind of negates the whole thing really.

Both Meghan and Harry seem like they respect tradition but also know their own minds. I hope they come up with a 'new' royal name like Anne did with Zara and Zara in turn has done with Mia. Afterall, if a royal names their child X, then that becomes a royal name, wheather it's a traditional one or not.

I'm hoping for something new with a middle name from Meghans maternal side.