Naming a Princess: What Will We Call Will and Kate's Baby?

So, with the big announcement of the year (for monarchy watchers, the biggest announcement of this generation) due to happen this week (essentially any day now, so I will have to get this done quickly), I thought I’d take a look at the sources of each of the Top Ten names according to current oddsmakers.  For the record, my hunch is that it’s going to be something along the lines of Princess Alexandra Elizabeth Caroline Alice and she’ll be born on Thursday (and the media will affectionately call her Princess Alex or Princess Lexie).

Currently, according to the William Hill website, the Top 10 names for girls are:

1.     Alexandra

Source: Almost certainly Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, who happens to be the great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.  She was well-known for her generosity.  Princess Alexandra, the Queen's first cousin (and a favorite of hers) is also a partial source of the name.

Pro: You’d be hard-pressed to find a more regal sounding name, and her fame for charity was well-known.

Con: She was also bad at managing her money (famously giving or spending more than she had) and she was not a close blood relative of the British Royal Family (her great-great-great grandfather was King George II, and that seems to be the closest connection).

2.     Charlotte

Source: There’s a few famous Queens and Princesses named Charlotte.  King George III had a wife named Charlotte (he would be the grandfather of Queen Victoria, who is the Queen’s great-great grandmother), and famously had fifteen children.  There’s also Princess Charlotte of Prussia, who was King George V’s first-cousin (and therefore a first cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II).  In addition, there is the former Princess Royal (a title that Will and Kate’s daughter will likely inherit one day), Princess Charlotte (eldest daughter of King George III), who reigned as Queen of Wurttemberg.  However, the most famous Princess Charlotte would have to be Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was the only daughter of King George IV and was therefore Queen Victoria’s first cousin. 

Pro: Princess Charlotte of Wales was heir to the throne of England, and was wildly popular and beloved by the public.  As you can tell, the name has been around in the Royal Families of England for a number of years, but has never been bestowed on a reigning monarch.

Con: Princess Charlotte of Wales died tragically during childbirth and the nation was in deep mourning.  Hardly a great source of a name for an infant.

3.     Diana

Source: This one is most obvious-the beloved mother of Prince William is an icon of the past 30 years-tragically taken too early in a car crash, she was the People’s Princess and adored by William.

Pro: I just listed it-if they’re searching for a name that rings as beloved with the British people, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better one.

Con: The name is not really one that is steeped with tradition in the British family.  Aside from the Princess of Wales, there has been no prominent royal in recent memory with the name.  Also, being named after one of the monarchy's most beloved (and within the Royal Family, controversial) members is a lot of pressure on a child.  My hunch is this a far more likely middle name than a first.

4.     Elizabeth

Source: There are actually quite a few sources for this name, but I'll go with the four most prominent ones.  The first is of course the current monarch, Prince William's grandmother, who is beloved by the British people and would be an excellent model for the young princess.  The second would be the Prince's great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, who is cherished by the British people, and was well-regarded by the Prince's father (and lived long enough to have been a part of Prince William's life).  The third is Britain's legendary Queen Elizabeth I, who is considered one of the greatest and most important monarchs in Britain.  And the fourth would be Kate Middleton's great-grandmother, Elizabeth Temple, who is Carole Middleton's maternal grandmother, meaning that if you want to go for a strong female presence, your mother's mother's mother is not a bad way to go.

Pro: Obviously, this name is steeped in tradition and goodwill.  It's one of the few names that both sides of the family have a recent and obvious connection toward, and the British media and tabloids would be happy with it.  It's not uncommon for princesses to be named after the monarch (it happened during Queen Victoria's reign), and none of the royal great-grandchildren have taken the name yet.
Con: Elizabeth is such an expected choice, they may go with something a little less obvious for their first child and either save this as one of the middle names (the royals typically get three) or for their second child.

5.     Victoria
Source: The obvious connection for the public here is Queen Victoria, and that would likely be where we should go with the name.  Britain's longest-reigning monarch (thus far) is not the only member of the royal family to support this name.  Queen Elizabeth II's great-great aunt Victoria, the Princess Royal, also had the name, and it was the given first name of Prince Philip's mother (though she went by Alice).
Pro: This name is steeped with great tradition, and it is one of the few monarch's names that hasn't been sullied or recently used.  It would be a fitting choice, making their daughter Queen Victoria II.
Con: As has been mentioned, the title Queen Victoria is pretty much associated with one woman only, and the name is not entirely without issue.  Though she typically went as Princess Patricia, Lady Patricia Ramsey, a first-cousin of George V, was actually Princess Victoria by birth and ended up causing a major scandal in the Royal Family, when, after being pursued by a number of foreign royals (including the King of Spain and Grand Duke Michael of Russia), she married a naval commander and lost her royal title.

6.     Eleanor
Source: You actually have to go back quite a bit to find an Eleanor (or an Eleanore) in the Royal Family.  Probably the most recent and direct connection would be Queen Caroline of Ansbach's mother, Princess Eleanore of Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach (Queen Caroline was the wife of George II), the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.  Then there is Eleanor of Aquitaine, a powerful and impressive woman who, thanks to her dual marriages, was both the Queen of France and the Queen of England during her lifetime.  The only other choice I can find would be Princess Eleanor of Castile, who is a little-known fifteenth century princess who was heiress to the throne of Castile until the birth of her younger brother (she was also the great-great granddaughter of King Edward III of England).
Pro: It's an unusual name, one that is very historical, and one that hasn't been used by the Royal Family very often.  Bringing back names is a fairly proud tradition in the Royal Family, and this would be a classy and unusual choice.
Con: Eleanor has become far more associated with American "Royalty" in the past hundred years, and the young Princess Eleanor died at age two (the Royals are definitely trying to steer clear of the names mired in tragic history).  I'd say this is a possibility for a first name, deeply unlikely for a middle name.

7.     Alice
Source: The mother of Prince Philip is almost certainly the inspiration for this decision, but she's not the only one (though she is a well-regarded member of the Royal Family-defiant against the Nazis, she housed Jews during the Holocaust and was given the title Righteous Amongst the Nations posthumously).  There is also Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria (she is a fairly close relative of both Queen Elizabeth's and Prince Philip's).  There is also Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who was the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who is the longest-lived member of the Royal Family (ever), who was Queen Elizabeth II's aunt.
Pro: This is my dark horse pick, and considering the odds, probably the best "steal" of the Top 10 in the betting pools.  As you can tell, there's a lot of goodwill surrounding the name, and it's fairly recent goodwill.  Plus, both the Countess of Athlone and the Duchess of Gloucester lived an exceedingly long time (the Countess being the longest-lived blood member of the Royal Family and the Duchess being the longest-lived overall member of the Royal Family), which is a great tradition to bestow onto your child.
Con: Honestly, very little.  The only thing I can find that was really damning about the above women is that the Countess of Athlone had a Nazi sympathizing brother, but her specific war efforts were very anti-Nazi (her husband was governor-general of Canada at the time), so I don't think that counts.  About the only other con is that this isn't a superbly modern name, if that's where they're going, but I would definitely not count it out, particularly since whatever name they pick will be on the Top 20 baby names lists next year.

8. Mary

Source: Few names in the British royal family are steeped in as much history as Mary.  England has had two queens named Mary (the famed “Bloody” Mary, as well as Mary II, a late 17^th century monarch).  Considering the steam the Scottish independence movement has gathered in recent years, it’s worth noting that Mary Queen of Scots was a fairly close relative of the royal family (her grandmother, Queen Margaret of Scotland, was the daughter of Henry VII and the brother of King Henry VIII).  There are also a number of consorts and princesses who have been named Mary, everyone from Queen Mary Tudor of France (sister of Henry VIII) to Mary of Modena (wife of James II of England) to most recently, Mary of Teck, Queen Elizabeth’s stern grandmother and the wife of George V of England (and yes, the ships are named after her).  Kate also has a great-great grandmother named Mary (Mary Asquith).

Pro: Mary is, as you can tell, perhaps the most common female name in the Royal Family lexicon, and we oddly don’t currently have a member of the official Royal Family named Mary (the closest is Princess Michael of Kent, whose given name is Marie).  This is also a fairly easy name to pronounce, compared to Alexandra, which is considerably difficult, something that some have considered a factor in this consideration.

Con: Two of the most violent moments in English monarchical history occurred with Queen Mary’s: the reign of Bloody Mary and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

9. Frances

Source: Considering that this has very little to do with the Royal Family (the closest that I can find is a nineteenth century Brazilian royal named Princess Francisca, who is likely an extremely distant relative of the British Royal Family, as the Royal Families of Portugal and Spain rarely crossed with England’s breeding lines), this is almost certainly stemming from Princess Diana’s middle name, which is Frances.

Pro: It’s a way to honor Diana without going full throttle with creating another “Princess Di” with all the responsibilities that come with that name.

Con: It’s probably the most old-fashioned of all of these names, and it has little to do with the British Royal Family.  I seriously doubt this would be more than a middle name, if anything.

10. Grace

Source: This is technically the tenth currently ranked name, but I have such doubts that it would be used.  The most famous Princess Grace (the only one that I could find, actually), is of course Princess Grace Kelly, the famed movie star who married Prince Rainier II of Monaco in a storybook wedding and then died tragically in a car accident in 1982.

Pro: It’s currently a very popular name.

Con: Monaco has little to do with the British Royal Family.  With one exception (I’ll get there in a second), I cannot find a single member of the Grimaldi family that is remotely related to the British Royal Family.  I’m sure a genealogist could find some way to connect them, but it would be incredibly distant (far more so than even the Brazilian Royal Family we just discussed), that it would hardly be worth mentioning.  The only member of the Monegasque Royal Family (and she’s not actually a member, she’s a daughter of a member) that is obviously related to the British Royals is Princess Alexandra of Hanover, the granddaughter of Princess Grace.  Her father is Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, who is the great-great grandson of King George V.

And finally, one more name I'm surprised isn't in the mix: Augusta

Source: Too many to count.  Everyone from Augusta, Princess of Wales (mother of King George III) to Princess Augusta Frederica of Wales (mother of Queen Caroline, wife of King George IV) to two very interesting women: Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (grandmother of Queen Mary of Teck) and her daughter Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Pro: Those last two women are the most recent relatives of the Duke of Cambridge.  George, the Duke of Cambridge was the tenth child of King George III, and was the last man to be bestowed the title of Duke of Cambridge, currently enjoyed by Prince William.

Con: Nothing, really.  This would be such a clever and smart choice for the baby's name, but for some reason no one's talking about it.