Royal Baby Names

I'm expecting my second child in early December (when I'll have time to update this blog, and look after a toddler and newborn is something I have to figure out, but I digress) and one of the most important things to consider is the name of the baby. You may not have guessed yet but I'm a bit of a royalty buff and I named my first child after a princess. She happened to have been born on the same day as Princess Grace Patricia of Monaco so, with my husband suggesting the name Grace (just because he liked it), I decided to add Patricia for good measure - it will make a nice story and maybe some of my fascination with royalty will rub off on her.

I don't actually know the sex of my baby but I've been considering some regal names. Hoping it's another girl I have Elizabeth, Alexandra, Diana, Alice, Beatrice and Victoria on my list. With the exception of Elizabeth, none of these names currently exist in my husband's family or my own. I could be like royalty and simply choose all of these names, not completly unheard of (see Royal Christenings), but it might not fit very easily on a birth certificate or cross stitch sampler. And also my daughter might get jealous (Why does my sister have six names and I only have two?). Yes, best to just limit it to two.

As for a boy, my choices are somewhat more limited. William and Harry are current family names. I'm not a huge fan of Albert, or Edward and Charles Braun might invite comparisons to Charlie Brown. I haven't considered Philip or Andrew but now that I think about it, they're not bad names at all. Right now I'm leaning towards Erik (my husband likes Eric) - a good, solid Scandinavian name with Danish royal connections - it also happens to mean 'All-Ruler'.

Unlike royalty, I'm not constricted by historical precedent (see The Christian Tradition Continues) or having to please someone like Queen Victoria, whose edict was for all of her decendents to have Victoria or Albert amongst their given names. Of the names I've chosen, only Elizabeth has conflicts; it's the name of my mother-in-law. She goes by Betty, but it didn't stop her from suggesting it the first time. Would she be capable of telling people the baby was named after the Queen and not her? I doubt it.

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't like names with more than two syllables, names that can be misspelled, have multiple spellings, or can be abbreviated, so most of the female royal names are out of the question unless I wear him down between now and December. Maybe after the baby comes, a lack of sleep might just do the trick and I'll get Erik or Elizabeth Alexandra.

Fingers crossed.

© Marilyn Braun 2006