A New Royal to Name

The Royal Couple via Wikipedia

Believe it or not, I have had this article written for several months now... just waiting for the news...

Eeeee! The news of Kate Middleton expecting is possibly the most exciting news for this name-lover EVER. After knowing that the mother and baby are healthy, the announcement of his or her name is what I will be looking forward to hearing. What will the future King of England and his bride Catherine name their firstborn?

The royals like to use family names, and so I've listed names found in the family over the past several hundred years:

William's full name is William Arthur Philip Louis
Catherine's full name is Catherine Elizabeth

Other direct relations:
Harry's full name is Henry Charles Albert David
Charles' full name is Charles Philip Arthur George
The Queen's full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
The Duke of Edinburgh's full name is Philip (his parents were Andrew and Alice)
The Princess Royal's full name is Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise
The Duke of York's full name is Andrew Albert Christian Edward
The Earl of Wessex' full name is Edward Antony Richard Louis

The names of previous English/British Monarchs: Anne, Charles, Edward, Elizabeth, George, Henry, James, Jane, John, Mary, Matilda, Philip, Richard, Stephen, Victoria, William.

Other names found in the royal family include: Adelaide, Adolphus, Albert, Alberta, Alexander, Alexandra, Alfred, Alice, Amelia, Andrew, Antony, Arthur, Augusta, Augustus, Beatrice, Caroline, Charlotte, Christian, Dagmar, David, Dorothea, Duncan, Edmund, Eleanor, Ernest, Eugenie, Feodore, Francis, Frederick, Georgiana, Helena, Leopold, Louis, Louisa, Louise, Margaret, Maud, Octavius, Olga, Patrick, Peter, Rose, Sophia, Victor, Zara.

I love that they use so many names for each child. And there are so many great names already in the family to choose from. So, will the first name of this new baby be from the family? Personally, I would love to see a real life King Arthur.

Arthur has been hanging around for a while. It is in William's and Charles' name, as well as in the Queen's father's name (Albert Frederick Arthur George). It is growing in popularity in England and Wales, moving up to #82 in 2010 from #234 in 1996. I would very much like to see it in the first name spot. A little Prince Artie would be adorable.

One special element that will most likely not be ignored is Princess Diana. I would be terribly surprised if she is not honored in this child's name. Moreso if it's a girl of course, but maybe Spencer would be an option for a boy. Although I hope it wouldn't be the first name as I'm for more tradition in my royal name preferences.

If this baby is a girl, I am pretty confident that Diana (or Frances, her middle name) will be included in the name. I think there will be an Elizabeth (since it's the Queen's name as well as Catherine's middle name) or Victoria in there too. But maybe the first name will be less obvious... Jane or Alexandra. This would be the first queen given the title by her own right and not just because there was no other male heir.  Her name should be fitting.

What "outside" names would be great additions to the royal fold? Will these young and modern royals go with something new?  Something like Oliver or Ava?

I, for one, cannot wait to find out! Wishing Kate a happy and healthy nine months!