Our love for the Royal Family in the UK knows no bounds; that’s according to the outpouring of happiness that greeted the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their first child together.
Sky News, who love to be a bit creepy at the best of times, have predicted that the baby will be born in the spring, and as such was probably conceived in July or August – the couple’s summer trip to Dublin, and Harry’s fondness for a pint of Guinness – being just a mere coincidence.
We don’t know the gender as yet, of course, but that hasn’t stopped the bookies from drawing up their betting markets for the royal baby name.
If your punting is usually limited to a flutter on the football or on the horses, then you may be tempted to click away now.
But wait a second, because this is a market that can be exploited for prime betting value.
Keeping It In the Family
This will be Prince Harry’s first child, and so we have no previous concept of how this funkiest of all the royal family members is likely to name his new born.
Presuming it’s not Adolf, in a nod to his Nazi outfit wearing days, the likelihood is that Harry will follow in his big brother’s footsteps and stick to traditional names favoured by the monarchy.
So if you have had a quid on Wayne or Britney, now is the time to cash out pronto.
Prince William’s offspring are called George, Charlotte and Louis; each of which has royal connotations. There have been six King Georges, while Charlotte was the wife of George III. Louis VIII briefly ruled over the United Kingdom in the 1200s.
There is, therefore, a clear lineage of names we can exploit in our royal baby name betting.
Modern Classic
While keeping the above at the forefront of our minds, we should also remember that Harry and Meghan are the ‘cool’ royals – in stark contrast to the rather more stuffy William and Kate – and so perhaps the baby name will reflect their desire to stay ‘down with the people’.
Possible monikers, such as Mary and Anne, are likely to be given the swerve then; those aren’t the hip names that the youth of today are lumbered with.
One of the early bookmakers’ favourites was Diana, but it’s unlikely that Harry would opt for an ‘un-royal-name even if he wanted to. That will more likely be a middle name choice….or maybe ‘Dion’ if it’s a boy!
So, let’s focus our attention on names with royal connotations but which might be deemed acceptable in modern times.
James (16/1) certainly ticks the box – there were a couple of King James’ dating back to the Stuarts, while Arthur (13/1) is on the list of most popular baby names in 2018 so far, with the top ten in the table below.
| Top 10 Girls’ Names | Top Ten Boys’ Names | |
|---|---|---|
| Olivia | 1 | Muhammad |
| Sophia | 2 | Oliver |
| Amelia | 3 | Noah |
| Lily | 4 | George |
| Emily | 5 | Harry |
| Ava | 6 | Leo |
| Isla | 7 | Charlie |
| Aria | 8 | Jack |
| Mia | 9 | Freddie |
| Isabella | 10 | Alfie |
As much as we’d like to see it, we won’t be wagering our loose change on Tyrone (66/1), Donald (250/1), Keith or Leeroy (both 500/1).
As for the girls, we’ll go for a similar principle. Both Alice and Victoria fit the bill, but the one we’re keen on is Elizabeth (16/1).
A name with obvious blue-blooded connotations, Elizabeth is often shortened to Lily, which also features on the list of 2018’s most popular baby names.
The lily is also a symbol of purity in Christianity, and with Harry a practising Christian – and Meghan baptised prior to their wedding – it all starts to fall into place.