Earlier this weekend, I mentioned that I had clearly lost my mind, because I was following an orange safety cone on Twitter.
So much to do, keep in formation cones keep in formation!
— LindoWingOrangeCone (@LindoWingOCone) May 2, 2015
But it turns out that I actually lost my mind shortly thereafter, when I completely missed the fact that the Prince of Wales does not, in fact, Tweet as @Charles_HRH. But someone does, and how great is this Tweet?
There is no truth to the rumour that the baby will be presented on the balcony, whilst playing the Circle of Life. Sorry. #royalbaby
— Prince Charles (@Charles_HRH) May 2, 2015
In between obsessively checking every reputable news source – and the cone, and the faux Charles – I took a look at all of names given to daughters of reigning monarchs or heirs apparent over the last two centuries or so, and added my best guess to the royal baby name speculation here.
But there was lots of baby name news that had nothing to do with Will and Kate’s latest addition, so let’s talk about something else:
- How great are these sister names: Liliana and Aurelia. They’re the daughters of Monika Tano, who made headlines in the UK because Liliana shares a birthday with Prince George, and Aurelia was born on the same day as the new princess. Okay, I’m promise I’m really done with now.
- Another great sibset: Nicolina, Felix, Ambrose, Leo, and new baby Maximus, the children of an Australian MP.
- That’s lots of talk about siblings, but you know who was an only child? Romeo. The original Romeo, that is, of Shakespeare’s enduring tale. The Name Lady advises a real world parent who is about to name (another) Romeo’s brother. Those big names can work, but they are a tough act to follow!
- I think this is a great list – and an important list – from Nancy. If you don’t have a religious affiliation, choosing a name with Biblical roots, or other religious origins, might be awkward. Nancy’s pulled together a great list of names inspired by surnames, places, nature, literature, and other languages.
- Speaking of place names, I love seeing Madrid in the middle spot! But then, I was lucky enough to visit Madrid when I was in my 20s. Amazing city!
- Fans of Irish names know that Aisling is pronounced ASHLYN. So what would you do if your brother named his daughter Aisling, but pronounced it ay zling? Advice columnist Carolyn Hax weighs in.
- Love Kate’s list of initials-as-names.
- How do you pronounce Esme?
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
Next you’ll be telling us that @Queen_UK isn’t really the Queen 😉 Anyway, so exciting!
I’ve seen two name columns lately that suggest Biblical/saints names would be off the table for atheists, and I am not buying it. I would not be likely to name my daughter Hepzibah or Salome or Neveah, but Sarah, Thomas, John, Matthew, Rebecca and John are all fair game. These names have significance far beyond their origins – they are part of my culture, even if I reject the religion behind them. Some saints names were in use far before the European conversion to Chrisitanity. Both of my girls have saints associated with their very classic names, but that’s not why we chose them. They both have superhero associations as well, but that wasn’t the deciding factor either.