Since day one of ‘Royal Baby Watch’, a lot of the excitement that has been generated has been channeled into predicting what the name of this new Royal Child will be, will they go traditional or modern? Here we explain past precedent and give what we hope will be an accurate speculative account of how the name will be decided.

So far, every titled member of the current Royal Family born into the family has been given dynastic name, a name with history in the British Royal Family. One exception people may draw upon is ‘Prince Harry’, though may I remind you, ‘Harry’ is a nickname and his real name is Henry, about as dynastic a name as one could imagine.

There are good reasons for this, especially for those high up in line to the throne, though this naming precedent hasn’t always been so. When the then Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent (later Queen Victoria) was born, Victoria was a name not at all associated with British Royals, only Queen Victoria’s mother carried the name Victoria, and she married into the family. According to noted historian Kate Williams, the naming of the child as Victoria was almost a jest at the fact that it was thought she’d never reign! Nowadays, Victoria is considered one of the most traditional names.

The reasons for most royals high up in the line of succession having traditional names is partially to do with commanding respect. Having a serious conversation with a King Google I could cause issues. Also, carrying on the use of traditional names that have been used before by Monarchs promotes continuity and that’s one of the key elements a Monarchy provides to a country, especially one where the Government changes every 5 years.

Over the past few weeks on Twitter, we have heard some very interesting suggestions for Royal Baby names, and seeing as we are positive the name will be traditional, here are a few suggestions and what we think of them, from a royal perspective!

Boys’ Names

James - A highly tradtional name, there have been two King Jameses of England and multiple Princes called James in history, also Prince Edward, Earl Of Wessex’s son is called James.

Philip - If it’s a boy, we strongly think Philip will be in the name somewhere, even if it’s not the primary name.

Edward - This is probably the most popular name in the Royal Family, there have been 8 King Edwards and at the moment, there are two living Prince Edwards – a solid, traditional choice.

Michael - A probability. There have been Prince Michaels in the past and there is one living at the moment, also The Duchess Of Cambridge’s father is called Michael.

Girls’ Names

Elizabeth - The name of 2 Queens, including the name of the reigning Queen and the person who’ll be the baby’s great grandmother as well as a commonly used name in the past, a strong chance this name will appear somewhere in the name, if not be the child’s name. Also, Elizabeth is Catherine’s middle name.

Victoria - We think this is the name most likely to appear as the baby’s first name, should it be a girl. A traditional name with good connotations. Also, Queen Victoria actually ordered originally that all future female children in the Royal Family have the name Victoria somewhere in their name, although this hasn’t been followed religiously, it’s still quite a common Royal name.

Diana - Pretty confident that Diana will definitely appear in the child’s name if it’s a girl, a clear tribute to the Duke Of Cambridge’s late mother, don’t think it’ll be the baby’s primary name, however.

Mary - A good dynastic name, 2 Queens called Mary in history and multiple princesses. Mary could well appear in the baby’s name.

Of course, members of the Royal Family always have around 4 names, so any of the above could appear, plus more!

If we had to make our prediction for what the baby would be called, drawing upon past precedent, we would suggest the following:

Boy: His Royal Highness Prince Edward Philip Michael James of Cambridge

Girl: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Diana Elizabeth of Cambridge

Why not tell us your suggestions below in the comments box?