Hi Swistle,
We expecting our fourth (and probably last) baby in October. My husband Ben comes from an all boy family and I figured ours would follow suit but that hasn’t been the case! Our only son, William, is 7. At the time I considered naming him Nicholas or Jacob but William Scott (nn Will) won out. Then our almost 5 year old came along and without any question we went with our family girl name from the previous pregnancy- Kate Eleanor. I opted for that instead of Catherine because I wanted her called Kate and didn’t want that to change over time. A couple of years later there was the royal wedding and now people always comment on our Will and Kate and seem to like it. I didn’t mind continuing the theme when our number three came along last year and we named her Elizabeth Anne, Elizabeth having such a beautiful meaning and being my favorite name of my childhood. When we aren’t calling her the Queen, we also call her Bitty or Beth.
Now our surprise baby (and girl number 3) is coming in the Fall and we are OUT of royal names! I have a few funny rules I’m trying to follow and can’t seem to let go. Our two syllable Dutch last name rhymes with Spike and starts with an “uh” sound. I think “uh” names sound funny with the double “uhs” (like Emma Uh-spike, Amelia Uh-spike) although I quite like them. I’d also prefer not to duplicate first letters and sounds if possible, for ease in calling children and labeling their belongs (yes I know these are some OCD problems!)
If this baby had been a boy we would have named him James Benjamin. Right now I have only a few names left on my girl list that still fit into the royal theme.
Jane
Caroline
Grace
MaryA few I love but aren’t willing to use for the above reasons are Emma, Amelia, Alexandra, Emily. I also like Charlotte// nn Lottie but it’s ridiculously popular in our area. Despite the supposed frequency of my other children’s names, we’ve only run into one other Will and a few Katelyns but no Kates or Elizabeths at all! Maggie is a favorite of mine but we don’t love Margaret (and I’m not sure I’m creative enough to branch out to a Magnolia// nn Maggie with our other names).
My husband isn’t crazy about Grace. I love Caroline but would not want any nicknames for it, so I think it might be better in the middle name slot for Grace or Mary (it’s also a family name and that feels like a nice spot for the tribute name, as we have done with our other children). I also think Mary Caroline is beautiful but would likely be Mary in the long run and I wonder if Mary is too “old” to go with our other names. My brother and both like our old fashioned, classic names (Anne and John) that were never too popular but I don’t want to saddle her with a name that’s just too old for her generation. My reservation with Jane is that it rules out having a James just in case we had another. Also, I feel like we’ve gotten some really mixed reviews about the name and that it might be too old, too (and it’s only questionably royal as Lady Jane Grey was a contested Queen who only “reigned” a few days but we’re alright with that).
So my question is, do I need to let myself break out of our little theme? Do you think Mary is just too old for a little girl? What about Jane, does it fit comfortably with William, Kate, and Elizabeth, or is she bound to feel like the named-with-the-leftovers sister? How did I let myself get into this crazy theme? Do you have some other nice classics lying around that I’ve missed?
Thanks so much!
AnnePS Yes we do love this theme, the kids dressed up exactly like Will and Kate for a Royal Wedding Halloween and we have a British decorated room. I just wish there were a few more British Royal names and still wish the Royal Baby had been a girl with four or five more names to choose from, although I’m sure she would have stuck with a classic like Alexandra anyways!
I think Jane is a great choice. My main hesitation is the same as yours: for me, it would rule out using James later on. My second hesitation is that it feels very similar to Kate. But I don’t see any reason anyone would think of it as a “leftover” name.
Grace seems like the perfect choice to me, so it’s unfortunate your husband doesn’t like it. Perhaps he will come around: we get many letters where a husband’s dislike of a name causes me to ignore it as an option, and then we get the name update and the name has been chosen after all.
Caroline seems excellent, too. I don’t think of it as having any natural nicknames (that is, there are nicknames people could use if they wanted a nickname, but it isn’t a Michael/Mike kind of situation), which increases the chances she’d go by the full form. But I agree that if you feel strongly about it not being nicknamed, that knocks it further down the list.
Mary doesn’t seem too old to me; in fact, it feels like a refreshing choice. I might not have thought so, except that I encountered a Mary in the kindergarten class of one of my older boys. My first reaction was something close to shock, as my brain rearranged what I thought of the name: my mind had always filtered it as Common Name, never even really hearing it as a name, and now suddenly I was hearing the sounds that made it such a long-loved choice. Sisters named Mary and Kate do briefly bring Mary-Kate and Ashley to my mind, but surely that is not an enduring association—and not much of an association at all when it’s Kate, Elizabeth, and Mary.
I’m hesitant to suggest any further options: it seems like you must have already combed through the list thoroughly and rejected all the other royal names. Still, this makes a better reference post if we include the others, and sometimes hearing other people remark positively on a name can put it back on the list. I used Wikipedia’s British Royal Family page to assist the search.
Beatrice and Eugenie are the first two names that come to mind, even before looking at Wikipedia. I especially like Beatrice for this sibling group, and I love the nickname Bea/Bee (I would buy everything in the world that had bees on it). Eugenie seems like a harder name to sell in the United States, and also repeats Elizabeth’s initial.
Next I think of Diana. Few names have such a royal association for me as that one does. William, Kate, Elizabeth, and Diana fairly BOILS with royal.
And although you specifically said you don’t much care for the name Margaret, I want to put in a good word for it: I love it, and I love all the nicknames, and it definitely sounds royal. We had a little girl named Margaret at our bus stop a few years ago, and it made me love the name even more. If you love the name Maggie, it may be a great choice for you.
I assume you’ve considered and rejected Victoria. For me the main downside of this name is that I don’t like any of the nicknames and only like the full form.
I think Philippa with the nickname Pippa would be a strong candidate if it weren’t for the -uh/Uh- issue: it brings to mind not only Kate’s sister but also Prince Philip. Does it help at all that Philippa is three syllables? To my ear, that third syllable gives a little natural pause. I do still hear the -uh/Uh-, but it seems less troublesome.
Camilla is another name of this sort.
It would be more a royal reference than a royal name, but Georgia would be sweet. The -uh/Uh- issue doesn’t hit my ear in this case, perhaps because it’s more of a -juh/Uh-, or perhaps the issue bothers me less overall.
Two more royal-reference names would be Henrietta and Harriet, for Prince Henry (called Harry).
Sophie and Louise are both possibilities. I particularly like Louise.
I also love Alice and Sarah, if either of those are royal enough.
If you find you’re just STUCK and none of the royal names work for this child, another option is to choose a name that COULD be royal. I remember there was a lot of talk during Kate’s pregnancy about what names they’d be likely to choose, and it’s possible they WILL have a girl later on. It’s a bit of a long shot, but that could work out in a fun way, with them choosing the same name you chose for your third daughter. It wouldn’t be something to count on, of course, but it could help ease the discomfort of breaking a theme.
Name update!
Dear Swistle,
After your wonderful response I decided to go ahead and name her Grace and practiced calling her that for a couple months. It just didn’t settle right (although It’s so pretty and I really wanted to sing her the U2 song by the same name). The last week of my pregnancy I realized she must be a Jane and the others just wouldn’t do.
Jane Caroline was born on October 10 and her name which means “God is Gracious” is the perfect fit. Caroline honors many of the “Car-” named people in our lives and means “Beautify Song” (as well as being a royal name). Thank you so much for your help and the lovely comments!
Anne
I like your front-runner list, especially Caroline and Jane, and Swistle had some good additions, such as Beatrice or Sarah. (I’d put it a plug for Margaret, too.) If you feel really stuck, though, maybe you could branch out into names from royal families from other countries, whatever nationality suits you.
Oh, and I forgot to say I think Mary Caroline is very pretty.
Thanks! I love Mary Caroline. We do have a cousin with the same name but she’s a different generation and I don’t think she would mind.
I agree, Mary Caroline is absolutely lovely. We know one Mary. It is not common at all these days, and rather than seeming old, it seems timeless and beautiful.
Our third child is a Mary, so, nope, I don’t think it’s too old :). I love the Mary ___ pattern and have met a few in the mom circle I know. We live in a very culturally catholic area and our kids go to a catholic school, so that makes it seem less of a relic I think. I’ve known Mary Kates, Mary Fran, Mary Alice, and Mary Beths. I love Mary Caroline.
I like the Mary ____ format too. We don’t live in a very Catholic area but the association is pleasant for me and I think a lot of those names are lovely.
If it is not too close to your own name, I think Anna would be a lovely choice. I also like Rose, although it would be breaking your theme. From your list, I really like Mary and Caroline.
Why not Maggie by itself, as you did Kate by itself? I think Margaret fits with the theme, but Maggie blends with the names better as a whole rather than leaving Kate out without a long version. William, Kate, Elizabeth, and Maggie.
By the way, my grandmother’s name is Maggie, just Maggie, and it was years before I even realized it was short for Margaret!
That’s really cute. I don’t think I know any Maggie just Maggies but I’m not opposed considering I have a Kate!
To clarify, in her case it ISN’T short for Margaret, but later I realized it was for others!
I’m not a fan of Mary TBH — brings to mind Bloody Mary actually, especially with the “royal” theme you have going on. I wouldn’t be able to think of a royal named Grace off the top of my head, so that doesn’t work for me with the theme either.
I think both Jane and Caroline are nice. I don’t really think anyone would shorten Caroline – actually the only thing I know to shorten it to is Carly and that is more than just “shortening” so I don’t think anyone would do that unless specifically told to.
I might suggest Louise (possible nn. Lulu?) – a daughter of George II.
There’s Princess Grace of Monaco– very famous royalty, though not British.
I just wanted to say the name Eugenie seems like a harder name to pull off but the runner-up at Wimbledon (and the Brits love tennis!) was a Canadian named Eugenie Bouchard nn. Genie. And honestly she’s made the name more accessible and sweeter to me :)
I also really love Mary or Beatrice for your family.
I immediately thought of Beatrice and Eugenie and think that either name are fabulous and common enough that people will get the Royal theme. I’m not sure if you go further down the line that people would immediately recognize that they are, in fact, a royal name (for example: if I heard the sib set and this child was named Mary or Alice or Louise, etc. I would wonder in my mind “how come the last child didn’t get a royal name” Not that I dislike any of them, but just those names don’t come to mind as a royal). But either of these two, most people know who they are.
I was going to put an extra plug in for Eugenie Bouchard and then the previous poster did! Eugenie Bouchard was actually named after Princess Eugenie… so not only have people heard of the name (at least up here in Canada) but also kinda neat that that is where her name came from as well. She went to the final match at Wimbledon this year PLUS the tournament is always played in London. Kinda neat!!!
Lastly, also on board with Margaret or “just” Maggie. Love the name and Margaret is increasing in popularity so it’s less of an old-lady’s-name but isn’t top 10 popularity.
I have really started to like Mary. I know of one 3 year old and one 7 month old named Mary, and both times I thought it was so sweet. It didn’t sound too old at all. I really love the sound of Mary Caroline.
That’s fun. I don’t know any little Marys!
We definitely share the same tastes in names! Our first son is William (Liam), I’m currently pregnant with a girl we plan to name Catherine (Cate), and our choice for a possible second girl used to be Elizabeth until we decided she didn’t work with the middle name I wanted to use, so we’re planning to use Isobel instead.
Out of your current list, my favorite choice is definitely Mary. Kate feels kind of short next to William and Elizabeth, so I like that Mary is also short. Jane and Grace also work, length-wise, but I wouldn’t want to use another one-syllable name with a prominent “ay” sound, since it’s so similar to Kate (and James, if you were to have another boy).
Onto fresh suggestions, what about Sophie, the name of Prince Edward’s wife? I also like the previous suggestion of Rose. You could kind of stretch it to fit with the royal theme, since I believe Rose was Princess Margaret’s middle name, but honestly, I don’t think you really need to stick to the theme if there are no other royal names you love. It’s not that obvious. I think of William, Kate, and Elizabeth as traditional classics first, royal names second, so as long as you stick to a name that is fairly timeless, her name won’t stick out.
Since we have very similar taste, maybe you’ll like one of these names that we’ve also considered:
Anastasia (works with the royal theme, although Russian instead of British)
Veronica
Penelope
Genevieve
Juliet
Eve
Madeleine
Claire
Anastasia and Veronica have the double “uh” problem, but personally, I think they sound find with the last name.
This is so fun, I love finding people that share name styles! I like a lot of the names on your suggested list too. Thanks for sharing!
Mary is one of my most favorite names. I think of it as elegant, flawless, and flexible, and let’s throw in stealthy–a complete refreshing surprise without the clunky hipster trendiness of something like Agnes or Agatha. Mary Caroline is simple perfection in your sibset, with your surname.
I also love Jane, but find it very similar to Kate–four letters, long A. I like Caroline quite a bit on its own, but don’t love the way Will & Kate are one syllable, and would then be followed by Elizabeth & Caroline, both much longer. Grace is also a beautiful, classic name, but again creates a one-syllable name with a long A.
Congratulations and best wishes to you and your lucky family.
Do you really find Agnes clunky and hipster? Our first child is Agnes (3 yrs) , and I’ve never heard anyone associate the name that way… at least not to my face! lol. I’m not offended, just surprised and wondered if you really feel that way? She was named after St. Agnes, and coincidentally, her great grandma.
Just a tad–though if it’s honoring, you’re totally absolved from this category. (I like hipsters, though, so this isn’t strictly a criticism, more of an observation)……..:)
Our son is technically William, so I do like the idea of William, Kate, Elizabeth, and something short to match Kate since she’s on her one syllable lonesome (although they do all have one syllable nn’s.)
I’m glad someone commented on this! I really love the name Agatha, and also love the author Agatha Christie. If I were to use it, Gail makes it sound like I’d be labeled a trendy hipster who saddled her daughter with a clunky name! Lol. I, too, am not offended, but it does just seem like a harsh criticism to label all parents who use Agnes or Agatha as hipster. I think they’re nice, vintage names that deserve to come back with the others. I don’t think Agatha is any harsher than Hazel, which is certainly experiencing a revival. I hope parents aren’t turned off of these names for fear of being labeled a hipster!
What about May Caroline? May was the nickname of Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother, Mary of Teck, so it makes a nice match for Kate.
Or a Mary could also be nicknamed Molly, if Mary seemed to formal/old for her. Although for the record, I’m in the Mary isn’t too old sounding at all camp.
May is very sweet!
Have you thought about Julia? Princess of Battenberg, and a splendid name. Will, Kate, Elizabeth, and Julia.
Mary is one of my favorite names, as is Jane. They don’t feel old at all, they feel fresh and unexpected and elegant. I know two baby Janes, an Anne, and a Mary, and each time it made me grin with surprise.
Caroline’s great! I think it’s smashing with Mary, but it’d also be great as a first.
Margaret’s another of my favorites, but if you don’t like it, that’s that. I’d vote against just-Maggie, because Maggie feels even more nicknamey and young than Kate. It doesn’t feel like it’d grow as well as Margaret or Magnolia.
As lovely as the name Diana is, that combination freaks me out a bit because it feels obsessive instead of fun.
Oh! And a big YES to Beatrice. Will, Kate, Beth, and Bea!
I agree about the Diana being too much although I think it’s beautiful.
I think your name set is cute! I do love Georgia for you but understand if it urns into your last name. I’m with Swistle…maybe choose a name that COULD be a royal one. Do you like Annabelle, Isabelle, or just Bella? Allison? To get Maggie, you could use Magdalena. Maybe Penelope? Rachel, Savannah, or Willa might work. Best of luck!!
Sylvia, Queen of Sweden?
Isabella of Spain?
I’m a big fan of Victoria
Alexandra?
Regina?
Stephanie of Monaco?
Charlotte?
From your list, I love Jane for you. It doesn’t seem old at all!
I’ll also second Swistle’s suggestion to reconsider Margaret. It’s lovely and fits really well with the royal sibling group.
From Swistle’s suggestions, my favorite is Beatrice. I had also thought of this for you and it seems perfect. Anne is also an option and I quite like Anne, Elizabeth and Kate together. Reaching back a little further in history would be Eleanor (as in “of Aquitaine). For something less common but still distinctly British Royal Family, I’ll suggest Zara.
I agree Margaret nn Maggie is perfect if I could get on board. I’m working on it.
I won’t do Anne because it’s my name… but I am glad to hear that it fits with the others! Elizabeth’s middle name is Anne too.
As for Eleanor, that is my Kate’s middle name. I LOVE Eleanor of Aquitaine and her granddaughter Eleanor of England so I used that for Kate. Can’t repeat it though! Have you read Sharon Kay Penman’s books about her? They are amazing.
I really missed the boat on this one. I was so caught up in such a fun theme I completely missed the middle names and your name!
One problem with your theme is that women’s names in the past were pretty limited. It seemed they were all named Catherine, Anne or Jane, with a few Elizabeth’s sprinkled about. Eliminating the “ah” ending names like Sophia or Matilda leaves you with a very limited pool to choose from.
Would you consider a feminized version of a masculine name? Harriet/Henrietta for Prince Harry or Georgia/Georgiana for baby Prince George?
Or perhaps you’d like Marguerite instead of Margaret? It seems like a better fit than Magnolia, and you could still use Maggie.
Have Alice or Joan been suggested yet? There is also Adelaide (wife of William IV). Though, the connection with these names won’t be as obvious to most people.
I’ve not read the books, but I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for the suggestion!
Her books are amazing. Here Be Dragons (first in her Welsh prince trilogy) made me seriously lobby my husband to name our son Llewellyn. He declined that option obviously, haha!
Yes the small female royal name set is an issue I didn’t envision because I was certain we would have a house full of boys! Oh well!
I love your other kids names and I think it’s such a sweet naming theme to have. I was thinking about the small royal naming pool as I read through swistle’s post, and there’s one royal girl’s name that hasn’t been mentioned yet – Edith. Not too long, has the same old-yet-fresh feel of Mary and Jane, the cute nickname of Edie, and leaves James open if you do have another son.
Oh, or what about Adela, Annabelle or Ada? Elfrida? Cicely? Blanche? Frederica? Augusta? Amelie?
I think Caroline would be Caroline unless you made a nickname. I personally would create a nickname but it would be just for me. I do that with most of my kiddos. It’s an awesome family theme, but I wouldn’t feel beholden to it. If I had a name I liked outside the theme I would go with it. Consider if you had another child, statistically, it would be a girl. What would you do then? I guess at that point you could go with Jane. But all that aside, consider the identity of this child. When naming my children, I didn’t worry about not being able to use a name down the road. This child is most important right now. (I have 1 girl and 5 boys! )
I like the advice to consider this baby now and not stress about other potentials down the road. Smart advice from a smart mama!
I like Caroline from your list. I also like Victoria, and Margaret which seem more royal to me than Grace and Jane. In my area, Connecticut, I know 3 little Marys under the age of 3, so it might be having a comeback. It doesn’t sound old to me at all and it goes well with your other kids names.
Diana would definitely be the way to most embrace the British Royal theme, could be a refreshing choice as it doesn’t seem as popular as the other names you mentioned.
Good luck!
I think Mary and Jane are both refreshing, simple, classic names on a child. Mary would be a frontrunner for me except it rhymes with my last name.
You could consider Adelaide perhaps – queen of William IV. I have such a weakness for this name.
Or Alice, who was a princess daughter of Queen Victoria. Will, Kate, Elizabeth, and Alice.
Things I was going to say but people have already gotten to:
I love Beatrice for you.
Anna as a suggestion
Georgia or Georganne as a suggestion
Caroline doesn’t seem to have any obvious nicknames for me – I’d call a baby Caroline Caroline unless asked not to. (Would rule out Charles for me down the line if that’s an issue.)
Using Maggie instead of Margaret. Like Kate, it seems like one of the nicknames that can stand on it’s own to me even on a dignified adult. Plus, with Kate already in your sibset, it doesn’t seem like an outlier. Will, Kate, Elizabeth, and Maggie.
I am one who prefers names like Will and Kate and Elizabeth to a lot of the other ones out there; that said, one of my most favorite (and in the US out there) royal names is Zara!
Good suggestion!
Oooh, this is a fun one!
I second all of Swistle’s suggestions, except Georgia, Camilla, and Philippa, as I definitely hear the “ah/uh” conflict you’re talking about and it doesn’t please my ear either.
I love Beatrice with your other children’s names and think it would be a fabulous choice. There’s also Beatrix to consider.
I also really love Mary, especially Mary Caroline. It sounds quite fresh to me.
Anecdotal, but every Caroline I know goes by the full form, no nickname.
You rule out Charlotte for popularity reasons, but should note that Grace is nearly as popular and has been for much longer. Maybe not in your area as much– but it’s worth noting. Unlike Elizabeth, Grace doesn’t have much in the way of nicknames (really none beyond Gracie) so it will seem even more prevalent.
Some royal-themed names that don’t end in -a for you to consider:
Adelaide
Alice
Maud
Rose
Helen
Frances
A little less specifically royal, but have tangential links (or links to other Euro royalty):
Mabel
Cecily
Harriet
Sophie
Isabelle
Marjorie/Margery
Agnes
I have a guess as to what your surname actually is (don’t worry, won’t write it out!) and if it is what I think it is, I really like Adelaide, Cecily, and Rose with it. I think 1 or 3 syllable names complement it best. I also think Marjorie or Margery would be cute and offer the potential nickname of Maggie.
I also would love to suggest Eleanor, but I think it is too close to Elizabeth.
Good luck, and please keep us posted!
I forgot Louise, too! And Lucy.
LUCY. OMG.
Will, Kate, Elizabeth, Lucy! love it…except that it bothers me that Elizabeth is so much longer than the others. Caroline, then. Lucy Caroline? Caroline Lucy? Lucy-May?
I know the 4 syllable Elizabeth gets me too sometimes but it was absolutely the perfect name for her. Oh well!
I LOVE Lucy too. My mom thinks its terrible with all the others and rolls her eyes whenever I mention it. So many cute names out there! I always try to get my friends to consider Lucy! I think it’s pretty with Caroline, too. Caroline just seems to really flow in the middle name slot.
I love how you are replying to posts, Anne! I wish more of the people who wrote into Swistle followed up like that.
As far as the Lucy-disapproval from your mother– is she thinking of Lucy as outdated and low-class? I’ve realized some older people consider it more blue collar, or associate it strongly with I Love Lucy.
As a remedy, if you really like Lucy, maybe you, your kids, and your mom could all sit down and watch one of the Narnia films? Now that’s a very British Lucy! I’m not a big fan of the newer Narnia films, but highly recommend the BBC versions from the 1980s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5wVZZ2UUNM
Bah. Doesn’t matter what your mother thinks, it isn’t her baby ;)
I like the idea of Lucy with a middle name that you could call her sometimes….Lucy Caroline is really nice. And you do shorten Elizabeth’s name sometimes, right?
LUCY is one of my all-time favourite names. It is so fresh and spunky with a hint of sweet. Love it.
I love love love Eleanor. I thought we would only have girl and doubled up on Kate Eleanor with her! I like 1 and 3 syllable names with it too. We have had a 1 syllable nick name for all of them and it’s nice and easy to say.
I love Jane and Mary for your baby. I also think just Maggie would work.
Jane is definitely royal enough. Jane Seymour was Henry VIII’s third wife and mother of his son Edward :)
I know your others are all British royals, but if you haven’t yet found a name you loved in the British line, you could widen your net. I might start combing the names of other royal families, (e.g. Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Belgian) and see if I could find other royal names. Josephine, Sophia, Sonja, Juliana, Charlotte, Katarina, Sigrid, Astrid, Helena, Madeleine, Leonore, Beatrix, Silvia. Okay, wait, these aren’t simple, common names, are they? Hmm.
Well, if you like the name Philippa, she was the Queen of Denmark, Norway & Sweden in the 15th century so it does fit your theme. :)
Mary is so lovely and fits in well with your other names (which I love!). It’s also really fun that you are embracing the royal theme as opposed to fighting it. Such beautiful, classic names!
I like Mary Caroline a lot and in general like the “Mary ____ ” structure. Mary Jane? You could either call her Mary Jane or reserve Jane strictly as the middle name.
I think Mary is lovely and very fresh these days. Mary Grace is a fantastic option though I also like Mary Caroline.
My second choice would be Beatrice with the only hestitation being the two youngest would both have nicknames beginning with B. I do also like Jane and Jane Caroline has a nice rythmn.
I do like the suggestion of Diana but that may not work to well with your last name. Georgie may be nice option. William, Kate, Elizabeth, and Georgie.
I think if you go with Mary Grace, you might be able to get away with using Maggie as a nickname…Then you get the nickname you like without using Margaret and your daughter has options as she gets older…Win/Win!
That’s a cute way to get Maggie! My husband says if I like Maggie so much just name her Mary and call her that, who cares about the rules (obviously I’m the big rule follower here!)
Fun theme! :) Will, Kate, and Elizabeth do say “current royal family” to me. Jane, Caroline, Grace & Mary are all great names, but they don’t really scream “British royalty” to me. I also think Jane is too close to Kate, both being one syllable and having the strong “A” sound.
My first thought was Beatrice, after the princess, which is also a name that I really like. Though is Bea/Bee too close to Beth? The “e” sounds are different, but you might not want to duplicate initials of Elizabeth is mainly called by a B nickname.
Diana and Camilla do scream “British royalty” to me, particularly with your sibset. My son had a Camilla in his Kindergarten class this past year. On its own it doesn’t always make me think of royalty, though if you were using it as part of the theme, Camilla isn’t super popular as a person in my mind. Diana was so popular but also makes me think of her tragic death and marriage struggles.
I just looked up the royal family tree and see that there was a Queen Mary not too long ago. I guess I really don’t know my royal history. My husband really likes the name and I do think it would be sweet on a little girl. If anything I do think “Mary, Queen of Scots”.
I’d go with Mary or Beatrice for your daughter. :)
Mary is lovely. That’s my favorite for you, hands down.
I don’t care for Diana. As part if that theme, it’s just too sensationalized a name to be cute or fun IMO.
Really love, love, love the name Mary. Mary Caroline or Mary Victoria would be gorgeous!
Louise and Alice are both such lovely, underused names too. I do like Grace and Jane but they may be a little too close in sound to Kate, having the long a sound, I think. Sarah nn Sadie or Emily nn Emmy would be sweet.
What about the nickname Meg for Margaret? Or maybe just Meg, short and sweet, just like Kate. Margaret Grace or Margaret Rose (This was actually Princess Margaret’s full name) nickname Meg would be perfect IMO.
William, Kate, Elizabeth and Meg!
There’s Alexandrina (Queen Victoria’s actual first name) nn Alex or Lexie. Meg/Maggie/Mary Alexandrina?
I would also like to suggest, although they’re not as easily recognizable as royal, Helen, Matilda, Isabel, Josephine and Adela.
Phillipa, Frances, Susanna, Amy and Lydia are all great “Tudor” names too!
Good luck!
I’m for the idea of close to but not actually formaly royal- short and spunky diminutives for the baby of the family. Goes great with Kate and Beth:
Meg (right call, Kim C!)/Margaret
Bea/Beatrice
Carrie/Caroline
Annie/Anne
Swistle I didn’t get a chance to leave a decent comment until now (what with running around after my 3 little royals all day) but I so appreciate you answering my email. I was nonchalantly going through my blogs this morning and started screaming and flipping out when I realized your post was about my little family and my big name crazies! Thanks so much for your thoughtful and thorough response. I keep rereading it and the comments and feel newly invigorated that there’s a right name out there for this sweet girl. Thanks again!
You’re welcome!
I love your theme! So, I have a one year old named Mary, and I went back and forth on it, and I have to tell you it is great. We get great and excited comments on her name, and it is like swistle said, people hear it on a little one and then really HEAR it and love it.
I wanted to use Margaret, nicknamed Maggie so badly, but couldn’t use Margaret, and I wasn’t into Magnolia either. About 7 months ago my MIL said that I should have named her “Mary Agnes” and nicknamed her “Maggie”
Well, I about fell over because I thought it was so perfect. So I offer it up to you as a way to use Mary and get Maggie and still be somewhat traditional.
Can’t wait to hear what you decide.
Oh my, I just LOVE that idea!
I have not read all of the above comments, so I apologize for any repeats.
How do you feel about Marina Grace or Marina Caroline? Her nickname could be Mary, or you could just call her Marina.
There’s also Matilda (circa 1053, 1125, 1141). Or Isabel (1189). Even Isabella (1200 AD) was married to King John (brother of Richard the Lionheart). Another Isabella lived in 1308 and was a queen of England.
And there was a Queen Philippa in 1308. Queen Joanna was around in 1403.
There was another Queen Jane; she was married to Henry VIII (and was mother to Edward VI).
In 1625, Henrietta Maria was born. She later married Charles I and was the mom of nine!
Sophia Dorothea married George I.
William IV married Adelaide (born in 1818).
Do any of those name suit your style?
Sure, Sophia is wildly popular, but Dorothea has some real promise! Dot or Thea make darling nicknames. My favorite is still Marina, but she wasn’t a queen… only a princess. But perhaps that would be fine with your newest princess!
Great job keeping your kids’ name feeling related. I always wonder about the families whose children are Joan, Doris, Ralph, and Kaptain. Is Kaptain the dog? Is there some incredible story there that I’m missing? Makes me wonder.
Anyway, best wishes to you and your growing family! Please keep us up to date when you decide!
Lots of great ideas here! I’m sure it won’t be a surprise but I read a lot of British historical fiction and am familiar with many of these queens. I love all your unusual suggestions here.
I haven’t mentioned this but although I think Isabella and it’s other versions is beautiful it’s a variant of Elizabeth so I probably wouldn’t chose it despite liking the name. We are pretty nickname liberal around here and often swap out names (for fun, sometimes we call them Liam, Katelyn, and Lizzy on St. Patrick’s day for example) so I might have to start calling our little Queen Isabella whenever we eat Italian!
My favorite part is about Kaptain the dog. I always wonder the same thing when the sibling names are so seemingly random. We had some neighbors with three extremely unusual names for their children but their dogs name was James. It always made me laugh.
I will be sure to email once she comes and we finally decide! Thanks for the great comment!
I have a friend with a house full of royals as well. In fact she calls the four of them collectively The Royals. They are Elisabeth, Victoria, William, and Caroline. It’s sweet to me.
Caroline or Victoria would go nicely with your group. Do let us know what you decide!!
That’s so fun! I think your friend has great taste! :)
i haven’t read all of the comments so i apologize if this has been said already, but I think this is an opportunity to take the naming “theme” in a different direction. If you use an obviously royal name for your fourth, you might be “that lady who is obsessed with the royal family.” that may be completely okay with you (and cute and fun right now because the royal family is adorable with Kate and William and their adorable baby). I just wonder if 5 years from now, you might look back and feel a little uncomfortable telling people your children’s names and hearing “oh, you copied the royal family.” I hope that doesn’t sound harsh, but I do think that is something to think about (playing devil’s advocate). William, Elizabeth and Kate are all traditional and classic enough names that they don’t necessarily seem copied, they could just be coincidental. i think this fourth name is the deal-breaker! on the flip side, i completely understand that you are now attached to this theme and don’t want your fourth child to feel left out. Please send an update after you decide – i will be so curious to hear! Good Luck!
I love Jane for this sibling group. My second favorite is Beatrice. I also like Alice. If you open up the theme from specifically British royals to Other Royals, you may come up with some additional options (not that you need them). Others that come to mind:
– Edith. Married to William the Conqueror.
– Anastasia. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. Does the A work with your last name? I like how this is a subtle homage to your name as well. You could use Annie as a nickname.
Edith is a great suggestion!
Edith is an ex girlfriend so that won’t work although it’s quite pretty!
Anastasia is a family name and we have a Russian connection too. It’s a beautiful suggestion!
If you still want to tie the royal theme together but you can’t quite land on the perfect queen or princess name then maybe you would consider the name London… no, it’s not a royal name but it still ties the theme together nicely! William, Kate, Elizabeth, London. I don’t know, just trying to think outside the box.
I also want to put in a good word for Alexandra. I know you don’t want a name ending in -a because it clashes with your last name but I think Alexandra still works due to it having so many syllables. Alexandra uh-spike doesn’t sound clashy or choppy compared to Camilla uh-spike or Phillipa uh-spike, for example. I think all those syllables kinda take focus away from the -a -uh sounds.
If you like Alexandra but doesn’t go well with your last name, what about Alexandrine? That is my husband’s grandmothers’ name.
Also… LOVE the idea of using a feminized version of popular male names. Prince Harry – Henrietta, Prince George – Georgina, Georgia, Georgianna.
See my previous comment (think I would stay on board with a more common royal name rather than digging too deep into history that isn’t as obvious of a royal name) I love Beatrice nn Bea with your sib set but I also really like Eugenie.
Lastly, someone commented about the name Regina. I live in Regina, SK Canada. I would recommend staying away from it. Everyone always says, “you live in the city that rhymes with fun (female anatomy)”.
Good luck and keep us posted!! Love your names!!
Is Amelia a royal name? (I know nothing of royalty, and I quickly googled British royalty and saw that name buried in there.) If so, what about that with the nickname Mia. Will, Kate, Elizabeth and Amelia/Mia.
I was so fixated on the latter part of your email and neglected to note the uh ending. Nix my idea.
No problem, yes Amelia is royal and absolutely beautiful, dang our last name!
What about Amelie instead? Just a thought to make it work?!
Another vote for Adelaide. You can have a number if nicknames including Ada
I agree Adelaide is lovely. We know a little one (her brother’s name is Cedric) and I think their names are so cute.
I think of Jane and Mary as “everything old is new again” names. Both are historically significant enough to be easily spoken and written, but there aren’t so many Janes and Marys right now. Great time to revive them!
Any thoughts on Josephine? It would break up the British theme but carry similar syllabic weight as Elizabeth or William.
Love all your finalists, really. Looking forward to hearing your final decision!
Fun one to think about! I love Mary and think Mary Caroline and Mary Grace are just lovely. I also like Maggie on its own. There are so many great suggestions on here. You can’t go wrong! Good luck! I can’t wait to hear what you picked for your little royal!
I’ve seen “Caro” as a nickname for Caroline, and I like it.
Sarah is also a British royal name from the current family, since Lady Sarah Chatto, neé Armstrong-Jones is the Queen’s niece (Princess Margaret’s daughter).
Jane Caroline is perfect for your sib set — LOVE THE NAME!
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Congratulations on little Jane Caroline! I am a big fan of Jane, so much that I just named a baby girl character “Jane Penelope” in a story I’m writing! Yay!!!
So sweet! Thanks for sharing!
I have to comment on this even though it was ages ago.
I am Carolyn Grace (although I also like Grace Caroline) and my birthday is Oct 11th (although 29 years ago!)
I go by Carolyn and unless I shorten it myself, it doesn’t end up with too many nicknames. Caro and Caz are the two I go by, although far less frequently than the others.
All these coincidences aside, I love Jane Caroline and I’m glad it fits for you and your family. Congrats!
Thanks for your sweet comment Caz!