In Victorian times especially, royal children were often given literally dozens
of names... to honour relatives, godparents, and ancestors. In the 18th century, in Britain royal
children often just had one or 2 names. However
this changed in the 19th century.
In the 18th century too, the coming of the Hanoverian kings
brought in some Germanic names... such as Adolphus, Frederick, and
Augustus. George III had 9 sons... and the
eighth son was given the Latinate Name Octavian. These names “took” to a certain extent among
the aristocracy, but only Frederick is well liked now…
There was a row at Queen Victoria’s christening because
George IV was not happy at the idea of her having names that would indicate she
was a future queen - such as the name Elizabeth. that was regarded as a “queen’s name”. George also did not want her to be called
Georgiana after him…
In the end, Victoria
was only given 2 names.. Alexandrina, after her godfather the Czar Alexander
and Victoria after her mother. She was
sometimes called Drina as a child but later was called by her second name.. and
she gave this name to most of her immediate female descendants. She wanted all the daughters, granddaughters etc.
to have the name Victoria and all the male descendants to be called Albert somewhere
in their crop of names. Victoria is of course
a Latinate name which means victor or conqueror. Albert was a Germanic name meaning “noble and famous” which became quite
popular during her long reign and often abbreviated to Al, or Bert… or Bertie.
Victoria never seems
to have become as popular among ordinary people….and was better used in the 20th
century. However it has now vanished from
the British royal family but the current heir to the Swedish crown is Princess
Victoria.
Victoria’s first son was named Albert Edward and known as
Bertie. When he became King, he ignored his mother’s wish that he use his
father’s name or a double name Albert Edward (this was common among European
royals but not in Britain). He chose to
be known as Edward VII. Edward has been
a popular royal name in England… being the name of early Saxon Kings and of 8
kings since the Norman conquest. It
means Guardian of wealth, or riches… In modern times it is still common enough..and
was the regnal name of the late Duke of Windsor though in private he was known
by his last name David.
Victoria had a large family..and she set a fashion for using old English names,
for many of them. Alfred, her second son
was a nod to Alfred the Great. it probably
means “wise advice.” her next son, Arthur
was again a nod to a famous king.. (in legend) and was in honor of his
godfather the Duke of Wellington. It is said
to mean “Bear”….Leopold, Victoria’s youngest son did have a foreign name.. after
her uncle Leopold, King of Belgium.. It
was never all that popular in England, but is still used in many European royal
families.
Victoria had 5 daughters, her eldest was called Victoria.. and
the second was given the “old English” name of Alice…which was extremely popular
in Medieval times and means noble woman.
It was well used in Victorian England.. The third daughter was called
Helena.. and was given the Germanic diminutive of Lenchen.
It again became very popular in Victorian England and means sun or
shining…
Louise the next daughter was given a very common continental
royal name.. which was the name of Prince Albert’s mother who had been divorced
by his father. Louise is the feminine version of Louis which means famous
warrior. Princess Louise was an unconventional
young woman who achieved some fame as an
artist.
Beatrice was the youngest daughter and again her name became
quite popular in Victorian England.. It
means happy or blessed, and is the name of Dante’s great love…and also of a
Shakespearian heroine.
This is a short post
on Royal names, mostly concentrating on Victorian England. however I hope to write some more….
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