Royal names Part I

Another interesting theme in the names field is the names given to royal families. These are usually limited to an extent, because they are meant to link the royals to their historical past…< In Victorian times 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 by the Victorian era. 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…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 in their crop of names. Victoria is 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 . 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. 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. In fact, Lord Nicholas Windsor, one of the queen's cousins, has used it for one of his sons. 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 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. 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.