What’s in a name?

22 de May de 2019
Not Archie, but a baby boy called Oliver. Source @ wikimedia commons

If you have been reading the news you will know that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan have just had a baby boy. The UK is very happy about this. There has also been some surprise that his name Archie is not a very ‘royal’ name. Male royal names are usually Charles, Albert or George. But what’s in a name? Quite a lot actually, as we will find out…


A rose. Source @ Wikimedia commons

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Juliet

From Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

 

William Shakespeare’s famous line about roses means that names don’t mean anything and that it is a person’s personality that is important. This is important for Romeo and Juliet as their family names (Montague and Capulet) keep them apart. 

However, names do often have a meaning. Archie, Meghan and Harry’s choice for their newborn son, actually means genuine and brave. In the UK there have been 12 royals called Albert, making it the most popular royal name. Albert means noble and bright. For girls, the most popular royal name is Victoria.  Victoria originated from Greek and Roman mythology and, unsurprisingly, means victory and someone who is a victor.

The olive tree. The inspiration for thousands of babies names. Source @ Wikimedia commons

However, not everyone is royalty. What about the name trends for ordinary people? According to an article on the BBC, the number one girls’ name in the UK is Olivia, which comes from Latin and means olive tree. The number one boys name is Oliver, which of course, has the same origins as Olivia. Olives must be very popular now in the UK! 

This author’s name is Suzanne, which originates from Hebrew and means lily.  Sadly, Suzanne as a name is losing popularity. It hasn’t been in the top 100 of girls’ names for over a decade and in 2017 only 10 baby girls were named Suzanne!

A lily. Source @ Wikimedia commons

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How about your name? Do you know what it means? Is it a popular or unusual? Find out more about names with this website: https://www.babble.com/baby-names/

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