Likeliest Name Options for the Next Royal Baby — and Some Unlikely Ones
By Linda Rosenkrantz, Nameberry
All eyes are on Kate Middleton, who is due to welcome her second baby this month. (Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Now that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is officially on maternity leave, it seems like a good moment for an update on the current royal baby name expectations and prognostications. Although royal babies are almost always given previously used royal names, William and Kate might find they have a little more wiggle room with this second child. But probably not.
Brits are big on betting, and royal offspring tend to incite a tsunami of wagering activity. As of this moment, the odds for the second baby’s name heavily favor Alice, which currently stands at 2-1 at bookmaker William Hill , 7-2 at Paddy Power, and 3-1 at Betfair.
Alice has impeccable royal credentials, most notably as the name Queen Victoria gave her second daughter. Then there was the present Queen’s aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who died a decade ago at the age of 102, as well as the mother of Prince Philip. Not to mention that Alice, with its romantic and sweet storybook aura, is a name everybody loves.
Following behind Alice on the top betting sites are Elizabeth, Charlotte — the wife of George III, Victoria, and Alexandra — Edward VII’s Queen. This goes against the results of the Corgi race held by the Ladbrokes firm, in which the dog labeled Alexandra was the winner.
Kate Middleton and Prince William are already parents to toddler George. ((Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
As for the boys, Arthur, Henry and James are running a close race, all at 20-1 odds set by William Hill, while Paddy Power has Philip at 25-1. There have been two King Jameses of the United Kingdom and seven in Scotland — which would surely win it points north of the border. Arthur is a popular middle name in the royal family, worn as such by both Prince William and his father.
It’s always fun to take a look at some of the names with the worst odds on Betfair, BetVictor, Coral and Ladbrokes. This time around we have Stephanie at 80-1, Camilla at 100-1 (indeed), Aldona at 250-1, Chardonnay and Mercedes at 500-1; Trevor at 100-1, Joffrey at 250-1, Raheem, Ringo, Macbeth and Sepp at 500-1 and Wayne and Derek at 1000-1.
Additional odds have been given for the baby’s hair color, the day of birth and the date. The Coral agency is offering 3-1 odds that the color Kate will be wearing as she leaves the hospital is blue.
News of the baby’s birth will be delivered via a bulletin taken from the hospital to Buckingham Palace, where it will be placed on an easel at the palace gates. It will state the time of birth, and gender of the baby. But we’ll probably have to wait with baited breath for a few days for the announcement of the name.
