- Children are not replicants. Naming people after relatives gives them a persona before developing their own. Both girls and boys need to have their own journey in life and that means creating the mystique associated with their names. Diana had many virtues and each and every one would be nearly impossible to emulate altogether. That's what made her so special.
Girl baby names: Beatrice, Mary, Eugenie, Victoria, Helena, Anne, Louise, Alice.
Boy baby names: Charles, Philip, Arthur, Alexander, Henry, Charles, Albert, David, Christian, Edward, Anthony, Richard
So now that we have all this information, what should William and Kate name their baby girl?
My suggestions based on tradition*:
Louisa Victoria
Mary-Elizabeth Alice
Marie Caroline
Victoria Frances
Elizabeth Leona
Julia Marie
*substitute Diana as any second or third name
Suggestions based on trending baby names:
Charlotte Amelia
Chloe Elizabeth
Adalyn Sophia
Lily Caroline
Emilia Violet
Elsa Marie
Suggestions based on popular baby names over the last 100 years:
Mary Patricia
Elizabeth Jennifer
Linda Susanne
Jessica Margaret
Sarah Dorothy
Linda Barbara
Suggestions based on popular baby names over the last two years:
Emma Sophia
Emily Isabelle
Mia Abigail
Elizabeth Madison
Olivia Ava
So to summarize, what name is consistent among recommendations? Only the most obvious: Elizabeth, Prince William's grandmother and the last two great queens of England. My second traditional choice is Louisa, a female -- more trendy -- version of Louis, used in several royal names over the last century. My recommendation based on heart: Frances (Diana's middle name and Kate's grandfather's middle name (Francis). My recommendation based on trend and the new millennium? Adalyn.
So Louisa Elizabeth Frances or Adalyn Diana Elizabeth, we will welcome you to the world with open arms. As we do your brother, we the world will love you no matter what. After all, as Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."
Dr. Mallory Moss is a board-certified nurse practitioner in psychiatry and a founding partner of BabyNames.com. Since its launch in 1996, BabyNames.com has been heralded as one of the top parenting sites on the internet. Dr. Moss' passions lay in community-based mental health and destigmatizing mental health diagnoses. Dr. Moss was also the editor of the popular online parenting advice column, "Ask Grandma Maggie."