Just call me Harry. (Everything Harry & Meghan)

[manhn]

Tons of parents post on social media about the name they gave to their newborns. I would not criticize their choice, if I for whatever reason had a reason to be critical.

 

[taf2002]

So, we can't discuss it and have an opinion on it? Much of what we talk about here or in other topics are done deals but we still talk about it.

Of course it can be discussed. But a lot of the posts here are on what they "should" have chosen, as though the poster is somehow the expert on the subject. Plus would any name chosen have been universally approved? The detractors will still come out of the woodwork to criticize. Ya know haters gonna hate.

FYI many of the news stories claim Harry discussed Lilibet with the Queen & she approved. So apparently she wasn't "blindsided".

 

[antmanb]

I think Lili is pretty. Lillibet does sort of sound like your great grandmother's nickname (which it is lol), but then again Archie Harrison is really old fashioned too.

If you looked at their names, Lillibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor and Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor sound older than "Meghan Markle" and "Harry Windsor."

I think that's generally how first names tend to cycle? Isn't the received wisdom that names tend to cycle every hundred years because every generation wants to pick something unique (often honouring family names in middle names) so they won't pick from the pool of popular names from their own generation, or their parents' generation. Their grandparents' generation sounds too "old lady/old man" so they start using names from the generation before that (which have been discounted by the next generations for these exact reasons) and so it goes round.

 

[VGThuy]

Wake me up when Agnes and Maude come back.

 

[MsZem]

Wake me up when Agnes and Maude come back.

There's a member of the extended BRF named Maud! Maud Windsor is Princess Eugenie's goddaughter and was in her wedding party.

 

[quartz]

I love old fashioned names. Maude is awesome.
I don’t expect my own old fashioned name to become popular again anytime soon.

 

[skategal]

Wake me up when Agnes and Maude come back.

Angus is a popular boys name where I live.

Haven’t heard of Agnes yet.

I personally find “Ang” and “Ag” names hard to pronounce even though English is my mother language.

 

[VGThuy]

There's a member of the extended BRF named Maud! Maud Windsor is Princess Eugenie's goddaughter and was in her wedding party.

That's actually really cute. Maud. It sounds regal.

Angus is a popular boys name where I live.

Haven’t heard of Agnes yet.

I personally find “Ang” and “Ag” names hard to pronounce even though English is my mother language.

Angus reminds me of the butler in charge in Upstairs, Downstairs. Also, it reminds me of steak, and now I'm hungry.

I love old fashioned names. Maude is awesome.
I don’t expect my own old fashioned name to become popular again anytime soon.

Maybe it already is!

This is U.S. centric but you can search popularity here:

Popular Baby Names

Home Page for Baby Names

www.ssa.gov

 

[canbelto]

I once knew a girl who said she never forgave her parents for naming her "Esther Ruth." She said that's a name you give to an 85 year old.

 

[Tesla]

Wake me up when Agnes and Maude come back.

My daughter's middle name is Agnes, after my maternal grandmother.

 

[skategal]

I once knew a girl who said she never forgave her parents for naming her "Esther Ruth." She said that's a name you give to an 85 year old.

Esther is making a comeback.

I’ve heard that one a fair bit recently.

 

[Karen-W]

Esther is making a comeback.

I’ve heard that one a fair bit recently.

Yes, I have an acquaintance who named her first daughter Esther a few years ago - second daughter was just born last month and is named Abigail (which has been popular/trendy for at least the last 10-15 years).

Names are very cyclical, I'd agree, though I'm not seeing a lot of Loises or Wilmas (my grandmothers' names) yet - probably the next generation will settle on those, lol.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I have ancestors named Beulah, Myrtle and Gladys, all popular for a short time about 1915-1925. Haven't seen those names come back (yet).

 

[skategal]

One of my grandmother’s names was Winnie (Winnifred).

I’ve even heard that coming back.

Completely coincidentallly, we have a pet rabbit named Winnie (Winchester).

He was rehomed to us and he came with the name.

My parents are completely confused by it and continue to refer to him as she/her.

 

[canbelto]

I wonder when the hyphened names like Donna-Mae, Barbara-Ann, etc will come back.

 

[skategal]

These posts are cracking me up as several are hitting bang-on the names of my female relatives.

 

[skatingfan5]

None of the girls I knew with “double” names (Betty Lou, Mary Sue, Mary Catherine, etc.) ever had a hyphen. Maybe that is generational?

ETA: Sorry for the messed up quote! Was responding to canbelto.

 

[quartz]

My name is not in the top 1000, it was more popular 20 years before it was given to me, and hasn’t been since, of course - it’s a double name without the hyphen. Never the cool kid, but it goes well with my married last name. That’s about it.

 

[Coco]

Did someone say MAUDE?

Maude theme: and then there's Maude

maude tv show theme

youtu.be

 

[overedge]

The stories I've seen online say that Harry asked the Queen if the baby could be named after her, but they don't say specifically that "Lilibet" was the name that was discussed.

One story said that Prince Philip used to call the Queen "Cabbage". They could have gone with that one instead, it being all organic and green and healthy

 

[VGThuy]

The stories I've seen online say that Harry asked the Queen if the baby could be named after her, but they don't say specifically that "Lilibet" was the name that was discussed.

One story said that Prince Philip used to call the Queen "Cabbage". They could have gone with that one instead, it being all organic and green and healthy

The story I read that said they didn’t specially say “Lilibet” was conjecture from a “royal historian” who was ranting on Good Morning Britain about how rude and demeaning Harry and Megan were. She had no proof or backing for such claims but seemed to have a real problem with H&M and looked for anything to add to her argument, even things she imagined. I’m sure that’s where those stories are coming from.

 

[el henry]

Harry and Meghan sent out a birth announcement via social media, as many do. That doesn't mean they are inviting criticism or commentary for the names.

If I am 35 years younger and announcing my firstborn "Jason Brown Toller Cranston Henry", I'm not inviting your opinions on his name, I am informing you.

J.B.T.C. for short

 

[skategal]

The stories I've seen online say that Harry asked the Queen if the baby could be named after her, but they don't say specifically that "Lilibet" was the name that was discussed.

It seems really unlikely that the Queen wouldn’t have asked specifically.

If she didn’t I would have to say that she is in much worse shape mentally than we have been led to believe.

If she asked and they didn’t tell her, she could have reneged her permission.

Plus if they wouldn’t tell her when asked, or played switcharoo with the names,
it would mean that they are much more a dysfunctional family than we have been led to believe.

 

[canbelto]

If it had been a boy and they named the boy Bubbikins (Philip's childhood name) that would have been funny ...

 

[MacMadame]

Her parents have settled in the US permanently.

I don't think they've said that. They are here now but could move at any time.

I was wondering who the first would be.

I wasn't.

 

[once_upon]

Wake me up when Agnes and Maude come back.

I've heard several people naming girls Maude and Anged.

One of my grandmother’s names was Winnie (Winnifred).

I’ve even heard that coming back.

Completely coincidentallly, we have a pet rabbit named Winnie (Winchester).

He was rehomed to us and he came with the name.

My parents are completely confused by it and continue to refer to him as she/her.

Jimmy Fallon has a daughter named Winnie

 

[overedge]

The story I read that said they didn’t specially say “Lilibet” was conjecture from a “royal historian” who was ranting in Good Morning Britain about how rude and demeaning Harry and Megan were. She had no proof or backing for such claims but seemed to have a real problem with H&M and looked for anything to add to her argument, even things she imagined. I’m sure that’s where those stories are coming from.

There's more than one story saying the same thing.

Prince Harry Sought the Queenâs Blessing Before Naming His Daughter After Her

Lilibet Diana, named for the two most famous royals of the 20th century, will “never escape their lengthy shadows,” according to one royal expert.

www.vanityfair.com

Prince Harry Spoke With Queen Elizabeth About Baby Lilibet Ahead of Her Birth Announcement

The queen knew before the world.

www.elle.com

It's also interesting that these "Harry asked the Queen" stories are emerging after the criticism of the name, not when the name itself was announced. Damage control IMO.

 

[skategal]

There's more than one story saying the same thing.

Prince Harry Sought the Queenâs Blessing Before Naming His Daughter After Her

Lilibet Diana, named for the two most famous royals of the 20th century, will “never escape their lengthy shadows,” according to one royal expert.

www.vanityfair.com

Prince Harry Spoke With Queen Elizabeth About Baby Lilibet Ahead of Her Birth Announcement

The queen knew before the world.

www.elle.com

It's also interesting that these "Harry asked the Queen" stories are emerging after the criticism of the name, not when the name itself was announced. Damage control IMO.

I think anyone with a brain would assume that they asked the Queen and got approval.

But apparently that was too much of a jump in logic for the H&M haters so of course they are going to shut that down
as it makes all parties look bad.

 

[VGThuy]

There's more than one story saying the same thing.

Prince Harry Sought the Queenâs Blessing Before Naming His Daughter After Her

Lilibet Diana, named for the two most famous royals of the 20th century, will “never escape their lengthy shadows,” according to one royal expert.

www.vanityfair.com

Prince Harry Spoke With Queen Elizabeth About Baby Lilibet Ahead of Her Birth Announcement

The queen knew before the world.

www.elle.com

It's also interesting that these "Harry asked the Queen" stories are emerging after the criticism of the name, not when the name itself was announced. Damage control IMO.

That Vanity Fair article made no such allegation that Harry and Megan didn't tell QEII that they were going to name the child "Lilibet". They did quote another "royal biographer" Sally Bedell Smith who said:

Bedell Smith suggests, though, that the named “Elizabeth” might have been more appropriate. “Harry and Meghan could have paid the Queen a far more dignified tribute by calling their daughter her great-grandmother’s proper name, Elizabeth,” she said. “They would have been even better off calling the baby Diana Elizabeth. Nobody could possibly have objected to that. In fact, paying tribute to the baby’s late grandmother that way would have been widely applauded. I would expect the choice has not gone down well in royal circles. It’s lucky Harry and Meghan have said at the outset they will call their daughter ‘Lili.’”

Basically, Smith just gave her own opinion that the name Lilibet was inappropriate and then goes on to what they should have named their child instead and how it would have been "widely applauded."

Then Smith goes further and states this:

Bedell Smith continued, “In today’s tense climate, when everyone is walking on eggshells with Harry and Meghan, I can’t imagine that the Queen had any choice but to accept the name they presented to her, even if she felt—as would be completely understandable—that it breaches her privacy with a suggestion of inappropriate intimacy.”

So basically, it doesn't even address ANYONE or any talk about how the Queen didn't know the child would be named Lilibet. It only quotes one woman who has an active imagination and let her run with it with her whole imagined story that H&M chose it and the Queen felt she had no choice but to accept it even if she herself didn't like it and felt it breached her privacy because she's walking on eggshells with H&M since they created such a tense climate. Wow. I had no idea H&M had so much power over her.

These royal biographers are trashier than tabloid journalists.

Now onto Elle,

It says the complete opposite of the assertion that QEII didn't know H&M were going to name their daughter "Lilibet" and was "blindsided" because she was only told they were naming the daughter after her so she assumed she was going to be named "Elizabeth".

The first paragraph states:

A source close to the Sussexes confirmed to ELLE.com that Harry spoke with his grandmother about Lili’s birth in advance of Sunday’s announcement. Buckingham Palace aides also confirmed to the Telegraph that the Queen was “aware” Meghan and Harry planned to name their daughter after her family nickname prior to their public announcement.

It later discusses how Harry has said that he and QEII have spoken more with one another in the last few months than they had in the last few years:

In their March interview with Oprah, Harry revealed, “I've spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have [in] many, many years. My grandmother and I have a really good relationship and understanding, and I have deep respect for her.”

So I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that those two articles stated that QEII had no idea the child would be named Lilibet.

 

[Wyliefan]

Queen Elizabeth saw her life turned into a hugely popular Netflix series. Does she have any privacy left to breach?