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Boris Johnson and wife Carrie second baby name: Pronunciation, meaning and origins

Watch: Boris Johnson reveals name of baby daughter

Boris and Carrie Johnson have revealed the name of their baby daughter, born on 9 December.

The prime minister shared today that they have decided to name their daughter Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson.

According to a private social media post by Carrie Johnson, the name Romy has been chosen in a nod to her aunt, Rosemary, while Iris is from the Greek, meaning rainbow.

The couple have also chosen to give their daughter the middle name Charlotte after the PM's late mother, who died earlier this year.

Read more: Pregnant Carrie Johnson champions British brands while supporting PM at Tory conference

Boris Johnson and Carrie Johnson have revealed the name of their baby girl. (Getty Images)
Boris Johnson and Carrie Johnson have revealed the name of their baby girl. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile in a video shared to ITV news Twitter account Johnson also revealed what the parents had decided to name their new arrival.

"She's going to be called Romy," said.

In the clip, Johnson revealed the pronunciation of the name would be 'Rome-ee' and not 'Rom-ee' as may have been assumed.

Commenting on the decision to name their daughter Romy, SJ Strum, baby names expert for Channel Mum and the Baby Names Envy podcast told Yahoo UK: “Romy is a thoroughly modern name and one the fastest risers of last year – up a huge 58 places in the baby name charts.

"It hits two key trends for 2022 as it is both gender neutral and fittingly for eco-campaigner Carrie, it is a ‘hidden nature’ name, as it means ‘dew of the ocean.’

"The middle name Iris means rainbow and has been increasingly popular with parents for pandemic babies, as it celebrates the rainbow places in windows during lockdown and the symbol of key workers and the NHS.”

Of course it may be that the reference to a rainbow could reflect the fact that the couple consider their daughter to be a 'Rainbow baby', as the mum-of-two described her pregnancy earlier this year.

A rainbow baby means a child expected after the loss of a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal birth.

When announcing she was expecting her second child, Johnson referred to the face she had suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage earlier this year.

"Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas," she wrote on Instagram.

“At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken. I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves.

“Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well.

“I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too.”

Read more: Won't wait to marry like Boris and Carrie? The rise of the micro-wedding

Boris and Carrie Johnson in the garden of 10 Downing Street after their wedding earlier this year. (Getty Images)
Boris and Carrie Johnson in the garden of 10 Downing Street after their wedding earlier this year. (Getty Images)

The prime minister and wife Carrie shared the news of their daughter's arrival earlier this month. In a statement shared with the press, a spokeswoman for the couple said: "The Prime Minister and Mrs Johnson are delighted to announce the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital earlier today. Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support."

The couple already share a son together, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, who was born last April.

Their first born son was named after Johnson’s grandfather, Wilfred, and her grandfather, Lawrie.

The name Nicholas was selected in honour of two doctors, Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart, who saved the prime minister’s life when he was battling the coronavirus in hospital last month.

Read more: Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds name baby Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas

Boris Johnson and wife Carrie after delivering his keynote speech during the Conservative Party conference at Manchester Central Convention Complex on October 6, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)
Boris Johnson and wife Carrie after delivering his keynote speech during the Conservative Party conference at Manchester Central Convention Complex on October 6, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

Other celebrities - and celebrity children - named Romy

The prime minister's new arrival shares a name with one of director Sofia Coppola's children: Romy Mars.

The 15-year-old teen - who last year achieved fame in her own right by starring in a Marc Jacobs campaign - is 50-year-old Coppola's eldest child with husband Thomas Mars.

The pair have a second daughter, Cosima.

Austrian actress Romy Schneider also boasts the same first name as Johnson's youngest.

Some might also remember the name from the comedy Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, which was a hit in the 90s.

Director Sofia Coppola, photographed at the Chanel Metiers D'Art 2021-2022 show December 07, 2021 in Paris, also has a child named Romy. (Getty Images)
Director Sofia Coppola, photographed at the Chanel Metiers D'Art 2021-2022 show December 07, 2021 in Paris, also has a child named Romy. (Getty Images)

Origins of the name 'Romy'

According to the baby naming website Nameberry the moniker Romy is a girl's name of German origin. In Spanish-speaking countries, Romy is also a diminutive of Romina, and was very popular in the eighties and early nineties.

Babynames says the name Romy is primarily a gender-neutral name of German origin that means Rosemary or Person From Rome.

“Romy is a German name meaning "the herb Rosemary." It is also a female form of Roman,” the site explains.

The name for the herb came from the Latin ‘ros marinus’ which is said to mean ‘Sea Dew’ and refers to the clouded blue colour of the leaves, the site continues.

Popularity of the name 'Romy'

There seems to have been something of a rise in the popularity of the moniker of late, according to the website UKbabynames.com.

While there were just 80 recorded births of little Romys last year, ranking it 510 out of 5591 monikers in popularity, since 2013 there has been a steady rise in parents opting to call their child Romy.

Watch: Boris and Carrie Johnson announce arrival of baby girl