How do Royal Family pick baby names? Kate admits she felt 'pressure' naming her children
In the Royal Family, names are a big deal. Rich with history and steeped in tradition – particularly for those higher up the line of succession – so it's no surprise that Kate has felt the pressure when it came to thinking of baby names.
During an engagement on Wednesday to the Royal Surrey County Hospital — one of her first as Princess of Wales — Kate opened up about the difficulties she faced choosing names for her three children.
Amy Stubbs, the deputy director of midwifery, said that Kate confided in her that picking their names "felt like quite a big pressure" because "the world was waiting for them to name their children".
Ultimately, the Prince and Princess of Wales decided to give their children their "favourite names", she explained.
In recent years, some members of the Royal Family have broken away from tradition and chosen more unusual names for their children.
Princess Eugenie opted for August, which on the surface seems like a quirky choice. However, it was in fact a nod Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. August is a modern take on his middle name Augustus.
Peter Phillips and his sister Zara also went their own way, with Phillips and wife Autumn choosing Savannah and Isla for their two girls and Zara and husband Mike opting for Mia, Lena and Lucas
Part of this has to do with the fact that they aren't working royals and it's very unlikely that their children will play a major role in monarchy duties in the future.
For William and Kate, as heirs to the throne, it was expected for them to stick with tradition more closely.
Do baby names need the monarch's approval?
The Royal Family don't exactly have to get permission to give their children a particular name, but it is said that they are strongly inclined to listen to the opinion of the monarch.
Given how much the family respected the late Queen Elizabeth II, if she really hadn't been keen on a name, they may well have gone another way.
Prince Harry and Meghan decided to call their daughter Lilibet, which was the Queen's family nickname as a child.
When reports claimed that they hadn't consulted the Queen about this choice, their spokesperson quickly corrected this, saying: "The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement — in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called.
"During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used that name."
Since Queen Elizabeth died, there haven't been any new arrivals in the House of Windsor, but according to Hello! Charles has already played an important role in naming royal babies.
When his sister Anne gave birth to her daughter Zara in 1981, it was Charles who suggested her name. Reportedly, this was due to the nature of her birth, which was "rather sudden".
The Greek meaning of Zara is "bright as the dawn" which leads some people to believe Zara's name was also a nod to Prince Philip's heritage.
With such a successful choice behind him, the rest of the family may well be keen to get the new King's opinion on any potential name choices.
Why do the Royal Family often use so many middle names?
Regularly, members of the Royal Family have multiple middle names, which often are family names honouring a relative.
Kate and William chose the middle names Alexander Louis for their eldest son Prince George. These are said to be in honour of both the late Queen and Lord Mountbatten.
William also has Louis as one of his middle names. George is itself, of course, a name rich with royal history: there have been six King Georges, the last being the late Queen's father.
Even those royals who have chosen less traditional first names, have often opted to pay tribute to their family members using the middle names.
Eugenie for instance chose the middle names Philip — in honour of her grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh — and Hawke as a nod to her an ancestor of her husbands.
Lena Tindall's middle name is Elizabeth — given how close Zara was with her grandmother, it's no surprise she chose this traditional royal name.
Overall, three of the late Queen's grandchildren were given her name as a middle name, and five of her great-grandchildren. Both William and Harry have used Diana as a tribute to their late mother as their daughters' middle names.
Regnant names
For those who will one day take the throne, multiple middle names have another function, which may have added to the pressure for Kate and William when making their decisions.
The monarch can choose any of their names — first or one of the middle names — as their regnant name. This is the name they will officially use as king or queen.
Both Charles and Queen Elizabeth opted to use their first names, but the Queen's father decided not to use his. Albert — or Bertie as he was nicknamed — was known as King George VI once he ascended to the throne.
