Why Louis is likely to have the same 'royal effect' on baby names as George and Charlotte

The wait is over, the name of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge‘s newborn son has finally been revealed.

The royal couple have named their third child Louis Arthur Charles, Kensington Palace revealed via Twitter today.

The prince will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge and is fifth in line to the throne, behind Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

No doubt the announcement of the name will trigger a flurry of little Louis on future pre-school registers.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time royal babies have had an impact on the popularity of baby names.

Little Louis’ big brother George and sister Charlotte have already proven that they have the golden touch with practically everything they wear turning into a trend. (Prince George even boosted lentil sales once!)

And their names are no exception.

Back in 2016 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and George had swiftly climbed to snatch the number three spot for boys following his birth in July 2013.

Having spent most of the previous years hovering just outside the top ten most popular boys names, the following year, in 2014, George was seventh and in 2015, it was fourth.

Royal fever also hit after Princess Charlotte was born in May 2015, with the name rising 13 places in one year to occupy 12th spot.

It made Charlotte one of the highest climbing names in 2016, with over 2,600 babies being named after the little princess that year.

Another soon-to-be royal who has seen her name spike in popularity is bride-to-be Meghan Markle.

Not only did has ‘Meghan Markle Effect‘ seen her wardrobe already contribute a cool £500 million to the economy, her moniker has also inspired the nation’s next generation of children.

Last year Mother and Baby reported that Meghan now ranks sixth in the top ten predicted names for girls in 2018.

So why do we love royal names so much?

“Just like a company given a Royal Warrant sees a sales boost, names given a Royal seal of approval see a popularity surge,” explains ChannelMum.com baby names expert SJ Strum. “Parents view Royal names as prestigious, thoughtful and timeless, which are desirable traits for any child to carry through life.

“The name George had plateaued in popularity in the 2000s, hovering around the 12^th to 16^th in the name charts, but since the birth of Prince George its soared to number 3,” she continues.

“Similarly, Charlotte has jumped 13 spots since 2015, the year she was born, to take 12^th place, and I predict it will climb even higher.”

“Every parent wants a name their child can be proud of, and unless you are vehemently anti-Royalist, a Royal name is always classic and fits well into any walk of life. Indeed you could even say a Royal name is a child’s crowning glory.”

But royals aren’t the only ones to have an influence on the popularity of baby names.

Last year parents gave the ultimate fan tribute by naming their babies after Game of Thrones.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that parents are taking some pretty big GoT namespo when it comes to choosing a moniker for their little one.

Arya has proven a popular choice for baby girls with 280 parents in England and Wales naming their daughters Arya in 2015 (an increase from the 244 named in 2012).

Meanwhile Mother of Dragons, Daenerys (played by Emilia Clarke) has inspired six families to name their little ones after the character and a further 68 under her pseudonym Khaleesi.

And baby naming experts also predicted that Corbyn would be one of the hottest names for newborns last year following a rise in popularity for the Labour Leader.

But, despite popular culture having a huge influence on the monikers we choose for our little ones, there’s one unusual aspect of the royal effect in that even the names they don’t pick seem to see a spike in popularity.

Just this morning people were speculating that the Duke and Duchess might have chosen the name Albert for their third baby, following a bit of website detective work by the Daily Mail.

So, we’re expecting to see a surge in Albert birth registrations in the coming months (despite the fact the moniker also has a rather risqué alternative meaning – Albert is also a genital piercing, just FYI.)

Arthur was also one of the predicted the leading boy’s names, with Philip sitting closely behind with bookmaker odds of 11/1, while at 13/1, Frederick and James were also top suggestions.

And while there was still a possibility that the Duchess may give birth to a girl, Alice was the front runner.

But Alice and Arthur were also popular guesses when Kate was pregnant with Charlotte with odds on Alice being reduced from 50:1 to 5:2.

And even though neither name was chosen, the monikers still climbed the popularity charts. While Alice jumped from 50 in 2009 to 17, in 2017, Arthur spiked to 30 from 93.

Of course, it could be that people bet on Alice and Arthur being royal baby name contenders because of their rise in popularity, but it’s more likely (and more fun) to believe that the royal effect, has taken, well, effect.

So let’s welcome Louis to the world shall we, and brace ourselves for an entire swathe of other little Louis across the globe.

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