After the Scottish Stuart dynasty took the crown in 1603, new royal names like Charles and James became popular. But the pool of acceptable names was so small it could cause trouble for royal parents who had big families. When Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia’s 12th child was born, her parents were at a loss over what to name her.
“I can well believe that my birth caused them little satisfaction,” wrote Sophia, Electress of Hanover, per Harris. “They were even puzzled to find a name and godparents for me, as all the kings and princes of consideration had already performed this office for the children that came before me. The plan was adopted of writing various names on slips of paper and casting lots for the one which I should bear…”
When Sophia’s son George inherited the English throne in 1714, a new set of Germanic royal names became popular in England. The Hanover dynasty would popularize many royal names, some still used to this day, including George, Charlotte, Amelia, and Caroline. But George III and Queen Charlotte would also give their large brood names that have fallen out of fashion, like Augustus, Adolphus, and Octavius.
According to Harris, when Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, she was determined to choose names for her children that would distance the royal family from her dissolute Hanoverian line. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, would name a number of their nine children after people they were close to—Prince Leopold was named after their mutual uncle, and Princess Louise after Prince Albert’s mother. Queen Victoria chose to name her daughter Princess Alice after discussing with Lord Melbourne, the former British prime minister, what name would be the most attractive.
But Queen Victoria would not be so lenient when it came to her grandchildren’s names. She expected to be consulted on, or informed of, what their names would be, and was often displeased with the results. According to Harris, she was obsessed with keeping her and the late Albert’s names alive. Victoria was particularly irked when her daughter Victoria (Vicky), the future empress of Germany, chose to name her eldest daughter Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte, but called her Charlotte.
“I do hope one of your daughters, if you have any more will be called Victoria, so that there may be the 4 generations of Victorias,” the queen wrote her daughter in irritation, per Harris.
Queen Victoria’s children and grandchildren often acceded to her wishes. “There were so many Victorias among the queen’s granddaughters that they were differentiated by nicknames such as Toria (Bertie’s second daughter, Princess Victoria of Wales), Moretta (Vicky’s second daughter, Princess Viktoria of Prussia), and Ducky (Alfred’s second daughter, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha),” Harris writes.
Queen Elizabeth II was named after her mother, Elizabeth. It was a surprise when Elizabeth II, a dutiful traditionalist, named her first child Charles because she liked the name. The name Charles had fallen out of favor in the British royal family after the Stuart King Charles I was beheaded in 1649.
