My husband and I are expecting our first kiddo in December. We don't know what we are having and are keeping it a grand surprise. We are planning on going in with 3 boy and 3 girl names and meeting the little one before finalizing. My question is for boy names, George is on our long list and a strong contender for the final 3. Not only is it a sweet name but it's also the name of my husbands grandfather. I don't believe in hoarding baby names but now am worried its a royal name and will be way too popular come December. None of the names on even our long list are in the top 50. Now, this won't for sure be the name of our child, but I'm tempted to scratch it completely. What are your thoughts?
Thank you!!
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Isn’t the big surprise so fun? I suspect this is part of the reason people “don’t find out” – so they can walk around with more name options and allow themselves more debate and theorize about what will happen if it’s a boy but a small boy, versus a girl but a big girl, and if she has hair or not or etc.
So as it happens, my feelings on George are similarly weighted. Do you live in a small community? Is it full of Brits? (This may, of course be a larger factor if you live in England.) Are they all waving their tea towels and dabbing their eyes at the Royal Birth and talking about ‘ow sweet ‘ee is?
No? Then I think you’re fine. Yes, I just sketched a gross stereotype, but it’s because I think those are the only people who would think that naming a baby George is a royal-loving thing to do, instead of a Harry Potter or a Greek or a we-just-love-the-name thing.
Similarly, I think George would have caused more of a revolution a generation ago. Yes, there were a bunch of boys named William when the prince was born – but, if you can believe it, that was a time when the celebrity baby culture didn’t really exist, and when the royals meant something different than they do now. Even taking all that into account, there wasn’t suddenly a spate of baby Harrys, you know?
My last point is that I think the royal name is much more indicative of what’s already going on in naming culture than it ever would have been before. I mean, Kate has the internet too, you know? She can also use Nameberry. And so the fact that more and more people are choosing baby names from 100 years ago fits with what the royals have always done.
It’s fine if their having chosen George means you’ve gone off it a bit – it happens, kind of like when the mean girl in grade 4 changes your perspective on the name Amanda. But don’t automatically assume there’s going to be a rash of young Georges.
