Best royal baby name ideas for girls

Other royal Catherines include:

• Catherine of Aragon - Henry VIII's 1st wife
• Catherine Howard - Henry's 5th wife
• Catherine Parr - Henry's 6th wife (he liked Catherines)
• Catherine of Braganza - Charles II's wife

Elizabeth

Two of England’s most famous Queens have been Elizabeth I and II. It can be shortened in many ways like Lizzie, Eliza, Beth, Libby and even Lilibet, the family nickname of Queen Elizabeth II that Harry and Meghan chose for their daughter, born in 2021.

Alice

There are a number of famous Princess Alices, among them:

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was married to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who was the son of George V and Mary of Teck. She passed away at the age of 102, in 2004.
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, born in 1843, was the 3rd of 9 children had by Queen Victoria. She was known to be passionate about supporting women's causes.
Prince Philip's mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg

Anne

The name Ann, which means “grace”, has been common among royalty across Europe for centuries. Confusingly, the original English spelling is Ann and the French spelling is Anne, although the latter is more popular in the UK now.

Queen Anne ruled from 1702 to 1714. King Henry VIII also married both Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleeves. The most famous royal Anne now is the King's sister, also known as Princess Royal.

Victoria

For many people, there is only one Queen Victoria – the formidable queen who ruled from 1837 to 1901.

It means “the victorious one” but with such a powerful legacy, will we see another Queen or even Princess Victoria in Britain?

In Sweden, Victoria is the name of their Crown Princess, who is next in line to the throne.

Charlotte

The Prince and Princess of Wales's daughter, born in 2015, is now arguably the most famous Princess Charlotte, but she's not the first. Another Princess Charlotte was born to George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, back in 1796.

She in turn was named for her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. If she sounds familiar (and you're not a history buff) then we're guessing you're a Bridgerton fan!

Beatrice

Beatrice is becoming a very popular baby name and can be shortened to Bea or Trixie. It meas “bringer of gladness”, which is rather nice.

The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, and Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, named their eldest daughter Beatrice.

Helena

Along with Helena of Troy, Helena was also one of Queen Victoria's daughters and means “bright and shining one”.

Margaret

The sister of Queen Elizabeth II was Princess Margaret.

We also had an early Queen Margaret (Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI in the 15th century) and before that Queen Margaret of Scotland in the 11th century. Henry VII's mother was the formidable matriarch Margaret Beaufort, and he named his eldest daughter after her.

A lovely name, it's said to mean "pearl".

Matilda

Not a name you'd immediately associate with royalty, Matilda means “little battle maiden”.

Although it might be more famous thanks to Roald Dahl’s book of the same name, it was also the name of a Queen of England, nicknamed “Matilda the Good” and also Empress Matilda.

Daughter of King Henry I, she fought hard to be the first female overall ruler of England but was never formally recognised as Queen. Her son, Henry II, later became King.

Jane

Not plain Jane for two of the most famous Queen Janes. The first is Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII - who became betrothed to the King just 24 hours after the beheading of Henry's previous wife Anne Boleyn.

The second, Lady Jane Grey, only reigned for 9 days in 1553, before powerful and envious officials imprisoned and later executed her.

Mary

Meaning the “star of the sea”, we've had a few queens named Mary.

Mary I was known as Bloody Mary and reigned from 1553-1558. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Mary Queen of Scots never made it to be Queen of England - and was kept away from the throne by her cousin Elizabeth I.

Mary II was married to King William in the 17th century (you know, William and Mary) but sadly died from smallpox. And then there was Mary Victoria, the Queen Consort of George V.

Diana

The name Diana means so much, to so many people, all thanks to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

It's been carried on through the recent royal family, thanks to her son Prince William and his wife Catherine, bestowing it upon Princess Charlotte, whose full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

Harry and Meghan's daughter Lilibet also has the middle name Diana.

Adela

An old-fashioned name, held by King Stephen’s mother in the 12th century. An interesting, unusual take on the more popular name Adele.

Louise

The name of another of Queen Victoria's daughters, along with Alice and Helena.

Alexandra

Prince George may have the middle name Alexander, but why couldn't a new Princess share the name with all but a letter change?

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Oglivy, is the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.

Charlene

Perhaps an unusual pick, but a very regal one indeed - best known as the name of Charlene, Princess of Monaco.

Charlene is a French baby name, which is said to mean simply 'a woman'.

Christina

Christina's a name commonly used in foreign royal families, such as Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Emma

Emma was the name of a once-Queen Consort of England. A classic, pretty name.

Caroline

Another long-lost name from the echelons of royal history.

Did you know that in the 1700s, there was a Princess Caroline of Great Britain? She was the daughter of King George II. Monaco also has a Princess Caroline, daughter of Rainier III and Grace Kelly.

Eugenie

The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, and Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, named their second daughter Eugenie.

Adrienne

Sweden's princess, born in March 2018, was named Adrienne. She is the daughter of Princess Madeleine.

Sofia

Sofia of Spain was Queen of Spain from 1974 until 2014, when her husband King Juan Carlos I abdicated in favour of their son.

Sofia, before marriage, was known as Sofia of Greece and Denmark. Sofia itself is a name of Greek origin, which means 'wisdom'.

In the 1600s, Russia was also ruled for a time by a Sophia.

Madeleine

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, is the youngest child of the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, and Queen Silvia.

Maxima

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is the obvious inspiration for this royal baby name. She has been the queen consort of Holland since April 2013. The name is of Latin origin, and can be shortened to Max.

Alexia

Daughter of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, born in 2005, this lovely regal name is certainly rather modern!

Aiko

The name Aiko (pronounced ah-ee-ko) is a beautiful Japanese name, meaning 'beloved child'. It is the name of Aiko, Princess Toshi, the only child of Crown Prince Narihuto and Crown Princess Masako of Japan.

Grace

A Hollywood name and a regal one, most famously belonging to Grace Kelly, an actress who became Princess Of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.

Amelia

Not only is Amelia one of the most popular baby names in England and Wales, it's also got a royal past.

Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom lived between 1783 and 1810, and was the 15th child of King George III.

Eleanor

There have been plenty of famous Eleanor's throughout the history of the British monarchy, particularly in the 1000 - 1200AD period.

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Elizabeth Atkin

Catherine