Will Prince Louis inspire a baby-naming trend?
The wait is over, and the name of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s newborn son has finally been revealed.
The royal couple have named their third child Louis Arthur Charles, Kensington Palace revealed via Twitter Friday.
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 boys named Louis.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time royal babies have had an impact on the popularity of baby names.
The newborn’s big brother, George, and sister, Charlotte, have already proved 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 — in the U.K., at least.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte were followed by a spike in popularity for those names.
The 2016 ONS report — the most recent on file — listed George as the third most popular name for boys in England and Wales.
That’s significantly up from the 10th-place spot it had in 2013; the prince was born in July of that year. By 2014 the name George was seventh, and in 2015 it was fourth. (In the U.S. from 2013 to 2014, it jumped 24 places.)
Royal fever also hit after Princess Charlotte was born in May 2015, with the name rising 13 places in one year to occupy the 12th spot in her homeland. (Stateside, Charlotte has been in the top 10 since 2014 and currently stands as the eighth most popular name for girls.)
It made Charlotte one of the highest-climbing names in 2016, with more than 2,600 babies being named after the little princess that year.
Another soon-to-be royal who has seen her name rise in popularity is bride-to-be Meghan Markle.
Not only has the “Meghan Markle effect” led to outfits she wears being sold out, her moniker has also inspired the nation’s next generation of children.
Last year, U.K. parenting resource Mother & Baby reported that Meghan now ranks sixth in the top 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 S.J. Strum. “Parents view royal names as prestigious, thoughtful, and timeless, which are desirable traits for any child to carry through life.
“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,” she added. “Indeed, you could even say a royal name is a child’s crowning glory.”
If that’s true, we’d better brace ourselves for a Louis invasion. Currently, the name is a relatively low No. 298 in terms of boys’ names for 2018 in the U.S. In England and Wales, it stood at No. 71 in the 2016 ONS report.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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