With Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark’s first child together due in May – and most likely the name won’t be coming until the Christening, as per the Danish traditions, it may seem a bit premature to start guessing now. But the speculation of it is part of what makes it fun.
Some royal names can be guessed due to tradition – Prince Christian is an excellent example of that, and in similar vein, it seems likely that this, as of yet unborn, child will have either Christian or Frederik in its line of names if it is a boy.
What we do know is that royal Danish names, especially in the past two-three generations have usually contained four names. Princess Elisabeth and her brothers are a hold-up from earlier times, when there were a lot of royal aunts and uncles to be named for.
(For the record, Princess Elisabeth’s full name is: Elisabeth Caroline-Mathilde Alexandrine Helena Olga Thyra Feodora Estrid Margarethe Désirée, whereas her brothers are Ingolf Christian Frederik Knud Harald Gorm Gustav Viggo Valdemar Aage and Christian Frederik Franz Knud Harald Carl Oluf Gustav Georg Erik)
If it is a girl, it seems logical that Joachim and Marie will follow the pattern started by King Frederik and Queen Ingrid when they named their daughters.
First name, original
Second name, relative.
Third name, relative or original
Fourth name, Mother’s name.
Thus:
Margrethe
Alexandrine (Her paternal grandmother.)
Þórhildur (As Iceland was in an union with Denmark when she was born)
Ingrid
Benedikte
Astrid (for Queen Astrid of Belgium, a relative and close friend of Queen Ingrid)
Ingeborg (for Queen Astrid’s mother, a Danish princess)
Ingrid
Anne-Marie
Dagmar (A common name amongst the Danish princesses. Czarina Marie Feodorovna’s given name was Dagmar.)
Ingrid
Princess Benedikte followed this pattern with her daughters. However, Frederik and Mary broke slightly from this tradition with Princess Isabella, as the mother’s name is not in the name, but she is named for both her grandmothers and her great grandmother.
If it is a girl, a guess might be [orginal name] Margrethe Françoise Marie. Personally, I am hoping for Dagmar or Thyra, as I was for Isabella. Both are traditional names in the Danish royal history. So is Louise, for that matter, but there seems to be more than enough Louise’s out on the royal scene in this generation; it would be nice with a change.
For boys – Prince Joachim has already used the name of Prince Henrik in Prince Felix’ name, and it seems logical that Princess Marie’s father’s name, Alain, would be in the mix. Other than that, it is anybody’s guess. I’m partial to the old Danish royal names – Gorm, Harald and so on.
And with a third child, the name should fit in with the other two – but they are fairly eclectic already, so there shouldn’t be too much a problem there.
Also for reference.
According to the Danish statistical agency:
The ten most popular names for girls in Denmark for the first parts of 2008 were Emma, Freja, Caroline, Ida, Sofie, Mathilde, Anna, Laura, Sara and Lærke.
For boys, they were: Lucas, Mikkel, William, Oliver, Noah, Emil, Sebastian, Magnust, Frederik and Victor.
What names do you think likely, or unlikely for the child?