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Sweden

What’s in a name? Sweden’s new royal Prince Julian Herbert Folke

julian

Princess Sofia of Sweden gave birth to her third child on Friday at 11.19 am at Danderyd Hospital. King Carl XVI Gustaf revealed the name of his two-day-old grandson this morning in a cabinet meeting with the Prime Minister.

The new royal’s names are Julian Herbert Folke, and he is the Duke of Halland. So, where did his names come from?

The name Julian was selected by Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia for the simple reason that they liked it. It does not have any family links. In 2020, the name Julian ranked 74th in Swedish names, so it is not an overly popular name in the Scandinavian country either.

The middle name Herbert honours Princess Sofia’s late grandfather, who went by Herbert. Information Manager at the Royal Court, Margareta Thorgen, told Svenskdam: “The name Herbert in Prince Julian’s name is after Princess Sofia’s grandfather, who was named Herbert in his middle name.”

The name Folke is after the King and Count Folke Bernadotte. Folke is one of the King’s middle names, and he was named after the Count, who was a World War II hero that saved many Jews and non-Jews from the Nazis. Learn more about Folke Bernadotte’s heroism here.

With the little royal’s middle names, Carl Philip and Sofia have paid tribute to beloved family members while also giving him an ‘unroyal’ first name – fitting as he does not have the Royal Highness style and will not have the pressure of representing the Royal Family as he becomes an adult.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.