It raced to the top of the guessing charts almost as soon as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their were expecting a baby and as the wait for the arrival of the new seventh in line to the throne enters its final stages, it’s still number one. A new survey has shown that Diana is the top pick as the name for Harry and Meghan’s bundle of joy.
That is, of course, if they welcome a girl. However, the fact that Diana and other female names are being consistently picks shows that the great expectations are that Harry and Meghan will have a daughter. A poll by Royal Central found a rather sizable majority thinks Harry will soon be outnumbered by women in the Sussex household with 69% of the 706 respondents saying Baby Sussex is a girl.
Back to the names. This latest backing for Diana as the pick of the parents to be comes from a You Gov Realtime poll which asked respondents what they would like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to name their first child. They got answers from 2,121 people and once the don’t knows were taken out, 20% favoured Diana, in honour of Harry’s late mother. Close behind was Grace (18%) and Isabella (12%) came in third. The top five was rounded off by Victoria (10%) and Alice and Alexandra (both 9%).
For boys, the answers are less clear cut – as they have been with the bookies, too, as expectations focus on the arrival of a daughter. Top boys’ pick in the YouGov poll was James (17%) followed by Alexander (13%). Oliver (12%), Arthur (9%) and Philip (8%) complete the male top five.
It’s worth bearing in mind that this wasn’t a free for all. Those who took part were given a list of names and asked to choose which they would most like to see as the pick of the royal parents to be. A similar survey, carried out in 2013 before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had their first baby, also saw James as top pick for a boy on 19% with George in second on 14% followed by Louis (10%). The favourite girl’s names were Alexandra and Grace (both on 13%)
But before you start convincing yourself that Meghan and Harry will name their daughter Diana, take another look at the figures. This latest survey found that 63% of people didn’t know or didn’t want to express an opinion meaning the pick comes from around one third of those asked (in 2013, that figure was 44%).
We’ll find out in due course – Meghan and Harry’s baby is due at the end of April and Royal Central will bring you the latest news as it happens.
