Zara Tindall

The baby girl will be called Lena (pronounced Layna) Elizabeth.

They like to be different at Gatcombe

Lovely name.

Poor girl. She will have to tell people how to pronounce her name all the way through her life!

Not as bad as Eugenie though - which apparently should be pronounced, 'Use yer knee'

Great news.

My first son was 9lb 6. He’s 6’4” and not overweight. My grandson was the same weight. He’s 9 now and quite tall and slender. They both have siblings who were a sensible 7lbs something.

“Lena” is a diminutive of Helena, which in German would be further shortened to “Lenchen” (Laynchen)
So perhaps a nod to Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Helena who was, I think always known as Lenchen.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Helena_of_the_United_Kingdom

Why do people DO this? (Lena pronounced Layna)
Spell it Layna, or Laina; it is no good expecting people to be familiar with foreign pronunciations.
The Telegraph thinks it comes from Elena, Greek, a nod to Prince Philip?
It will be misspelled and mispronounced throughout her life, or more likely, she will be called Lenny.

Elena/Helena- same difference!

What about Siobhan, Niamh, Padraig, ecetcetc?

I'm not very keen, but this is not my DGC!
I prefer Helena

but then she could get called 'Hels'

What about Siobhan, Niamh, Padraig,
or Caoimhe?

Spell it Layna, or Laina; it is no good expecting people to be familiar with foreign pronunciations.
Why not? We are more globalised nowadays!

^ I like the fact that Zara and her brother have chosen pretty modern names for their children rather than the traditional ones favoured by some of the other Royals :Savannah, Isla and Mia.^
They like to be different at Gatcombe

Zara is rather an unconventional name and perhaps the first one in the Royal Family?

It is only people who see the written name who will get it wrong. Anyone she is introduced to or are told her name will know how to pronounce it.
I think it is a pretty name.

How do you pronounce that last one Jalima?

DD has spent her whole life with people not being able to pronounce her name - or in some cases tell what sex she was When she collected her PhD I did notice that the gentleman announcing the names not only pronounced hers correctly, but was able to read out the title of her thesis correctly (which was more than I could do!)

It's pronounced Queeva (Kweevah) annsixty
It's an Irish name

And Aiobheann? (Ave een)
I thought Catriona wasn't difficult (cat ree na) so why is it so often pronounced cat rone a?
And if it sounds like Kayleigh why spell it Callie?

A class of 5 year olds I taught recently included Gladys, Wilfred and Ernie. I felt like I was teaching my aunts and uncles?

I always smile when my DGC talk about their friend Albert.
I can't help saying"the lion ate Albert" but they haven't a clue about what I mean.

My grandson ( 6) plays rugby - his team has a Gilbert, Digby, Alfred , Arthur and George. I always think it sounds like a team of grandfathers !

My granddaughter (nearly 6) has friends called Albert, Edith, Stanley, Anne, Ivy and Margaret. It is rather nice to see Margaret come back into fashion. There were many Margarets when I was a child, along with Jean and Joan, which do not seem to have come back.

I like names to be fairly traditional, but as unusual
as possible within that limitation. I’m not keen on names like Savannah.

I felt like I was teaching my aunts and uncles

I've just been talking to a friend whose friend has just had a son. They are deliberating between Bertram - Bertie and Atticus - Atti ?
I love the name Seoras, as in 'sure as' which is Gaelic for George. DD decided against it as she felt she, and he, would be forever explaining how to pronounce and spell it!

My cousin has an Atticus ,always full name, no shortening and now Hermoinie.
He was surprised when I asked him if the parents were Harry Potter fans, he didn't know and hadn't made the connection

Times have certainly changed - I never dreamed that DGS would be mixing with Anouk, Noah, Zachary, Caleb and Matilda ?

I like the old fashioned names, but was rather surprised recently to find not one, but two four year old Dorothy's in my grandson's circle. Elsie, Esme, Polly, Martha, Edith, Daisy, Millie, Lillian, Rose and Ruby are all coming back into fashion; names my mother would say were the sort of names housemaids were given.
My son and daughter-in-law have just discovered their baby, due in November, is a girl. My daughter-in-law is a teacher so choosing a name is going to be difficult I think.

We have youngish Arthur Betty and Fred in one family, just need a Wilma and we've got the flintstones