The Christian Tradition Continues

The son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was christened on January 21st. Born on October 15th 2005, his name was a secret, for reasons unknown, until his mother spoke them at the moment of his baptism - Christian Valdemar Henri John.

I had previously written about his name in my post The Naming of a Prince. I don't envy the parents who must have felt pressure to continue the tradition that alternates Christian and Frederik for future kings of Denmark. They said the name had been decided for some time and that it wasn't a difficult choice. But I disagree. What if they didn't like the name Christian? What if they had wanted to call him Frederik? Maybe these thoughts were running through their minds. We'll never know. In the end they decided to go with Christian, thus avoiding upsetting the order of things. But really, there are plenty of other perfectly good monikers available, just read the World of Royalty Blog, which mentions the various Danish names the couple could have chosen.

I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed by the choice of Christian. It's a nice name but it was no surprise. Not to mention a complete lack of originality. Of course I would have bended too but still, isn't part of the fun of choosing a name dashing the hopes of everyone around you? Especially people who make unsubtle suggestions. Sure people discussed the possibility of 'Gorm', highly unlikely but maybe it was on their list. Erik and Christopher would have been modern choices with precedent and Hans has a good ring to it in the year that celebrated the 200th birthday of Hans Christian Andersen. I'm not a fan of choosing a name that is currently fashionable, so 'Canute' would have made the prince stand out amongst his prep school peers. Don't feel so bad, his bodyguards would have protected him.

Hopefully the Prince and Princess will have more leeway in choosing the name of their second child. If it's a boy they could go with some of the names I've mentioned above. If it's a girl, how about Marilyn??

Just a suggestion.

© Marilyn Braun 2006