The Twilight Language of George Alexander Louis

The royal baby is named George Alexander Louis, the Clarence House has announced. Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, name their baby George Alexander Louis. He will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

It is generally acknowledged that the current son of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, when he becomes king, will be known as King George VII. There is no direct connection between the first name given to princes and what name they will use as kings. The new Prince George might be King Alexander or King Louis someday, for example.

He also may have a pet name around the castle, but that will be kept private for some time. The word formed by his initials, GAL, probably will not be used as a nickname - and one wonders if much forethought was given about this combination.

Here are the meanings behind George Alexander Louis.

George

George is from the Greek name Γεωργιος (Georgios) which was derived from the Greek word γεωργος (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γη (ge) "earth" and εργον (ergon) "work."

Saint George

Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Palestine who was martyred during the persecutions of emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art. Initially Saint George was primarily revered by Eastern Christians, but returning crusaders brought stories of him to Western Europe and he became the patron of England, Portugal, Catalonia and Aragon. 

The name was rarely used in England until the German-born George I came to the British throne in the 18th century. Five subsequent British kings have borne the name.

Other famous bearers include two kings of Greece, the composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732-1797), and the Pacific explorer George Vancouver (1757-1798). This was also the pen name of authors George Eliot (1819-1880) and George Orwell (1903-1950), real names Mary Anne Evans and Eric Arthur Blair respectively.

Alexander

Alexander is the Latinized form of the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek αλεξω (alexo) "to defend, help" and ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. 

Alexander the Great

The most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, King of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Louis

Louis is the French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. 

One form of the name, as the words Lewis and Louveteau, which, in their original meaning, import two very different things, have in Freemasonry an equivalent signification - the former being used in English, the latter in French, to designate the son of a Mason. Within Freemasonry, Lewis is a significant name.

Louis XIV, the Sun King of France

The form Louis was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne, and including Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (the "Sun King") who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe.

Apart from among royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common. The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), Métis leader Louis Riel (1844-1885), who led a rebellion against Canada, and Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Acknowledged sources of information include CNN, ABC News, Behind the Name, The Masonic Dictionary, and various dictionaries and histories.