Prince William and Princess Kate Chose Prince George’s Name Via an Unconventional Method

Prince William and Kate Middleton introducing newborn Prince George, 2013

(Image credit: Getty)

published 14 June 2023

Choosing a name for your newborn is challenging—and add in the pressure of naming the heir to the British throne, a name that the entire world is anxiously awaiting, and yeah, it’s a bit of a pressure cooker. The Mirror reports that the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and now the Prince and Princess of Wales) used an “unconventional method” when naming her eldest, Prince George, who somehow will turn 10 years old next month. (How is that possible?)

And when we say unconventional, we mean it: It involves their late dog, Lupo. William and Kate reportedly wrote all of the possible names for their child on scraps of paper and put them on the floor of their home. They then let Lupo—an English cocker spaniel—in the room to see which piece of paper he gravitated towards, and he picked George.

Kate Middleton playing with her dog Lupo

Have you ever heard of anything so sweet?

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William and Kate married in 2011 and welcomed Lupo into their family in 2012. Lupo died in November 2020, and the Wales family—which now includes not just George but also Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis—have added a new cocker spaniel, Orla, to the family. Orla, like Lupo, frequently appears in group photos.

Kate Middleton holding a baby Prince George in 2014

George has a big summer—in addition to turning the milestone age of 10 next month, we’ll likely see him as soon as this weekend at Saturday’s Trooping the Colour.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.