10 Times the Royals Surprised Us With Unusual Baby Names

You can search those royal history books and family trees as much as you like, but you won't find another princess called Estelle anywhere. It's possible that her parents, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, named their firstborn after New York-born Estelle Manville, who married a distant royal cousin, Folke Bernadotte, and was known for her humanitarian work. This future queen's name is a royal rarity you won't find in any recent top 100 baby names countdown, although a related name, Stella, hit the top 60 last year.

When Princess Anne presented the queen with her first granddaughter in May 1981, everyone knew the baby wouldn't get a royal title. What they weren't expecting was for her parents to take a swerve on the traditional royal names, too. Zara, an Arabic name meaning bright or shining, was reportedly the pick of her uncle Prince Charles and had never been used by Britain's royals before. Zara was one of just 116 babies given the name that year, but its royal associations have seen it grow in popularity ever since.

Once upon a time, about 600 years ago, Leonor (and its English translation, Eleanor) was the go-to royal name for most of Europe's ruling houses. But when Felipe and Letizia of Spain chose it for their first baby, born in October 2005, it was a shock as it hadn't been popular in royal circles for decades. Since then, the name has had a bit of a royal revival. Queen Mathilde of Belgium had an Eleonore in 2008, and in 2014 Princess Madeleine of Sweden chose Leonore for her first child.

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Savannah has been a popular pick for baby girls for the last 20 years or so, which is perhaps how the name ended up on the radar of Peter and Autumn Phillips. Their daughter, born in December 2010, was the queen's first great-grandchild, and she got the new generation off to a surprising royal start with her name pick. Her little sister, born in 2012, also brought a new name to the royal family when she was christened Isla.

If you were asked to dream up some royal baby names, this trio probably wouldn't come close, but they're actually the middle names chosen by Norwegian Princess Martha Louise for her three daughters, born between 2003 and 2008. Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah don't have royal titles, although they are in line for Norway's throne. Their middle names are pretty unusual all around, making them real royal standouts.