Princess Lilibet is set to celebrate her fourth birthday next week, but her name sparked major change following her birth. Announcing her birth in June 2021, the Duke, 40, and Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared that they had welcomed their second child with “great joy”.
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor‘s name paid tribute to two very special people in Harry’s life – his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and his mother, Princess Diana. Harry and Meghan’s only daughter was born during the reign of her great-grandmother, whose childhood nickname was Lilibet.
The Bump website previously tracked the popularity of Lilibet’s name worldwide over time, and how Meghan and Harry’s choice has influenced popular culture.
Lilibet went from number 12,986 in 1988 to a huge rise in popularity in 2022, which is the year after Meghan and Harry’s daughter’s birth.
In 2022, Lilibet peaked at number 5,102 – and rose by 1,368 percent in 2023. The website also shared that Lilibet ranked at number 2,072 in 2024.
Harry and Meghan’s choice for her first name sparked outrage amongst some as it was the late Queen’s nickname only used by close friends and family.
Speaking previously about Lilibet, US-based royal commentator and podcaster Kinsey Schofield said that the young royal will likely be oblivious about the controversy surrounding her name.
Ms Schofield told the Express: “Based on some of the causes that Harry and Meghan have taken up, I bet it will be a significant amount of time before Lili has the type of freedom online to discover this particular scandal… As an American with little to no connection to her father’s heritage, Lili will likely not be bothered by the sensational story.
“Lili is not a princess in the United States because we don’t have those.
“She can wear a crown on the local playground but so could anyone. She would not understand the chaos surrounding this story because she is and will likely continue to be so detached from the Royal Family.”
