Getty ImagesThe royal baby George Alexander Louis is only 3 days old, but he’s already causing controversy—not because of his parents Kate Middleton and Prince William, but because of his name. More on Yahoo! Shine: Kate Middleton and Prince William’s First Day as New Parents
Almost immediately after Kensington Palace announced the baby’s name on Wednesday, Twitter exploded with jokes on the similarities between the names George Alexander Louis and Jason Alexander; the latter belongs to the actor who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld."
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Examples: @RandiChase: “I love how the royal baby was named after George from Seinfeld. Even if not true—I will believe it anyway.” @rutesperanza: “Royal baby namedGeorge Alexander. Seinfeld character was named George ...Played by Jason ALEXANDER! This has conspiracy written all over it.” @LindsayDunnCTV: “Who knew Kate & William were such #Seinfeld fans? Named the baby with a mix of Jason Alexander & his character George Costanza.”
The hype grew so much that even Jason Alexander weighed in. On Wednesday, he tweeted, “So honored that the future King of England will bear the proud and noble name of ‘George.’ Serenity Now!”
And while it’s (highly) unlikely that Seinfeld had any influence on Middleton and Prince William’s decision to name their baby George (in fact, royal experts told the Daily Mail on Wednesday that the name George Alexander Louis isn’t symbolic at all; rather, it’s simply a name the couple likes), the name George is rich in history.
The paper reported that it was the moniker of the patron saint of England and of Queen Elizabeth's late father George IV—and was a top bookie pick, ahead of James, Alexander, Arthur, and Louis. It was also the 12th most popular name in England. And on Wednesday the Associated Press, reported that six British kings have been named George with four reigning in a row.
Public opinion was firmly divided down the middle. Plenty were excited: @tam356 tweeted, “Yes!! They called the baby George!!!! I was right :D love that name,” and @NicolaP15 wrote “Cute name.” And obviously the name went over well with people named George. Former Star Trek actor George Takei tweeted, “His name is George. #OhMyyy.” Journalist George Stephanopoulos tweeted, “So do I send the new prince a Curious George?” and Boy George wrote, “Prince Georgie! Beautiful!”
Others turned up their nose: @GaryJanetti wrote, "Royal Baby was a better name," and TMZ founder Harvey Levin tweeted, “Royal Baby Name George Alexander… A Big Miss. What do you think of the name?”
Name expert Albert Mehrabian, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of The Baby Name Report Card was surprised by the royal couple’s decision to name their baby George. In a previous study, he asked subjects to describe a stranger based solely on their name and the response to George was lukewarm. “The name doesn’t conjure an image of a fun, popular, masculine man, however, it does convey honesty and caring,” he said. “And the name Alexander scores very high when it comes to success.”
But in a world where baby names have become a competition for parents to out-weird each other — North, Blue Ivy, Apple, Cricket, Pilot Inspektor, and Rainbow Aurora — it's refreshing to see a classic name like George back on the radar.
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