The Swedish royal family caused some controversy back in 2012 when Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel named their baby girl Estelle.
One Swedish journalist said the name was “a very strange choice which I believe will be much discussed.” He added: “Estelle sounds like the name of a nightclub queen.”
Many speculated that the princess was named after American-born Countess Estelle Bernadotte (1904-1984) in order to make a political statement. Estelle’s husband Folke Bernadotte (son of Ebba Munck) was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948, and one of the people behind the murder was future Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
Regardless of the reason it was chosen, the Princess’s name is now more popular than ever before in Sweden. Usage dipped right after she was born, but rebounded a few years later:
- 2017: 75 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2016: 70 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2015: 43 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2014: 45 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2013: 33 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2012: 55 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2011: 64 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2010: 53 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2009: 38 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
- 2008: 41 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
It didn’t come close to hitting the top 10 in 2017, but did rank somewhere around 145th.
According to one source, “[t]he name Estelle fits into a smallish trend in Sweden, where names of French origin — or just French-sounding — are slowly becoming popular. Some other names in this group are: Amélie, Celine, Leonie and Noelle.”
What are your thoughts on the baby name Estelle?
Sources: Naming princess Estelle a ‘political statement’ by Swedish Royal Family, Estelle – Reactions to a royal name-giving in Sweden (PDF)
I prefer Estella.