A MUM who called her daughter Lilibet has revealed how she feels about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry copying her name.
Jo and Bob Heald – who happen to be from Sussex – think it is a “beautiful” and “meaningful” name.
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest updates
Meghan and Harry announced on June 4 they had given birth to a baby girl called Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Experts believe Lilibet – the Queen’s nickname – could catch on now it has even deeper royal connections.
Mum Jo told The Celeb Report Online: “We think it’s such a pretty name. Lots of our friends and family love it too.
“Our beautiful girl is two years old and we hope she’ll love her name when she grows up, like all parents do when naming their little one.
“Naturally, names go in and out of fashion, but we’ve loved Lilibet, or Lilybet – the Welsh form of Elizabeth – for a long time.
“Perhaps it’ll become a more popular alternative to Elizabeth, Bethan and so on – who knows, time will tell.
“‘Lilibet’ is so pretty and we are delighted for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“The birth of a healthy baby into a loving family unit is the most wonderful thing, a true blessing.”
Jo and partner Bob, who is originally from Wales, decided on Lilibet as it means ‘God’s promise’ in Welsh.
“For us, the meaning of the name was important,” Jo explained. “My husband has Welsh roots so that’s why we chose it.
“Elizabeth also means ‘God’s promise’ – a sentiment that is important to us.
“We wanted to abbreviate it to Libby, and Lybby wasn’t our preferred spelling, hence Lilibet.
“While we respect our Queen, the naming of our daughter wasn’t connected to her, rather the Welsh name used since Medieval times.”
‘EXTREMELY RARE’
Lilibet is an “extremely rare” given name and has never made it onto the top 1000 in the UK or US, according to baby name database Nameberry.
Records show the last time it was recorded in America was in 1999, when eight girls were given the name.
And in Scottish records from 1974 to 2020, only three babies were named Lilibet – in 1980, 2004 and 2016.
But Pamela Redmond, cofounder and CEO of Nameberry, thinks it could rapidly rise in popularity now it has even deeper royal connections.
She told The Celeb Report Online: “Until the birth of the new royal baby, Lilibet was basically a one-person name, à la Oprah.
“There were no baby girls named Lilibet in 2020 in the US or Scotland in 2020, or in England and Wales in 2019, the most recent years counted.
“Lovin and Luscinana, yes, Lilibet no.
“I certainly think Lilibet will get more popular in the future, the way so many unusual celebrity baby names, from Luna to Saint to Cruz, have gotten more popular over the years.
“It’s an adorable name, and Harry and Meghan also launched a trend with Archie.
“While it’s a short form itself, it’s got its own short form Lili, that makes it more palatable for people who might be afraid of picking such a unique name.”
HEARTFELT TRIBUTE
Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born at 11.40am at a Santa Barbara hospital on June 4.
Her name is a tribute to the monarch, 95, and Harry’s late mum Princess Diana.
The Queen was given the nickname Lilibet by her grandad King George V, who joked that she couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth as a child.
Her Majesty’s husband Prince Philip later adopted the name himself and was one of the few people to use it regularly.
A sensational war of words erupted between Harry and Meghan, the Palace and the BBC over Lilibet’s name.
The row was started when a Palace source told the BBC the Sussexes “never asked” the Queen about using her childhood nickname.
Harry then hit back just 90 minutes later saying his grandmother was “supportive” of his choice of name and the couple wouldn’t have used it if this wasn’t the case.
The battle intensified after Harry and Meghan threatened legal action through law firm Schillings.
