In the next few weeks, Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will welcome their child into the world, and members of the public are putting their money on the couple having a baby girl.
Mary is the clear favorite with a variety of bookmakers with odds at 3/1 (an implied probability of 25%). Alice follows close behind at 6/1 (an implied probability of 14.3%) after a flurry of recent bets.
Mary is one of Queen Elizabeth II’s middle names, and was the name of her grandmother, Queen Mary. Despite its royal connections, it’s a decidedly less popular name in Britain than some of the other choices bookmakers are offering.
Mary was the most popular girl’s name in England and Wales at the beginning of the 20th century, but its popularity fell sharply at the end of the 1950s. It no longer features in the top 100 most popular names for baby girls in the UK.
Alice has been consistently popular over the last three decades, and was popular among gamblers in the lead up to the birth of William and Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, in 2015.
There’s less of a consensus on names for a Prince, should the couple have another son. Edward, the name of William’s uncle, is the most popular with one bookmaker, with Albert and Arthur appearing on numerous lists.
There’s also fairly short odds on the couple naming the newborn child after William’s grandfather Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who retired from official royal duties at the age of 95.
The Duke and Duchess became parents for the first time in July 2013, when Prince George was born. He is third in line to the British throne, after his grandfather Prince Charles and the Duke.
The Duchess of Cambridge is expected to give birth in April, just a few weeks before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed at Windsor Castle on May 19.