As the world’s press hungrily awaits a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child, yesterday’s news that the new heir to the throne is a boy has triggered a flurry of betting activity on the young prince’s name.
All the main online bookmakers appear to favour traditional names, with George and James the clear favourites at 2-1 and around 3-1 respectively across Sky Bet, Betfred and Ladbrokes. Other likely candidates are Alexander, Louis, Henry and Richard.
Outside the top ten comes a range of less common names for the future king. Although Charles is a surprising long shot at 16-1 with Betfred, even that looks a much safer bet than Andrew, John and William – all at 20-1 or longer.
If punters think William and Kate may be influenced by names in popular culture, then there’s Boris (125-1 with Paddy Power), Rafa (500-1, Ladbrokes) and even Brooklyn (1,000-1, StanJames).
Or perhaps this is the moment that the royal couple will reveal their devotion to the current manager of Arsenal FC (Arsene, 500-1) or pay homage to the aphrodisiac effects of Gangnam Style by selecting the name of creator Psy, a steal at 5,000-1.
The InterGame team names fare a little better. David (Snook) is 25-1, Simon (Liddle) is a rather long 100-1 (you’ll get better odds on Digby) while Phil (Clegg) leads the field, as he so often does, on 12-1 – the eighth most likely name, according to the bookies.
