Royal baby already influencing names

Royal names are seeing a spike in popularity.Photo / Thinkstock

The birth of the royal baby is just days away and the world is waiting with baited breath.

But while the first child of Prince William and Kate Middleton is yet to be born - let alone named - he or she is already influencing baby name choices on a wider scale as traditionally royal monikers see a rise in popularity.

A new survey published by the Daily Mail revealed 22 per cent of expectant parents are taking inspiration from the excitement of the impending royal babies, with Harry and Sophie topping the list as the two of the most popular names.

The study asked over 2000 expectant parents-to-be whether or not they had planned a name with any kind of royal connotation for their unborn child, to which just over a fifth of the parents taking part said they had.

The top five most popular Royal names were Harry, William and Charles for boys and Sophie, Kate and Elizabeth for little girls.

The respondents were asked if they thought that buzz around the impending royal births sparked their desire to want a more traditional first or middle name for their child. Just over 80 per cent said yes.

Another recent survey found a record numbers of newborn babies are expected to go unnamed this month as parents across the country wait to discover the name chosen by the royal couple.

Parents are given six weeks to register their baby's name and that means thousands are expected to pause for thought until they hear the news from Clarence House.

Experts believe that thousands of couples are likely to find inspiration in the choice of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and follow suit.

- DAILY MAIL