What to Read While We Wait, What to Watch When it's Time

Waiting on The Royal Baby

In case you haven't heard, the world is waiting with baited breath for what will be the biggest baby announcement of the year. The Duke and Duchess will be welcoming a brother or sister to little Prince George of Cambridge (whose middle names include Alexander and Louis) any week, any day, any hour, any minute now. Can you feel the global-level excitement?

• If you want to join name speculators, the Baby Name Wizard has you covered.
• If you want to delve into the royal family's appearances step-by-step, People has a Royal Baby Watch timeline.
• We can expect royal officials to announce when Kate is admitted to St. Mary's hospital, and roughly, when the baby is born on the Clarence House and British Monarchy twitter accounts. We will likely be told then whether it's a boy or girl.
• The baby's name, however, and other details will be announced by a declaration placed on an easel outside of Buckingham Palace, and a town crier will read it. For Prince George, we had to wait two days to learn what he was named. I watched this live, and you will be able to as well, though I'm not 100% sure where—my bet is on the ABC News website (among others). 
• For a trip down memory lane, you can check out my post on Prince George's name, featuring a full analysis on its history and delightful British style.

Waiting on the Top Names of 2014

There's even more important name news coming up soon. And I must admit that every year, from January to May, name stats feel stale to me, and this year is no exception. I'm very much looking forward to being able to say "last year" when it comes to sharing how well a name is doing with as much accuracy as possible. I'm really eager to move past the oh-so-dated days of 2013 and bring in fresh numbers for 2014.

It's going to happen soon. The SSA will release new information on the Friday before Mother's Day, as they do every year, but there is no precise release time (at least, not known to the public). I'll keep you posted.

Updates will be on the way, with a name feature on the royal baby's name, and a few notes from the release of 2014 name stats.