WHAT IS PRINCE WILLIAM'S LAST NAME?

“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.” (I Samuel 4:21)

As I drove home from work today, I flipped on a local radio station. The co-hosts I heard on Boston’s WTKK were arguing about what the last name of Prince William of England is. (Of course, everybody’s been talking about Prince William since he and his fiancé announced their engagement a few days ago.) One of the hosts insisted that Prince William’s last name is “Wales” as his father, Prince Charles is the “Prince of Wales”. Do YOU know what the last name of Prince William is? I thought it was “Windsor” and I was part right. I got so curious about this matter that I briefly researched it on-line when I got home.

It turns out the radio host was PARTLY right. For ceremonial reasons, Prince William is allowed to use “Wales” as a last name. HOWEVER, Prince William’s LEGAL last name is “Mountbatten-Windsor”. The royal family is NOT of “pure English blood” nor of “pure British blood”. There’s actually a lot of German ethnicity in that family. Up until 1917, the royal family’s last name was “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha”. King George V changed it to Windsor because it sounded way too German. The Queen’s last name is Windsor, but her children and grandchildren have the last name Mountbatten-Windsor because the Queen’s husband Prince Philip has the last name Mountbatten.

It’s frankly NOT clear what some people’s last names are. And, incidentally, just as a footnote, Jesus Christ’s last name is NOT Christ. For the MOST part, people did not have last names in the first century. “Christ” is from the Greek “Christos”. It’s the Greek version of “Messiah” or “Maschiah” which is the Jewish “Anointed One”. And Jesus is actually the Greek version of Joshua or Yeshua, which literally means “Jehovah Is Salvation”. It’s the same name that Joshua in the Old Testament had.

Now, speaking of last names, in the Roman Catholic religion, we all know that the current Pope, is Pope Benedict XVI. But, do you know Pope Benedict’s last name? The current Pope’s last name is “Ratzinger”. In fact, his first name is “Joseph” and not “Benedict”. Popes take a new name when they become Pope. I am not sure why that is the case.

Now, most of us are familiar with singer “Cher” but do you know Cher’s last name? Well, I suppose most people would say “Bono” for her late husband Sunny Bono, but I mean her BIRTH last name. Cher is an Armenian-American. Her birth last name is “Sarkisian”. I am not sure why throughout her musical career she’s just been known as “Cher”.

Finally, do you know Rush Limbaugh’s real name?

I must confess that the Rush Limbaugh question WAS sort-of a trick question. Rush’s real name, his legal name, IS Rush Limbaugh. But, during his early years in radio he worked as a Top 40 music disc jockey. In those days, he used “Jeff Christie” as his radio/professional name. So, Rush had a successful radio career as “Jeff Christie” long before he was the talk show host “Rush Limbaugh”.

Even my own name of Bob Baril has its variations. “Baril” is French and the letter “l” is supposed to be silent. It’s kind of like “Paris” in English is pronounced “Par-EEE” in French. Ross Perot has a French last name. Nobody says, “Ross Per-OTT”. They say, “Ross Per-ooh”. Canadian French DOES have a different accent and way of speaking. In Quebec, my last name is pronounced “Barry”. I guess in France, it’s more like “Bar-EEE”. Granted, it LOOKS like “Barrel”. You know those prerecorded computer phone calls you get? I hate when I play the answering machine, and I hear, “This is a message from Walgreen’s for ROBERT BARREL. Your prescription is ready...” or “This is an important message from Verizon Wireless for ROBERT BARREL.” That is SUCH a turn off!

Baril is a very uncommon last name. There are only something like 700 Baril households in the U.S.A. and there are only something like 30 Robert Barils in the U.S.A. Yet, I met a guy from Michigan who had a professor in college with my last name who DID pronounce it “Barrel”!

Yeah, Baril’s not the easiest last name, but it’s better than Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and I think even Queen Elizabeth 2 would agree with me! (or SHOULD I call her “Elizabeth Windsor”?)