My column about what to  name your baby came just in  time to give a few ideas to the  Duke and Duchess of  Cambridge. The world was  waiting, according to the  media, to discover what  William and Catherine would  call their son.

No problem. They could have  a quick look at the Examiner.

They undoubtedly did and  picked George, one of those I  described as a classic. It was  third in popularity in 1900 and  sixth last year. This year it will,  of course, top the charts.

The name piece was actually  prompted, not by the imminent  arrival of the third in line to the  throne, but because 87-year-old  Valerie O'Loughlan wondered if  her name was still popular for  girl babies.

I discovered it wasn’t. Valerie  was popular from the 1930s to  the 1950s (and was ranked 11th  in 1944) but by 2009 it had  slipped to 1,325th in popularity.

There are still, of course,  quite a few Vals about and  another 87-year-old – Valerie  Gomersall – got in touch to say  how much she had enjoyed the  piece.

Even more so, perhaps,  because one influential website  suggested that Valerie (and my  own name Denis) were retro  chic.

Retro chic! At our age, Val.

If the Duke and Duchess have  a girl next time, maybe they’ll  name her Valerie.