Who was Odysseus as Boris and Carrie Johnson give name to their third child?

Boris Johnson has has a new son - and he's given him quite a unique name.

The former prime minister and his wife, Carrie already have two children together: Romy, aged one, and Wilfred, aged three.

Announcing the birth of their third son, Carrie wrote on Instagram: “Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson born 5th July at 9.15am.

“(Can you guess which name my husband chose?!)

“Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble. Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten.

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“Thank you so much to the incredible NHS maternity team at UCLH. They really are the most amazing, caring people. I feel such immense gratitude.

“Now, can anyone recommend any good series/box sets to binge while breastfeeding?

“Time for a drink”.

Frank and Alfred are quite standard, albeit antiquated names, but Odysseus is quite unusual.

It comes from Greek mythology. Odysseus is famous as the great grandson of Hermes, who is one of the 12 Olympian gods.

He was seen as courageous, athletic, and one of the most prominent Greek heroes in Homer’s account of the Trojan War. He was also seen as a womaniser before marrying Penelope.

Having studied classics at Oxford University back in the day, it is no surprise Johnson is such a fan of names like Odysseus. He was known for bring up classical references in speeches while he was PM and references history in newspaper columns too.

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