When Meghan Markle gave birth to her first child with Prince Harry in May 2019, the world waited with baited breath to hear what his name would be. Bookmakers across the United Kingdom were taking bets. Arthur was the top choice for a boy, Diana for a girl. They all got it wrong. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex went for a seriously distinctive name for their first child that defied some of the more traditional royal names of the past. But that doesn’t mean Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s name wasn’t steeped with deeply personal meaning for the proud parents. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The meaning behind the name Archie is powerful
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s choice of Archie for their son’s first name might not have been an obvious one, but it actually does make a kind of sense. The meaning behind the name Archie is “brave,” and little did the couple know in those early days how important bravery would actually become to their small family. Not long after he was born, his parents stepped away from their senior royal roles and moved their lives to California. That’s a whole lot to take on for a very little boy whose name also means “tough, tenacious, bold, and powerful.”
Archie (kinda) shares a name with his cousin Prince George
When Archie was born, he actually inadvertently stole Prince George’s own nickname for himself. At the time, the future King of England liked to call himself Archie, or so he told a woman walking her dog outside…
