Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Almost Gave Their Son Archie A Different Name

In a monumental occasion for the Royal Family, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in May 2019, but he almost wasn’t given that name. As reported by PA Media on April 18, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were debating between two names before the arrival of their son, which Meghan reportedly divulged to a participant of the Invictus Games in The Netherlands.

Sherry McBain, a nursing officer in the UK’s Royal Air Force competing in the Invictus Games, told the outlet that her wife Mandy spoke with Meghan about their son Harrison, whose name he just so happens to share with Archie. “[Meghan] was like, ‘Harrison, that's Archie’s middle name,’ and Mandy was like ‘Yeah, I know’,” she explained, before revealing that Meghan said Harrison was almost his first name instead. “They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn’t decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name.”

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The couple obviously decided to use both names, with Harrison being his middle name, but neither moniker was expected at the time. According to People, the top name predicted by British oddsmakers for their son was Arthur, which is a middle name for several Royal Family members, including Harry’s brother Prince William. James, Philip (in honor of Harry’s grandfather), and Albert were also widely predicted contenders.

Archie is the shortened form of the name Archibald, which derives from a German word that means “distinguished and bold.” His name later went on to inspire his the name of his parents’ philanthropic organization, the Archewell Foundation. “Before Sussex Royal came the idea of ‘arche’ — the Greek word meaning ‘source of action’,” Harry and Meghan said in an April 2020 statement announcing the charitable effort. “We connected to this concept for the charitable organization we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters.”

While attending the Invictus Games, Harry commented on his two-year-old son’s apparent career goals, which are ever-changing but ambitious nonetheless. “When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot — a helicopter pilot, obviously — or Kwazii from Octonauts,” he said at the Opening Ceremony. “If you’re laughing, then you’ve seen that.”