Duchess Meghan said that her son’s name was almost Harrison Archie

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s name shortly after they introduced him to the Queen and Prince Philip in 2019. It was surprising because the British media and the British “punters” had a list of baby names and “Archie” didn’t appear on any of them. It was said that Harry and Meghan decided on Archie as a name because of someone Harry knew, like the name was an homage to someone Harry respected. But as it turns out, Harry and Meghan weren’t even sure that the baby’s first name should be Archie. He was almost Harrison!!

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were playing the name game ahead of Archie Harrison’s arrival. While attending a reading session for children at the Invictus Games The Hague over the weekend, Meghan got chatting with a parent who had brought a son named Harrison to the event.

Sherry McBain, a nursing officer in the RAF competing in the Invictus Games, told PA her wife Mandy spoke with Meghan at the event when they realized the commonality in their children’s names.

“[Meghan] was like ‘Harrison, that’s Archie’s middle name’, and Mandy was like ‘Yeah, I know,’ ” said McBain. “They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn’t decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name.”

Meghan, 40, and Prince Harry, 37, welcomed Archie in May 2019, nearly one year following their royal wedding. The name choice was somewhat surprising, as British oddsmakers’ top picks for potential names included more traditional monikers, like Arthur, James, Philip and Albert.

Archie is a shortened version of the name Archibald, meaning genuine and bold or brave. Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll of Scotland was also an ancestor of Princess Diana’s. Using the nickname as a first name gives it a more casual, American vibe — while the baby’s middle name, Harrison, originated in the Middle Ages as a patronymic meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Harry.”

[From People]

Now I’m sort of mad that Harrison isn’t his first name!! That would have been a great first name, although… I do sort of understand why they used it as a middle name. At the end of the day, Archie sort of fits for that cute little carrot-top boy. And “Harrison” might have been confusing, it would be like “Harry Junior” but not. I think it should also be noted that Harry and Meghan likely chose “Archie Harrison” to get out of the royal-baby-naming rut. How many babies need to be named Philip, Louis, Arthur, etc?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.