Meghan Markle shared her sweet nickname for 1-year-old Archie in a candid new video of her reading a story to her son in celebration of his milestone first birthday on Wednesday. As Archie helps turn the pages of one of his favourite books, Duck! Rabbit!, Meghan says, “Let’s turn the page, let’s show everybody. Let’s go to the next page — look Arch!”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously gave some insight into what went into their son’s unexpected name choice — and how it was inspired by their future charity foundation, Archewell.
“Before SussexRoyal came the idea of ‘arche’ — the Greek word meaning ‘source of action,’ ” the couple said last month. “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. Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.”
During the family’s royal tour in South Africa last fall, Meghan shared another sweet nickname for her son. In a video from their visit to meet with South African human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Meghan is heard calling her son “Bubba.”
“Say hello! Hello, hi,” she said, then realizing he’s drooling. “Oh, Bubba!” Luckily, dad Prince Harry was ready to catch the dribble.Archie’s full name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The name was somewhat surprising, as British oddsmakers’ top picks for potential names included more traditional monikers, like Arthur, James, Philip and Albert.
Harrison originated in the Middle Ages, and is a patronymic meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Harry.” The surname Mountbatten-Windsor, meanwhile, belongs to all the children and descendants of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
The name Archie has shot to the top of popularity charts, taking a top spot for baby boy names in 2019, according to Nameberry.
