Archie Harrison: What is meaning behind royal baby name?

Credit: PA

'What's in a name' Shakespeare famously once asked, if that name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, turns out quite a bit.

Prince Harry and Meghan have revealed the name of their two-day-old son and landed on Archie - a name with German origin.

Short for Archibald, it is now given as a name in its own right and means "genuine", "bold" and "brave".

As is the custom for royal babies, Harry and Meghan will have shared news of their choice with the Queen before releasing it to the public.

Archie has German origin, while Harrison is an English name. Credit: PA

Famous Archies include the actress Archie Panjabi, who starred in The Good Wife, Archie Andrews is the main character in Archie comics in America and the Netflix show Riverdale.

While Archie Mitchell was a villain in the BBC soap EastEnders.

Harrison - the couple's chosen middle name for their newborn - means "son of Harry" so is likely to be a tribute to the duke and is English in origin.

Harry and Meghan chose to unveil the name of their baby boy in a very modern way - through their new official Instagram account @SussexRoyal.

In a post alongside a black and white picture of the couple, Archie, the Queen, Prince Philip and Meghan's mum, Doria Ragland, a statement said: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor."

Proud parents Meghan and Harry show off their newborn to his great grandparents and grandmother. Credit: Chris Allerton/Sussex Royal

The couple's first born, who is seventh in line to the throne, made his world debut alongside his besotted parents at Windsor Castle.

New mum Meghan described her son as having a "sweet temperament" and said the first few days of parenthood had been "magic."

While a delighted Harry called him “our own little bundle of joy”.

Archie is not entitled to be an HRH or a prince due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V.

Harry and Meghan have broken with royal convention by making a personal decision not to use a title for their baby boy.

He will simply be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

As the first born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton – one of Harry’s subsidiary titles – or have been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

A source said: “They have chosen not to use a courtesy title.”Instead he will simply be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The baby boy will not be given a title, a decision made by his parents. Credit: PA

The decision fits in with Harry and Meghan’s desire to give their son as normal a life as possible despite his royal heritage.

Archie was the 18th most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2015, according to latest available figures from the Office for National Statistics.

It has experienced a dramatic rise in populairt since 1996 when it was only in 192nd place.

Some 2,803 baby boys were named Archie in England and Wales in 2017.

Among the bookmakers’ favourites were Alexander, Arthur, Albert, as well as James and Philip, while Spencer was a late favourite, but Archie was a surprise choice.