What to know about Prince Harry and Meghan's choice of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
Prince Harry and Meghan announced Wednesday that they named their first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Now that we've had 24 hours to digest the news and the glorious photos of Archie and his parents, it's time to examine the name.
Harry and Meghan revealed their son's name in a very modern way -- on Instagram -- but did not share any details of the meaning behind the name.
Archie is the baby's full first name, not a shortened version of Archibald.
The name Archie, said to mean "brave" and "bold," is a popular choice for boys' names in the U.K. It ranked around 20th in popularity in 2015, according to data from the U.K. Office for National Statistics.
The name has proven less popular in the U.S., where Archie is best known as the star of a comic series and the fictional TV dad on "All in the Family."
Some of the standout social reactions to Harry and Meghan's baby's name came from Archie comics, the popular spin-off series, "Riverdale" and fans of the franchises.
Harry and Meghan's choice of the name Archie surprised royal watchers and oddsmakers alike. Bets had been placed on more traditional royal names like Arthur, Alexander, Albert, James, Alfred, Philip, Thomas and Spencer, according to Ladbrokes, a U.K. betting company.
Harrison, the baby's middle name, is also not a name steeped in royal history.
It does mean Harry's son, although Prince Harry's given name is Henry Charles Albert David.
Harry and Meghan gave their son just two names -- a first name and a middle name -- in contrast to Prince William and Kate, whose children each have three names in their full names.
Archie's surname of Mountbatten-Windsor is a combination of Queen Elizabeth's surname of Windsor and Prince Philip’s adopted surname of Mountbatten.
Archie inherited that surname as a descendant of Queen Elizabeth without the title of prince or the style of His Royal Highness, according to the royal family's website.
Speaking of titles, Harry and Meghan made the decision to not give one to their son.
The baby will not carry a courtesy title "at this time," Buckingham Palace confirmed after the name was announced Wednesday.
Archie would have been given the title The Earl of Dumbarton, or Lord Dumbarton, as the eldest son of Prince Harry had Harry and Meghan consented.
Queen Elizabeth II also had the discretion to grant the newborn the title of prince, based on Harry and Meghan's preference.
There is a path where Archie could gain the title of prince after his grandfather, Prince Charles, ascends to the throne. Royal watchers think that is unlikely to happen though since Harry and Meghan, who moved away from the spotlight of London before their son's birth, appear to want to give their son as normal an upbringing as possible.
And in an example of normalcy, when Archie goes to school, he hypothetically would be just Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
The newborn will also for the next few years be referred to as Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. That title though is not a royal designation, but rather a British custom.
Boys under the age of around 13 are generally referred to as Master, the long version of Mr., which in the U.S. is referred to as Mister.
