People mostly recognise Meghan Markle after her marriage to Prince Harry skyrocketed her fame. But, little do people know that Meghan is not her real first name – and Prince Harry also has an alternate one too.
Commonly, she is formally known as the Duchess of Sussex after receiving a Royal title on her wedding day in May 2018. However, it’s a surprise for many that Meghan isn’t her actual first name – and she was given another name at birth.
Indeed, when she was born in August 1981, she was officially named Rachel Meghan by her parents Doria and Thomas, but she goes by Meghan and some friends even shorten it to Meg. Interestingly, Rachel was the name of her character in Suits, a popular legal drama.
Meghan revealed this interesting detail about her name during an American talk show The Rachel Ray Show while she was still part of Suits. On being told by the host: “The character’s name is Rachel, which is great.”
Meghan replied: “Did you know my first name is Rachel in real life? Did you know that? So I was born Rachel Meghan Markle but my parents -” before she was interrupted.
Interestingly, Harry shares a common theme with his wife – neither go by their actual first names. Indeed, Harry’s real name is Henry; full name – Henry Charles Albert David, a choice believed to be made by his late mother Princess Diana.
However, he never uses Henry and explained this quirk during a video chat at the WellChild Awards 2022, as he told young boy Henry: “My name is Henry as well. But everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why.”
Archie, their oldest child carries the middle name of Harrison which means son of Harry. It seems likely that this was chosen in tribute to his father. In 2022, Meghan confessed they had pondered over Archie’s name, torn between multiple options.
They knew they wanted both ‘Archie’ and ‘Harrison’, yet struggled deciding which should be the first name and which the middle name, reports the Mirror.
According to Invictus Games participant Sherry McBain, 42, Meghan expressed her enduring fondness for the name Harrison during the competition in The Hague last April.
Southampton-based Sherry explained: “She was like ‘Harrison, that’s Archie’s middle name’, and Mandy was like ‘Yeah, I know’. They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn’t decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name.”
Meanwhile, their little one, Princess Lilibet, is named after her great-grandma, the late Queen. The Queen was called Lilibet when she was young because she couldn’t say Elizabeth properly.
Harry and Meghan said when Lili was born: “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
