“Baby Sussex” Name? ANOTHER Rejection of Royal Tradition?

It is the news heard around the world, Meghan Markle’s and Prince Harry’s baby was finally born. Born Monday morning, the new baby was soon announced as a boy, dashing much prediction that it was a girl. From here there are only two remaining questions: what is the royal baby’s name and when will we see him?

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Harry addresses reporters at Frogmore – “still thinking about names”!

Watch Prince Harry gush about his first born child at his house at Frogmore! The prince was overjoyed and ecstatic for the future.

Options Abound

There are two options royal fanatics and baby watchers see: 1. a traditional royal name or 2. a modern, less formal one. While many believe Meghan Markle will stick to tradition on this one, some say Meghan will embrace the greater flexibility she has. Her son is 7^th in line to the throne and has less rigid rule imposed upon him. Throughout her entire pregnancy and greater period with the royal family she’s rejected many traditional aspects of royal life. From hospital location, royal jewels and her “American Values”, Meghan is no stranger to controversy or rejecting the status-quo.

Months ago, Meghan made headlines for announcing that she would be interested in having a home birth. While home births were the norm with the older royals, most young ones have hospital births. Queen Elizabeth II had home births for all four of her kids, but Princess Anne, Diana, and Kate Middleton had their children in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital. In a rejection of both options, Meghan Markle had neither a home birth at Frogmore Cottage or her new son at St. Mary’s, but at the exclusive Portland Hospital.

Traditional Names

1. Alexander – It is the male version of Queen Elizabeth’s middle name. Princess Charlotte’s middle name is Elizabeth so it is keeping in tradition that “Baby Sussex” to be named after the leading royal. It is also worth noting that both Alexandra and Alexander are the names of two great grandparents of Prince Philip.
2. Philip – Obviously, the baby would be named for Prince Harry’s grandfather. Other Philips’ include the middle name of both Prince William and James, Viscount Severn. Viscount Severn is Queen Elizabeth’s youngest grandchild via Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest child.
3. Charles – It is the name of Baby Sussex’ grandfather Prince Charles, but it is also the middle name of his father. Prince Harry. It would be very traditional to carry on the name that has been passed through at least two generations including Baby Sussex’s cousin Prince Louis who has Charles as a middle name.

Modern Names

1. Spencer – fairly popular in the US (over a thousand boys were named Spencer in 2017) and a touching tribute to Lady Diana Spencer.
2. Thomas – While still estranged with her father, Meghan is known for her dedication to family. This tribute could be seen as an olive branch to him. It could also be seen as simply choosing a popular name. Over 7,000 babies were named Thomas in 2017, ranking it 48^th on the most popular list for boys’ names in America. In Britain it is ranked 13^th highest with over 3,000 babies name in 2017.

Another Kate and William?

While Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have caused the public much speculation about what style of baby name they will choose, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have always gone more traditionally. Every first and middle name of Kate and William’s children have been royal family oriented.

Firstborn George Alexander Louis,  is named after several family members, including great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her father, King George VI. The name Louis comes from Lord Philip Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle whom he was very close with.

Born Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Princess Charlotte’s full name similarly comes from family origins. Charlotte is the middle name of Pippa Middleton and the feminized version of Charles, her grandfather. Elizabeth is clearly a homage to the Queen as Diana is to Prince William’s mother.

Rounding out the children of Cambridge is Louis Arthur Charles. Louis is after Lord Mountbatten like his brother. Arthur comes from King George VI’s middle name. Charles obviously comes from Prince Charles, Prince William’s father.

At long last “Baby Sussex” is finally here. After a pregnancy filled with headlines, Meghan Markle has finally delivered a happy, healthy little boy. While we do not know his name and may have to wait up to 48 hours, per royal tradition, to find out, there are plenty of suggestions being thrown around already. While I think the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will go with something more traditional like Alexander, my personal preference is Spencer after the lovely Diana Spencer, the late mother of Prince Harry.

Lady Diana was an icon and ushered in a new change into the Royal family. She met with the Pope and Mother Teresa and was known for life-long compassion. A baby named after her will surely do great things.

Baby Name Finally Announced

Well, my prediction (and many others) were wrong about the royal baby name. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have announce their son’s name to be Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. This is significant as the name Archie has no other significant royal meaning. Congrats to the happy couple and their lovely baby Archie!