Royal baby: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry name their son Archie

Just hours after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed their newborn son to the world, the child’s name has been announced.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have named their child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the couple revealed via Instagram.

The Queen was told of the child’s name when she met him for the first time today, following Meghan and Harry’s two-minute interview at Windsor Castle.

Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, and the Duke of Edinburgh were also present during the meeting with the Queen.

The couple shared an intimate black and white photo of the party of five, with the Queen smiling at her eighth great-grandchild in Meghan’s arms. Chris Allerton, the photographer who took Harry and Meghan’s wedding party photos, was behind the lens.

The seventh-in-line to the throne, who was born at 05:26am on 6 May 2019, hasn’t yet had his title revealed.

Not a favourite with bookmakers

Yesterday William Hill selected a new favourite name - Spencer at 4/1 - the maiden name of Prince Harry's late mother Princess Diana.

Other top picks for the royal baby boy are James and Alexander, both at 5/1.

The couple posed with their baby boy for photos at 12pm this afternoon in Windsor Castle, revealing parenthood is “magic” and they’re “still trying to figure out” who their son looks like.

Read more: Who does the royal baby look like

Meaning, origin and popularity

The name Archie is a boy's name of German origin meaning “truly brave”.

According to Baby Centre, Archie was the 15th most popular name for a baby boy born in the UK in 2018. It’s not as popular in the US; it ranks number 737 for popularity in the US in 2019 so far.

It’s not a modern name. Archie started out as a short form of Archibald but has been used as an independent name since the 19th century.

There aren’t many famous people called Archie, however Archibald Leach was the birth name of English-born Hollywood actor Cary Grant.

Archie Gemmill (born 1947) is a Scottish footballer; the lead character in hit ‘Netflix’ show ‘Riverdale’ is named Archie and comedian Amy Poehler’s son with Will Arnett is also called Archie.

The name’s “fun and fresh” says baby name expert SJ Ljungstrom, from ChannelMum.com.

“The name both reflects their new family make up but also builds bridges across the world,” she says.

Read more: A brief history of royals debuting their babies around the world

“Archie is a wonderful choice as it encapsulates pomp and tradition while having all the cheeky chappie qualities of Harry himself.

“Meanwhile Harrison is a noble name which traditionally means 'Son of Harry or Henry’, so there is no moniker which could ever be more appropriate for Harry’s firstborn son.

“Harrison also perfectly encapsulates the American and wider Commonwealth trend for using surnames as first names. It’s currently ranked 113 in the US and was made popular by actor Harrison Ford, but expect to see thousands of newborns given the name now it has the Royal seal of approval.”