If you’re like me, then you’ve been straight up glued to the internet this week as the world waited like an old school, sweaty-palmed, nervous, new dad in a waiting room, to hear the news of the royal birth.
Moms and dads everywhere swooned when a pink-cheeked and obviously giddy Prince Harry gushed to the world that he is a proud papa to a son but also that women are fierce as hell. Prince Harry, who is known for speaking up on issues of equality did every mom a huge favor when he spoke eloquently and candidly about how amazed he was to witness Megan laboring and giving birth.
But then, like waiting for those annoying ads on YouTube to go away, we had to sit tight and wait some more before we heard the name.
Spoiler: it’s Archie!!! SO CUTE!
Americans may know and love the name Archie from pop culture (looking at you, Archie comics!) but the name is actually steeped in a rather lovely history that involves the culture crossover between English, Scottish, and even Germanic pasts.
Archie actually comes from Archibald, which is a modern English and Scottish blend of the Old High German name, ‘Ercanbald’. If we pull the Germanic name apart, we can see the historical meaning of the name; “ercan” translates to “genuine” and “bald” translates to “bold” and when combined, it is easy to see why the lovely royal couple has chosen such a powerful name for their infant son.
If we all recall, Megan wore an absolutely stunning gorgeous yet super simple design for her wedding dress because we were to focus on the event and not the attire. The wedding event itself was a wonderful mix of love, inclusivity, and political statements on racial equality. We’ve also seen Prince Harry and Megan speak publically about women’s issues, racial equality issues, and climate change to name a few. They really do appear to be socially progressive and heartfelt people who are clearly thinking about how they want to raise their son as evidenced by the name they carefully chose.
Also, OMG, you guys, Archie is such a cute name.
Right now, according to Nameberry, as the world learns of this sweet child’s name, ‘Archie’ is listed as #108 on the most popular baby boy names, curiously (gee, can’t imagine why) the name has seen a 6% uptick in popularity today. Americans and Brits, however, have very different ideas of cool baby names (Kale versus Alfie, for example) so it is worth noting that in the UK, the name Archie is actually quite popular and comes in at #18.
Congrats to the new parents! Make sure you sleep when the baby sleeps.
(Just kidding, don’t do that.)
