For real though, who really inspired the first name of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's first child?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex debuted their son and revealed his name, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, on Wednesday, two days after he was born, and shared a new pic of him on Sunday, Mother's Day. They have so far offered no explanation about his name. That has not stopped people from chiming in with several theories and reports.
1. Military Connection? On Sunday, The Sun on Sunday reported that Archie's name was inspired by the nickname of Tom Archer-Burton, Harry's former British Army commanding officer. The Duke of Sussex is a former Apache helicopter pilot who served 10 years in the Army, including two tours in Afghanistan, before leaving the armed forces in 2015.
According to the Sun on Sunday, Harry, then known as Officer Cadet Harry Wales, experienced the lowest point of his military career in 2007 when he was told he could not join his men for a six-month deployment to Iraq despite his wishes, over concerns he would be seen as a high-value target. He threatened to quit the Army, after which Tom convinced him to stay and later helped get him deployed to Afghanistan. He became the first royal family member to serve in a war zone in more than 25 years.
"It's well known in Army circles, and Archie's inner circle, that baby Archie is a nod to him," a source told the newspaper. "The two men have stayed in regular contact, and Archie has met most of Harry's family, including Meghan. It's an incredible honor but Archie is an incredibly modest chap, and won't be making a big deal of it."
Tom had attended Harry and Meghan's May 2018 wedding and the two men had also traveled together in Africa on a charity expedition, the Sun on Sunday said, adding that Tom had also helped with Harry's charity mission to rebuild a school in the African kingdom of Lesotho.
2. A New Zealand Boy? In an interview with New Zealand news service Newshub, also released by the U.K.'s Channel 5 on Saturday, a boy named Archie Somerville-Ryan recalled meeting the couple during their tour of the country in October. He said that after he introduced himself, Harry told him, "Archie, I like that name."
3. A Tribute to Meghan's Late Cat? The Sun had also recently quoted what it called a former friend of Meghan as saying that the Duchess of Sussex used to have a cat named Archie.
5. A Tribute to Meghan's Dad? The Sun reported that Meghan used to collect Archie comic books with her now-estranged father Thomas Markle.
"She would spend her weekends going to vintage stores to buy the comics. This could be a little nod to her dad," the Sun quoted Meghan's former close friend as saying. "It was him who instilled that hobby into her, that was their activity together. He would drive her around and also surprise her with vintage volumes. She had at least 100. This may be a way to reach out to her dad, even after all that's happened."
4. A Tribute to the Archie comics? According to The Sun, Meghan's late cat was named after the title character in the Archie comic books. The people involved with Riverdale, on which the series is based, had a bit of fun after the baby's name was announced.
6. Prince George Connection? In January, Harry's 5-year-old nephew and Prince William and Kate Middleton's eldest son Prince George told a dog walker he met that his name is Archie. The report of the curious incident, which was unearthed and went viral after Archie's name was announced, has spawned its own theories. Some have speculated that this is the code name George's bodyguards use for him, while others think Harry had told his brother and his family ahead of time of his and Meghan's intent on naming their son Archie.
As for the new royal baby's middle and surname, their meanings are pretty self-explanatory; "Harrison" is thought to be an homage to the baby's dad, as it literally means "son of Harry." The baby's last name is a hyphenated combination of Queen Elizabeth II's surname Windsor and her husband Prince Philip's adopted surname Mountbatten, and is often used by her male-line descendants who do not have royal styles and titles.