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Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor: Breaking down Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby name

Buckingham Palace has not said why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex picked the moniker, but social media users can't stop talking about it.
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What's in a name?

That seems to be the million dollar question everyone has after Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle announced Wednesday that they named their baby boy Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

Buckingham Palace has not said why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex picked the moniker, but social media users can't stop talking about it. Shortly after the couple's announcement, Archie became a trending a topic on Twitter in the United States.

“It’s a big surprise and really fun," Pam Redmond Satran, co-founder of Nameberry online, told NBC News. "It’s very much them to do something traditional and then break from tradition."

Satran said in Britain there has been a rise in parents using monikers usually thought of as nicknames for the first names of their children.

Image: Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, introduce their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to Queen Elizabeth and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, introduce their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to Queen Elizabeth and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019.Chris Allerton / SussexRoyal via AP

Archie, which is short for Archibald and means "brave," has also gained popularity in the U.K. in recent years, according to Satran. The name was ranked No. 108 in terms of popularity for 2019, according to Nameberry.com. In England, the site said Archie ranked at No. 18. in 2017.

Satran expects the name to gain steam in the U.S. in the wake of the royal baby name announcement.

Although it's unclear why Harry and Meghan picked Archie Harrison, Satran said the name appears to have a personal connection to the couple: Harrison means "son of Harry" or "Harry's son."

As for the baby's surname, Mountbatten-Windsor is what male descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip use when they don't have a royal title. According to the Guardian, the name has been in the family since the '60s.

Satran said the couple's name "sets the monarchy in a different path while still staying in its path.”

And some social media users couldn't be happier by the choice.

"I love his name it's so beautiful and has so much meaning!!!" one Twitter user wrote. "Archie meaning bold &atrong and how precious is Harrison meaning Harry's son."

"Archie already about to be iconic and he’s only a few days old," another wrote.

Others poked fun at the name, comparing it to the fictional comic book and TV character Archie Andrews, which was made popular by the 1941 Archie comic franchise and subsequent TV shows, including The CW's "Riverdale."

It also drew a few comparisons to Archie Bunker, the cantankerous main character on the 1970s show "All in the Family."

One thing is certain, Harry and Meghan are enjoying being new parents.

"It's magic, it's pretty amazing," Meghan said while speaking with the media at St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in Berkshire on Wednesday morning. "I have the two best guys in the world so I'm really happy."

Harry said that parenthood has been "amazing." The couple, who married in May 2018, welcomed the baby early Monday morning.

"We're just so thrilled to have our own bundle of joy and to spend precious time with him as he slowly, slowly starts to grow up," he said.