LONDON - Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, gave the world a first look Wednesday at their son and, after introducing him to the queen, announced his name: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
It was fair to say, nobody saw an Archie coming, not even the bookies.
The Sussexes revealed the name on their Instagram account, with a black-and-white photo of Meghan showing the baby to Queen Elizabeth II and Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Beside them stood Harry and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.
British royals tend to pick traditional names for their offspring. And so, before the announcement, bookies said the favourites for Baby Sussex were Spencer, Alexander, James, Philip, Arthur and Albert.
Prince Harry's name isn't actually Harry, by the way. It's Henry Charles Albert David.
Archie now has his own page on the royal family's website. There was no mention of any historical inspiration for his name.
Would it be correct to say that maybe, just maybe, mom and dad like the name?
On this side of the pond, Archie has grown in popularity in recent years. In 2017, it was the 18th most popular boy name in England and Wales; in 2016, it ranked 192.
Archie is a shortened version of Archibald, which means "distinguished and bold," and Harrison means "son of Harry."
Twitter erupted on Wednesday with pictures of the comic book character Archibald "Archie" Andrews, while the official Twitter account for Archie Comics tweeted simply, "I'm baby."
A spokeswoman for Kensington Palace confirmed reports that the young royal won't be called the Earl of Dumbarton, a title given to Prince Harry by the queen when he got married.
"It's true that they have chosen not to give their son the courtesy title at this time," she said.
Nevertheless, the two-day-old appeared quite comfortable in his new role as a royal baby. He attended his first photocall inside St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, cradled in his father's arms. Truth be told, he looked . . . sleepy. He was swaddled in a beanie and blanket, and, like many babies, bore a striking resemblance to Winston Churchill.
Harry said the couple was "so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy."
Meghan said she's got "the two best guys in the world."
Archie, who is seventh in line to the British throne, was born under a partial veil of secrecy Monday at dawn, weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
