The Meanings Behind the Royal Family’s Names: From Queen Elizabeth II to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor

Credit: Chris Allerton/WPA POOL/MEGA

The Meanings Behind the Royal Family's Names: From Queen Elizabeth II to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor

Looking to the past to dictate their future! The royal family leans on tradition when it comes to naming their offspring, from Queen Elizabeth II to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. The brood rarely deviates from choosing monikers that hint at their ancestry. Evidence of such can be found in the longest-reigning monarch and her children with Prince Philip — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — as well as in her grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry. The practice continues to make its way to the new generation of royals. William and his wife, Duchess Kate, picked classically royal names for their little ones. Prince George arrived in July 2013, followed by Princess Charlotte in May 2015 and Prince Louis in April 2018. Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, did the same when they welcomed their first child, son Archie, in May 2019. However, the couple decided not to accept a royal title, which is typically bestowed on members of the family by the queen. “As we expected, Harry and Meghan [have] forgone a courtesy title for their child,” royal commentator Omid Scobie tweeted days after the baby’s birth. “All part of giving him as normal a life as possible.” Despite his place as seventh in line to the British throne, a source revealed exclusively to Us Weekly in April 2019 that Archie would not be called a prince because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex want to “live a quiet life.” The naming process has become so predictable that ahead of Louis’ birth, a London-based betting company correctly identified Arthur as one of the prince’s potential monikers. The odds were 5:1, and as it turns out, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chose Arthur as one of his two middle names. Scroll to discover the significance behind the royal family’s names!

Credit: Chris Allerton/WPA POOL/MEGA

The Meanings Behind the Royal Family's Names: From Queen Elizabeth II to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor

Looking to the past to dictate their future! The royal family leans on tradition when it comes to naming their offspring, from Queen Elizabeth II to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. The brood rarely deviates from choosing monikers that hint at their ancestry. Evidence of such can be found in the longest-reigning monarch and her children with Prince Philip — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — as well as in her grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry. The practice continues to make its way to the new generation of royals. William and his wife, Duchess Kate, picked classically royal names for their little ones. Prince George arrived in July 2013, followed by Princess Charlotte in May 2015 and Prince Louis in April 2018. Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, did the same when they welcomed their first child, son Archie, in May 2019. However, the couple decided not to accept a royal title, which is typically bestowed on members of the family by the queen. “As we expected, Harry and Meghan [have] forgone a courtesy title for their child,” royal commentator Omid Scobie tweeted days after the baby’s birth. “All part of giving him as normal a life as possible.” Despite his place as seventh in line to the British throne, a source revealed exclusively to Us Weekly in April 2019 that Archie would not be called a prince because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex want to “live a quiet life.” The naming process has become so predictable that ahead of Louis’ birth, a London-based betting company correctly identified Arthur as one of the prince’s potential monikers. The odds were 5:1, and as it turns out, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chose Arthur as one of his two middle names. Scroll to discover the significance behind the royal family’s names!

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Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary shares a first name with her late mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Alexandra is a traditional name for the family, while Mary was passed down from the queen’s aunt and grandmother.

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Prince Charles

Prince Charles Philip Arthur George’s first name has been handed down throughout the royal family’s lineage dating as far back as 1600. Arthur and George are also traditional names in the brood’s history, with the latter coming from Queen Elizabeth II’s father. Philip is from Charles’ dad, Prince Philip.

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Prince William

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis shares the Arthur moniker with his father. Philip, meanwhile, pays homage to the Duke of Cambridge’s grandfather, Prince Philip, and Louis comes from Philip’s late uncle Louis Mountbatten.

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Prince Harry

Though he goes by the nickname Harry, the Duke of Sussex’s full name is Prince Henry Charles Albert David. Henry was the name of the queen’s late uncle, while Charles is handed down from Harry’s father. The queen’s dad, King George VI, was originally named Albert before ascending to the throne. David is a common moniker in the royal family that stems from the patron saint of Wales.

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Prince George

Prince George Alexander Louis will potentially be the U.K.’s seventh King George. The name of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child largely echoes the queen’s heritage, as her father was King George VI. Alexander is a tribute to one of Elizabeth’s middle names, Alexandra. Louis stems from Prince Philip’s late uncle Louis Mountbatten and George’s father, William, who bears it as a middle name.

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Princess Charlotte

William and Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, carries her great-grandmother and late grandmother Princess Diana’s names. Charlotte serves as a female version of Charles — as in Prince Charles. She further shares the name with her aunt Pippa Middleton, whose middle name is Charlotte.  

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Prince Louis

Prince Louis Arthur Charles' father uses Louis and Arthur as middle names. The moniker Louis belonged to Louis Mountbatten and Prince George as well. Charles, of course, is an homage to William’s dad.

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Archie Mountbatten-Windsor

Harry and Meghan paid tribute to his late mother, Diana, with their firstborn’s name, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, from Scotland was one of her ancestors. Harrison means “son of Harry,” while Mountbatten was the surname of Prince Philip’s late uncle Louis Mountbatten, whom Prince Louis and Prince George are named after too.

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Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor

"Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” Harry and Meghan wrote in a June 2021 statement on their Archewell website after their daughter's arrival. "Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”