Meghan Markle wants people to know her name is actually 'Meghan Sussex.' Here's how surnames work in the royal family.

• Meghan Markle revealed on her Netflix show that her family's last name is Sussex.
• Some royals use Mountbatten-Windsor as a last name, but Harry never has.
• The change to Sussex aligns with decadeslong royal traditions.

Meghan Markle isn't Meghan Markle anymore.

In episode two of her new Netflix show, "With Love, Meghan," Meghan, 43, told Mindy Kaling that her last name was Sussex. The name comes from her title as Duchess of Sussex, which she gained when she married Prince Harry, 40.

Meghan told Kaling she found it "meaningful" to share the same name as her children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, calling Sussex their "family name." And on Wednesday, Drew Barrymore introduced her as Meghan Sussex in a clip of her appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," which airs Thursday.

However, Archie and Lili weren't born with that last name, so Harry and Meghan's decision to use it may confuse people who don't religiously follow the royal family.

Here's a breakdown of how surnames work for the royals and how Harry and Meghan may have made the change to Sussex.

Royal last names

Harry's legal name when he was born was Henry Charles Albert David, and he didn't have a last name on his birth certificate. His official title was His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales, as his father was the Prince of Wales.

Often, royals simply do not use surnames, though some members of the British royal family use Mountbatten-Windsor as a last name when needed.

The royal family has used the last name Windsor since 1917. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip decided that their direct descendants who did not have HRH titles or have the title of prince or princess would use Mountbatten-Windsor, incorporating Philip's last name, according to the royal family's website.

Harry never used Mountbatten-Windsor because he always had an HRH title. Instead, he went by Harry Wales when he needed a last name, such as when he was in school and the army, as did Prince William.

Ahead of their May 2018 wedding, Buckingham Palace announced Harry and Meghan's new royal titles would be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Meghan gained an HRH title as Harry's wife.

In contrast to their father, Archie and Lilibet's birth certificates listed Mountbatten-Windsor as their last names, as they did not have the titles of prince and princess at the time of their births. Instead, they were "Master Archie" and "Miss Lilibet."

The switch to Sussex

Though he agreed not to use it for official business in 2020, Harry did not formally give up his HRH title when he stepped back as a senior royal, so he never adopted Mountbatten-Windsor.

However, Harry's children got new names and titles when the royal line of succession shifted after Queen Elizabeth II died and King Charles III took the throne in September 2022.

Archie and Lili moved to sixth and seventh in line for the throne and became Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex. Buckingham Palace updated the line of succession on its website to reflect their title changes in March 2023.

Because they now had prince and princess titles, it would go against royal tradition for Archie and Lili to have continued using Mountbatten-Windsor despite it being on their birth certificates. So, the change to Sussex isn't new; it aligns with long-standing royal traditions.

In March 2024, People reported that Harry and Meghan were using Sussex as their children's last name at school, adding that "Sussex is their family surname."

It's unclear if Harry and Meghan have legally changed their last name to Sussex. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Whether they made the change legally or not, Harry and Meghan are doing the same thing as Prince William and Kate Middleton.

William and Kate were named the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2022, and now, their children are Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales. They use Wales as their last name at school, just as their father and uncle did.