Royal Baby Archie Just Made His Own Name So Popular It Beat Out All The Others In 2019

If you’re thinking about turning to popular culture to find inspiration for a baby name...get in line. According to a recent survey, Archie is the most popular baby name of 2019 so far. Blame it on the Riverdale reboot or thank your royal stars for Meghan Markle.

Baby name blog Nameberry has published a list of the most popular baby names of 2019. The lists of 100 girl names and 100 boy names has some standards: your Olivias, your Elizabeths, your Davids and your Olivers. However, there are some surprising new frontrunners. Namely, Archie, the name of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s firstborn.

It’s important to note that the lists are based on Nameberry’s page views rather than records of who is actually naming their baby what. However, Nameberry notes that the page views have been a valuable predictive tool in the past, meaning that names that make their Top 100 lists often claim spots on official lists in the next few years.

It’s likely the increase in page views for “Archie” is thanks to the royal family. “Archie” is typically short for “Archibald.” While the newest royal baby has many names — Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, if we’re keeping track — “Archibald” is not one of them. While “Archie” sits as the number 1 most popular boy's name based on page views, “Archibald” doesn’t crack the top 100.

Under girls’ names, Isla is the most popular thus far. Also, it’s pronounced “eye-la” in case you, like me, have been saying the “s” like an uncultured swine. Last year, the name Isla was on the lower-end of the most popular names, sitting at the #82 spot for the U.S. Nameberry credits actress Isla Fisher for popularizing the name across the world. (Though it’s been in the bottom half of the Top 100 lists, it’s consistently cracked the Top 10 girl’s names in countries like Canada, Australia, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England.)

According to Nameberry, “Isla” means island, derivative of either the Spanish or Scottish place. According to Urban Dictionary, people named Isla are very smart, funny, put-together, athletic, always smiling, confident, the best friend you could ever have, a stunner, so beautiful, very caring, kind, loyal, funny, and “willing to kick but [sic] if someone messes with her or one of her friends.”

“Isla” didn’t get the news bump that “Archie” has this year. Australian model Candace Warner recently give birth to a daughter she named Isla, but that was a significantly smaller news story than Meghan Markle’s birth. So, not sure why “Isla” has had such a boost in popularity, but I’m going to credit that Urban Dictionary definition.

Whatever name Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose for their son was likely to hit the number one spot on any name list. There were theories and conspiracies and literal monetary bets on what the baby’s name would be. The royal couple waiting a few days before officially announcing the royal baby’s name which, again, in full is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

As if naming a child weren’t stressful enough, there were questions whether the Queen would or could have a say in the baby’s name. “In the case of names, it is more of an informal conversation,” royal commentator Kate Williams told CNN in April 2018. “Of course they have such respect for the Queen that if she says, ‘I really don’t like that name,’ they’d definitely take that into account.”

Additionally, the Queen has the power to bestow a royal title upon a newborn, according to the Independent, but doesn’t have ultimate say over what the baby’s name with be. Perhaps, if she did, “Queen4Lyfe” would be the number one baby name of 2019.