Archie is one of the fastest rising baby names for boys in the U.S., according to new data from the Social Security Administration.
The agency released its official list of the most popular baby names of 2019, and although the top names weren’t particularly surprising, the broader data showed more interesting trends.
The name Archie jumped up a full 316 spots, from No. 988 in 2018 to 672 in 2019. That makes it the name with the 10th biggest jump on the boys list in 2019.
While names rise in popularity for a variety of reasons, it seems likely that the May 2019 birth of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, son of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, played a part in increasing Archie’s visibility. Indeed, the name Meghan rose 703 spots, from No. 1,404 in 2017 to 701 in 2018, the year of Markle’s royal wedding, which dominated headlines in both the U.S. and U.K.
The 2019 birth of the royal baby Archie was a similarly big news story, so it’s unsurprising that his name got a big boost on the popularity charts. In 2018, 209 baby boys were named Archie, but the following year, that number went up to 381.
The name Archie peaked in popularity in the U.S. at No. 98 back in 1907, and it dropped off the SSA’s Top 1,000 after 1988, only to return in 2018. Archie is much more common in the U.K., however. In 2019, it ranked No. 19 in England and Wales and was the third most popular name for boys born to mothers under 25.
The royal Archie’s middle name, Harrison, also got a bump in popularity, rising from No. 115 in 2018 to 112 in 2019. Meanwhile, the more formal version of the name, Archibald, saw no significant change, with 70 baby boys named Archibald in both 2018 and 2019.
Other royal babies’ names have increased in popularity in the U.S. in the years following their births. Prince George was born in 2013, and that year, his name rose to No. 157 from No. 166 in 2012. It’s now at No. 119. Princess Charlotte’s name rose from No. 10 in 2014 to No. 9 in 2015, the year of her birth, and Charlotte currently ranks at No. 6. Following Prince Louis’ birth in 2018, SSA data showed that the name Louis rose to No. 260 from 277 in 2017. In 2019, Louis was up to No. 248.
It’s hard to determine how much Archie’s cousins may have influenced these bumps, however, given that they are part of general upward trends that began before the royal births. However, it’s more than likely they played a part in increasing the visibility of their names.
As for Archie’s dad, the name Harry actually fell between 2018 and 2019, from No. 623 to No. 647. The Meghan bump from the year before was also not sustained. Meghan dropped to No. 733 in 2019. It seems that baby name fame is fickle.
