Welcoming Archie

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-windsor is a bit of a departure from the norm.

And why not? The use of the short form of Archibald follows a modern trend for names like Alfie or Charlie, while Harrison is reportedly a reference to the fact that he is “Harry’s son”.

Also, although the infant is now seventh in line to the throne, his parents have decided not to give him a royal title for the moment at least. He will instead be known simply as “master”. Might he grow up to become simply a “mister”? Some

speculated that the decision means Harry and Meghan do not want to bring up their son as a formal member of the royal family.

Whatever they decide, their choice of name is likely to be popular in Scotland – not least because of Archie Gemmill’s goal against Argentina in the 1978 World Cup. Archibald is used all over the world, but Scots have had a historic fondness for it. For a while, it was seen as old-fashioned, but Archie has come back into fashion, placing 17th on the list of most popular boys’ names last year. And there are likely to be a few more Archies now.