• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
Meghan Markle let slip her real name years ago but it left fans with loads of questions

Home> News> Royal Family

Published 15:40 7 Mar 2025 GMT

Meghan Markle let slip her real name years ago but it left fans with loads of questions

The Duchess of Sussex wasn't actually born 'Meghan Markle'

Rhianna Benson

Rhianna Benson

Following the recent revelation that the Duchess of Sussex, her husband, and children have a shared 'secret' surname, other followers of the family have been mind-blown to discover 'Meghan' isn't even her real first name.

It turns out, the mother-of-two was actually given a totally different moniker by parents Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle at her 1981 birth, but opted to go for 'Meghan' during ascension into stardom.

Her 'nickname', as it were, subsequently stuck - and even husband Prince Harry and the British royal family abided by it when she married into the monarchy in 2018.

Advert

It wasn't until the 43-year-old appeared on The Rachel Ray Show that same year that many fans realised what her real birth name actually is.

Meghan discussed her family's surname this week (Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images)
Meghan discussed her family's surname this week (Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images)

The pair were discussing Meghan's long-standing role on legal drama Suits at the time, with the actress having played the role of paralegal 'Rachel Zane' on the show for seven seasons.

"The character's name is Rachel, which is great," television presenter Ray introduced the segment.

Advert

Meghan surprise viewers by responding: "Did you know my first name is Rachel in real life?

"Did you know that?"

The on-screen host quickly confessed she had 'no idea' that Meghan was going by a stage name.

And before the actress was able to reply after being asked why she'd skyrocketed into stardom leaving her birth name behind her, she was cut off, leaving viewers watching from home hanging.

Advert

"Meghan was just about to explain why she's known by Meghan and not Rachel," one telly-watcher penned at the time.

Another went on: "Oh, my days! I really wanted to hear what she was going to say about her parents and her name."

Sadly, Meghan hasn't attempted to spill the tea on her birth name ever since.

Advert

What she has done recently, however, is reveal that she, husband Prince Harry, their five-year-old son Archie and three-year-old daughter Lilibet all share a new surname.

Speaking to People earlier this week, the former Suits star said her family had been using 'Sussex' as their official surname for some time.

She added that the name was bestowed on her and Harry by his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on their wedding day.

"It’s our shared name as a family," Meghan told the outlet.

Advert

"And I guess I hadn’t recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children. I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together."

Featured Image Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation

Topics: Meghan Markle, Royal Family, US News, Celebrity

Rhianna Benson
Rhianna Benson

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

X

@rhiannaBjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

a day ago
  • a day ago

    King Charles is about to break a major royal protocol

    A change is underway this year for King Charles as the UK gears up to celebrate his official birthday

    News
  • a day ago

    Disturbing audio exposes Titan sub boss firing engineer who raised major safety concerns before tragedy

    Titan: The OceanGate Disaster dropped onto Netflix on 11 June

    News
  • a day ago

    Melania Trump leaves people distracted by 'painful' detail during latest appearance

    The First Lady made an appearance on the White House's South Lawn on Thursday for a congressional picnic

    News
  • a day ago

    Plane seat that sole survivor of Air India crash sat on appears to be very hard to book now

    Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the devastating collision, had been sitting in 11A

    News
  • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's photos of trip to Disneyland with Lilibet and Archie spark bizarre conspiracies
  • Meghan Markle leaves royal fans with burning question after sharing video from Lilibet’s birthday
  • Midwife defends Meghan Markle's labour dance video amid intense backlash from cruel trolls
  • Real reason Meghan Markle and Prince Harry quietly changed child's name on birth certificate