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

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.

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)

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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."