Special meaning behind Prince Louis' full name as birth certificate reveals official title

Prince Louis' birth certificate has been doing the rounds online this week, amid discussions about royal rules on surnames.

Like his father, grandfather, and siblings George and Charlotte, the youngster was blessed with a pretty lengthy official title when he was born to Prince William and Kate Middleton on 23 April 2018.

What is Louis' full name?

Obtained by CBS at the time, the official document listing Louis' birth sees his 'Name and surname' written as 'His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge'.

Interestingly, the latter chunk of the full title could be switched to 'of Wales', after his father William ascended to the Prince of Wales position following Queen Elizabeth II's passing in 2022. Either way, they're quite the mouthful.

But how and why did William and Kate land on the names they chose for their youngest? Is there a special reason for each royal moniker?

Well, to put it bluntly, yes - and yes.

What does each name mean?

Let's start with 'Louis'. According to Heart, the young Prince's name originally means 'famous warrior', or to be 'famous in battle'.

Hence why it was such a prolific title for Kings in medieval France - a country that was formerly consistently at war.

When the name was announced upon his birth, some royalists were surprised by the choice, being that it's already in both his big brother, 11-year-old Prince George's full name - and his father Prince William's.

It's also thought that Louis' first name is a direct nod to Lord Louis Mountbatten - the former mentor to King Charles, and grandson to Queen Victoria, who tragically died in an IRA bomb attack on a boat in 1979, a tragic scene made famous in Netflix's The Crown.

"It shows the romance of this name associated with the hero and family mentor whom William never met — his father’s 'honorary grandfather'," royal historian Robert Lacey previously told PEOPLE of the choice.

Each of Louis' names have a special meaning

This connection also translates when it comes to the youngster's first middle name, 'Arthur'. This moniker, Louis again shares with his 42-year-old father, and his 76-year-old grandfather, Charles.

'Arthur' supposedly means 'the eagle', or 'strong man'.

And finally, when it comes to 'Charles', it's pretty clear who the Wales' were attempting to pay homage to - the King himself.

Charles ascended to the throne upon his mother, the Queen's passing in September 2022.

Despite their lengthy titles, apparently, William and Kate's trio of kids also go by George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales whilst attending school - much like their father William and uncle Harry did in their youth.

The Sussex's surnames

As we say, the revelation about Louis' full title comes amid a debate surrounding the Sussex children - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.

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

The Duchess, 43, revealed earlier this week that - unlike the Wales' - her children don't actually go by 'His/Her Royal Highness' at all, despite being George, Charlotte and Louis' cousins.

Speaking to PEOPLE, 43-year-old Meghan revealed they foursome had actually incorporated her and Harry's titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into their kids' surnames, and had been using their new surname for some time.

She told the publication that the moniker was officially bestowed on the couple by Harry's late grandmother The Queen on their 2018 wedding day, claiming 'Sussex' holds much significance to her.

"It’s our shared name as a family," Meghan went on. "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."

The former Suits actress added that the title is 'part of our love story', admitting: "It means a lot to me."