Shropshire Star

Move over baby Archie! Shropshire has been choosing your name for ages

With the news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opted to name their new baby Archie, the name will no doubt soon be gaining popularity around the world.

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Meghan and Harry with baby Archie

But it seems parents in Shropshire are already ahead of the curve.

Archie was the area’s seventh most popular baby name in 2017, according to the Office of National Statistics.

There were 25 little Archies born to mothers from Shropshire during the year, the last period with available data.

For Telford & Wrekin Archie, was not quite as popular, coming in at 19 on the list with only nine born to mothers throughout the year.

In Powys it fared even worse, at 24 on the most popular names list, with only four youngsters given the same name as the royal baby. They joined 2,780 born elsewhere in England and Wales, making Archie the 18th most popular name across the two countries.

Prince Harry and Meghan revealed the name of their first child two days after his birth.

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The couple’s Instagram account announced: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.”

The duke and duchess’s son arrived on Monday, May 6 at 5.26am, weighing 7lb 3oz.

As is the custom for royal babies, Harry and Meghan will have shared news of their choice with the monarch before releasing it to the public.

Harry said, when announcing the birth, that the baby’s late arrival had given them longer to decide on a name.

Archie is a name of German origin and means “genuine”, “bold” and “brave”.

Short for Archibald, it is now given as a name in its own right.

Among the bookmakers’ favourites before the name was announced were Alexander, Arthur, Albert, as well as James and Philip, while Spencer was a late favourite, but Archie was a surprise choice.

The most popular boys names in Shropshire were Harry and Oliver, and the most popular girls name, meanwhile, was Olivia.

In Telford & Wrekin it was George that was most popular for boys and Ava for girls.

Powys’s most common names were George and Jack for boys and Freya and Olivia for girls.