{"id":1985392,"date":"2025-08-28T20:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T20:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1985392"},"modified":"2025-08-28T20:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T20:49:13","slug":"meghan-markle-clears-up-sussex-name-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/meghan-markle-clears-up-sussex-name-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle Clears Up Sussex Name Confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Markle or Sussex? Meghan Markle<\/strong><\/a> finally set the record straight about her last name in August 2025.<\/p>\n

A clip from her Netflix lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan<\/em>, went viral in March 2025 when she corrected friend Mindy Kaling<\/strong> for referring to her as \u201cMeghan Markle\u201d throughout their segment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep saying, \u2018Meghan Markle.\u2019 You know I\u2019m \u2018Sussex\u2019 now?\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a genuine reason why Meghan corrected her friend on camera. Meghan was given the royal title of the Duchess of Sussex when she married Prince Harry<\/strong> \u2014 whose royal title is the Duke of Sussex \u2014 in 2018.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Where Meghan and Royals Get Their Last Names From<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThe name Meghan Markle has officially been retired. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, spoke to Mindy Kaling about why she prefers the last name Sussex in her new Netflix docuseries, With Love, Meghan. \u201cIt\u2019s so funny you keep saying Markle,\u201d Meghan said. \u201cYou know it\u2019s Sussex now. You have kids and you go, I [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Even though Meghan and Harry formally stepped down from their royal duties in January 2020, they have maintained their formal titles while building a new life for their family in California. (Meghan and Harry are parents to two children: Prince Archie of Sussex, born in May 2019, and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, born in June 2021. Their two children initially had the royal family\u2019s official last name \u201cMountbatten-Windsor\u201d listed on their birth certificates, but Meghan and Harry later opted to use their children\u2019s titles instead.)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Duchess\u2019 slightly awkward correction on With Love, Meghan<\/em> caused confusion on social media about the proper way to address her.<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for an explanation about Meghan\u2019s new last name and its historical significance.\n<\/p>\n

The Confusion<\/h2>\n

Kaling inadvertently kickstarted a viral sensation in a March 2025 episode of Netflix\u2019s With Love, Meghan<\/em> when she referenced her close friend\u2019s relatable background<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack in the Box,\u201d Kaling joked.<\/p>\n

As Meghan chuckled, she corrected Kaling: \u201cYou keep saying, \u2018Meghan Markle.\u2019 You know I\u2019m \u2018Sussex\u2019 now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaling seemed puzzled by the interjection, leading the Duchess of Sussex to clarify that she gained a new last name when she married Prince Harry.<\/p>\n

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\n Meghan Markle and Mindy Kaling on \u2018With Love, Meghan.\u2019<\/span> Courtesy of Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI share my [\u2018Sussex\u2019] name with my children,\u201d she clarified. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to say, \u2018This is our family name!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaling warmly assured her pal, \u201cNow I know and I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The With Love, Meghan<\/em> clip caused a huge splash on social media, as some of her fans insisted that Meghan\u2019s explanation was technically correct, while others complained that her correction of Kaling was not relatable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Clarification<\/h2>\n

During an appearance on The Circuit with Emily Chang<\/em><\/a> in August 2025, Meghan was finally asked directly whether people should refer to her as \u201cMarkle\u201d or \u201cSussex.\u201d Host Emily Chang<\/strong> encouraged her guest to give viewers \u201ca tutorial on royal naming conventions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you Meghan Sussex? Are you Meghan, Duchess of Sussex? Is Markle even on your passport anymore? Is it, we don\u2019t use that term anymore?\u201d Chang wondered.<\/p>\n

Meghan reiterated that she formally changed her name to \u201cSussex\u201d once she got married, so it would be inappropriate to call her \u201cMarkle\u201d now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a complicated one for people to understand, because a last name is not typical in that [royal] construct,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n

The Duchess clarified that \u201cSussex\u201d is not technically her last name, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s used roughly, or loosely, rather. It sounds so silly to say. And I get it, because I\u2019m American and then I went there and I started to understand. But then you come back and as an American, you go, \u2018I\u2019m so confused.\u2019 It\u2019s a dukedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in the segment, she confirmed to Chang that her \u201clegal name is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSussex for us works as our family name and it\u2019s the name that we share with our children,\u201d she went on. \u201cSince we\u2019ve been married, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been called.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meghan mentioned she\u2019d realized since marrying into the royal family that the values of being a \u201cSussex\u201d were more important than whatever her legal name may be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned about myself is no matter what my name is or what people call me, I\u2019m still the same person,\u201d she said. \u201cSo that didn\u2019t really, that didn\u2019t change who I am. And maybe that\u2019s probably the biggest distinguishing factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family Legacy<\/h2>\n

Prior to her appearance on The Circuit with Emily Chang<\/em>, Meghan shed some light on why the \u201cSussex\u201d name is so important to her family. She explained to People<\/em><\/a> in March 2025 that becoming a Sussex is a \u201cpart of [her] love story\u201d with Harry.<\/p>\n

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