The hostess formerly known as Meghan Markle is intent on getting you to drop the Markle. As she makes the rounds to promote her new show, With Love, Meghan, she is also promoting the fact that her name is now Meghan Sussex, or maybe Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. It might also just be Meghan? This has not been the easiest transition.
Earlier this week, Meghan made headlines for correcting Mindy Kaling about her surname on With Love, Meghan. When Kaling offhandedly referred to her as Meghan Markle, Meghan said, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now,” having seemingly taken the name from the title she received upon marrying Prince Harry and turned it into her last name. Based on the look on her face, Kaling did not know this. Neither did anyone else, as the revelation caused a bit of an uproar online, with folks wondering if they were meant to call her Meghan Sussex now.
By the time Meghan appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show Thursday, it seemed as though even Barrymore wasn’t quite sure what to call her. In her introduction, the talk-show host said, “Please welcome the incredible, beautiful, effervescent … Meghan!” So now we’ve introduced a mononym situation into the mix. (A hard thing to do with a name like Meghan — it’s kind of giving that billboard in A Star Is Born that just reads “ALLY.”)
Per People, Barrymore used Sussex as Meghan’s last name in a different segment. “This is the Fast Five with Meghan Sussex,” Barrymore said to introduce a bit in which she asked Meghan some rapid-fire questions. According to People, this is the first time she’s ever been publicly addressed as such. Coincidentally, People also published a cover featuring Meghan this week, and she revealed that the Sussex name is, for her and Harry, “part of our love story.”
“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” she said, a sentiment she also expressed to Kaling after their awkward interaction. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H, and I all have together.” (We don’t even have time to get into the fact that she calls Harry “H.”)
That is lovely, but as People also points out, there is no beating the Google algorithm. “Given the media’s ongoing treatment of her last name, as seen in her styling in People, Meghan will likely continue to be referred to as Meghan Markle,” the outlet predicted, noting that the media still refers to Meghan and Kate Middleton — who is technically Catherine, Princess of Wales — by their maiden names thanks to the “strong digital footprints from when they first entered the royal spotlight.”
Okay, so it seems like we sort of have an answer. If you’re writing an article about her (or, let’s be honest, talking about her IRL), it’s Meghan Markle. If you are introducing her on a talk show, it’s Meghan Sussex. If you’re her friend, it’s just Meghan. If you’re writing the credits for With Love, Meghan, it’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Let’s not even start with her referring to herself as “Meg” on the show. There’s already too much going on.
