Meghan Markle Issues Strong Advice To Women About Choosing Baby Names
On the season finale of her podcast, Meghan Markle discussed baby naming, entrepreneurship, and motherhood with Spanx founder Sara Blakely.
The Duchess of Sussex shared strong advice, emphasizing the importance of keeping baby names private, while citing her own experience naming Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Meghan Markle also recalled the physical toll of pregnancy during royal duties, including wearing stilettos despite gaining 65 pounds.
Meghan had a heartfelt discussion with Spanx founder Blakely on the final episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, about navigating the roles of motherhood and entrepreneurship.
Reflecting on the early stages of launching a venture, Meghan compared it to conducting a "SurveyMonkey," with everyone chiming in on decisions like the company's name. She then drew a parallel to choosing baby names, offering firm advice to expectant parents.
Meghan said, "It's no different, and I will say this to every woman in the world or every person in the world who's going to have a child, if you have an idea about what you are going to name that baby, you keep it so close to your heart, until that baby is born and it's named."
"Don't ask anyone's opinion," the Duchess of Sussex added.
Meghan, who shares two children with Prince Harry, six-year-old Archie and three-year-old Lilibet, emphasized that naming a baby is a deeply personal matter.
In "Finding Freedom," the biography of Meghan and Prince Harry by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the authors revealed that when it came to choosing a name for their firstborn, the royal couple was drawn to "something traditional, a name that was powerful even without a title in front of it."
"Archie, meaning strength and bravery, fit the bill," they explained. A friend of the couple revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly "thought about Archibald for all of one second. He was always going to be little Archie."
Breaking from royal tradition, Archie has just one middle name: Harrison, a subtle nod to his father, meaning "son of Harry" or "son of Henry."
Their daughter, Lilibet, also has a name with deep family significance. Her middle name, Diana, honors Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.
Reports have suggested that Queen Elizabeth II was deeply unsettled by Harry and Meghan's decision to name their daughter Lilibet, a name with deeply personal roots.
The moniker originated in the Queen's childhood and was affectionately coined when young Elizabeth struggled to pronounce her own name. It was allegedly used only by her closest family members: her parents, her sister Princess Margaret, and later, Prince Philip.
While the Sussexes claimed they wouldn't have used the name without the Queen's blessing, conflicting accounts emerged. The BBC cited palace insiders who said the monarch was not formally consulted.
Other sources noted that while Harry and Meghan did inform her, the late Queen felt obligated to go along with it.
According to one royal aide, the Queen was "as angry as I'd ever seen her" after the couple publicly implied she had fully endorsed the tribute.
During the conversation, Meghan also opened up about the physical demands she faced during her pregnancies, especially while fulfilling her royal responsibilities.
While recalling her time being heavily pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet, the Duchess noted that she gained around 65 pounds with each pregnancy, yet still adhered to the demanding dress codes of royal life, including wearing high heels.
She laughed as she recalled a moment from 2019 when a friend recently reminded her of a photo showing her heavily pregnant.
"A friend just said to me the other day, they were like, 'I just saw this picture I'd forgotten about when you were so pregnant with Archie," she recalled.
Despite the physical strain, Meghan continued to show up for public appearances in her signature pointed heels.
"I always wear my five-inch, pointy-toed stilettos," she admitted, noting that her friend was surprised by the image of her pregnant in heels. "'You have the most enormous bump and your tiny little ankles are bracing themselves in these high heels,' but all my weight was in the front."
Meghan continued, "So you're just going, 'how on Earth am I not just tipping,' you know, face-planting? I was clinging very closely to my husband, like, 'Please don't let me fall.'"
The Tuesday episode marked the conclusion of the debut season of Meghan's podcast, "Confessions of a Female Founder," which launched on April 8 following its official announcement in March.
Over the course of the season, Meghan sat down with a series of inspiring women entrepreneurs, many of whom she shares personal ties with.
Guests included Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Girls Who Code and Moms First founder Reshma Saujani, Kadi Lee of Highbrow Hippie, Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics, Hannah Mendoza of Clevr Blends, Heather Hasson of FIGS, and Kitsch's Cassandra Morales Thurswell.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Brooke Shields' Podcast on Meghan Markle Was Deleted by King Charles' Goddaughter
Today in awkward news, Brooke Shields' recent podcast episode—where she had a lot to say about Meghan Markle—was surreptitiously deleted from the internet. And please be advised that this wasn't just any podcast. It was hosted by India Hicks, who happens to be the goddaughter of King Charles. I'll give you a moment. Per People, Brooke reflected on a SXSW panel she and Meghan did together back in March 2024, which was called "Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen." Apparently, Meghan spoke about writing to Procter & Gamble at age 11 about gender equality—which Brooke found "serious" and "precious." "Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women," Brooke said on the podcast. "She starts telling a story about how when she was 11–and she keeps saying, 'Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women. And she said, 'I didn't think only women wash dishes. It wasn't fair. So I wrote to the company.' She kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. It was just too precious, and I was like, they're not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious." I like a totally normal and on-topic story for the event. But Brooke then recalled interrupting Meghan: "I go, 'Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I've got to interrupt you there for one minute.' I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious. I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we're different. When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute.'" She then claimed their talk became "more relaxed" as a result of the joke. Meanwhile, India doesn't appear to have explained why Brooke's episode was deleted, but People notes that a link to it leads to a "page not found" message. You Might Also Like 70 Impressive Tiny Houses That Maximize Function and Style 30+ Paint Colors That Will Instantly Transform Your Kitchen
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Meghan Markle's Upcoming Gala Appearance Is Now Postponed
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Meghan Markle was set to be honored this weekend at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's Night of Wonder gala, but the event has been postponed amid the ongoing protests in the city. 'As an institution 'of, for, and with Los Angeles,' our responsibility during challenging times is clear: to serve as a community resource focused on healing and unity, not celebration,' Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, President and Director of the museum, said in a statement. 'Los Angeles needs us to channel our energy toward supporting our neighbors and demonstrating the values that make our city and county strong.' Protests in Los Angeles began in Friday against immigration raids in the California city. President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops and Marines into L.A., over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass. 'This isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles,' the governor said last night in an address. 'When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commander the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.' The 'Night of Wonder' gala planned to celebrate Meghan for her work championing 'underserved communities,' they previously announced. 'We are proud to honor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, a native Angeleno, whose work to advance community wellbeing and expand opportunity — especially for underserved communities — aligns with our equity-focused approach to developing science literacy for the next generation, including through our STEM and STEAM Pathways programs,' Dr. Bettison-Varga perviously said. No postponed date for the gala has been announced as of yet. The Sussexes have yet to comment publicly on either the postponed gala or the protest. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game

Cosmopolitan
7 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Brooke Shields' Comments on Meghan Markle Deleted by King Charles' Goddaughter
Today in awkward news, Brooke Shields' recent podcast episode—where she had a lot to say about Meghan Markle—was surreptitiously deleted from the internet. And please be advised that this wasn't just any podcast. It was hosted by India Hicks, who happens to be the goddaughter of King Charles. I'll give you a moment. Per People, Brooke reflected on a SXSW panel she and Meghan did together back in March 2024, which was called "Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen." Apparently, Meghan spoke about writing to Procter & Gamble at age 11 about gender equality—which Brooke found "serious" and "precious." "Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women," Brooke said on the podcast. "She starts telling a story about how when she was 11–and she keeps saying, 'Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women. And she said, 'I didn't think only women wash dishes. It wasn't fair. So I wrote to the company.' She kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. It was just too precious, and I was like, they're not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious." I like a totally normal and on-topic story for the event. But Brooke then recalled interrupting Meghan: "I go, 'Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I've got to interrupt you there for one minute.' I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious. I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we're different. When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute.'" She then claimed their talk became "more relaxed" as a result of the joke. Meanwhile, India doesn't appear to have explained why Brooke's episode was deleted, but People notes that a link to it leads to a "page not found" message.