Duchess Of Sussex Meghan Markle Is Using Her Maiden Name

Gettyimages | Chris Jackson

At her first public speaking event since the breakup with the royal family, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle has begun using her maiden name.

On Tuesday she took part in a virtual Girl Up Leadership summit. The event drew about 40,000 people between ages 13 and 22 across more than 170 countries, says Insider.

She was introduced as "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle."

Insider says this might be the first time she's used her maiden name since she married Prince Harry in 2018.

During her speech, Markle said:

"Your generation is often referred to as digital natives, and you understand that our online world has the power to affirm and support as much as it does to harm.

You can and will use your own voices to drown out the noise. Because that's what it is — just noise. But your voices are those of truth. And hope. And your voices can and should be much louder."

Wikimedia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meghan_Markle_(Paley_Center_%27Suits%27).jpg

She continued:

"Your gut will tell you what's right and what's wrong; what's fair and unfair. The hardest part — and it was the hardest part for me — is to chase your convictions with action."

Before this event, Markle only used her title of duchess or her first name. As an example, when she had a voiceover role for the Disney Plus' documentary "Elephant," she was credited as "Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex."

Wikimedia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meghan_Markle_drilling_a_borehole_in_Rwanda_(02).jpg

Markle stopped using her maiden name in any official capacity after she married Harry. Her name on Archie's birth certificate reads: "Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex."

Some thought that maybe Markle would use the last name Mountbatten-Windsor, which is apparently the name held by members of the royal family who don't have HRH titles. Archie uses that name, but Harry and Meghan don't use the name officially.

Gettyimages | Dan Kitwood

Insider wanted to make clear that perhaps the name change was from the person who introduced Meghan, and not Meghan herself. But at the same time, she was credited as Meghan Markle in Girl Up's YouTube video of her speech.

But it's not out of the realm of possibility that Meghan has done this herself.

As an example, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, still has her official title but does not use the "HRH." Her Twitter handle is @SarahTheDuchess, but Sarah Ferguson is the name on her YouTube channel, and it's also the name she uses for the children's books she writes.

We may have to wait for more official word on whether she's now simply Meghan Markle.