Meghan Markle has revealed she no longer goes by her maiden name, telling viewers of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan that she now uses her royal title as her family surname.

The Duchess of Sussex, who was born Rachel Meghan Markle, shared the personal update during a conversation with actress and comedian Mindy Kaling. The revelation surprised many fans, who assumed she still went by Markle.

“It’s so funny too that you keep saying Meghan Markle,” the duchess told Kaling in the episode. “You know I’m Sussex now.”

Meghan explained that the decision to embrace the Sussex name became more significant after the birth of her two children with Prince Harry. “You have kids and you go, ‘No, I should share my name with my children,’” she said. “I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go, ‘This is our family name, our little family name.’”

The couple married in 2018 and became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They welcomed their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019, followed by daughter Lilibet Diana in 2021. While they stepped down as senior royals in 2020, they retained their Sussex titles, a decision that has sparked debate in Britain.

Despite calls from critics for the couple to be stripped of their titles, Meghan has now made clear that the name carries profound meaning for her. In a recent interview with People, she elaborated: “As the kids get older, they’re so excited about, ‘Oh my gosh, Mama and Papa, how did you meet?’ I think that will come with time as they get older, but for right now, a huge part of our love story is that we share the name Sussex. It means a lot to me.”

The update has divided opinion online. Some critics accused Meghan of hypocrisy for distancing herself from the royal family while embracing the title. “You walked away from the honor of having that gift of a name, and you can’t have it both ways,” one social media user complained. Others defended her choice, pointing out that the duchess has been subjected to years of relentless criticism. “The hate for Meghan Markle is ridiculous,” wrote one fan. “You’ve no real reason to hate her.”

For Meghan, however, the matter seems settled. Her name, she insists, is now Sussex—shared with her husband, her children, and her vision of a united family identity.