Meghan Markle sparked online buzz when she jokingly corrected Mindy Kaling for calling her “Meghan Markle” instead of “Meghan Sussex” during Season 1 of her Netflix cooking series, With Love, Meghan.

Later, in an interview, she explained that she adopted “Sussex” as a family name to share an identity with Prince Harry and their two children.

Even with her explanation, confusion lingered, leading Markle to revisit the topic during an appearance on The Circuit with Emily Chang, where she confirmed that her legal last name is officially tied to her royal title.

Clearing Up the Confusion

During her conversation with Chang, Markle was asked directly if “Sussex” was truly her surname. As Tyla reported, she responded:
“It’s not, but it’s used loosely or roughly rather. It sounds so silly to say, and I get it ‘cos I’m American, and then I went there and I started to understand, then you come back and as an American, you go ‘I’m so confused.'”

She went on to clarify, “It’s a dukedom, and that’s the truth of it. But at the end of the day, yes, my legal name is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, but Sussex works for us as our family name, and it is the name we share with our children.”

The Netflix Moment With Mindy Kaling

The debate over her last name began when Markle corrected Kaling on the second episode of her Netflix show. While recalling her childhood as a latchkey kid who often relied on microwave meals, Kaling joked, “I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten at Jack in the Box.”

Markle quickly responded, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep calling me Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”
The lighthearted but slightly awkward exchange happened as the two prepared cucumber sandwiches for a children’s party.

The Meaning of the Sussex Name

In a March interview with PEOPLE, Markle elaborated on why she values the Sussex surname. She shared:
“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. I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H, and I all have together.”

When Prince Harry and Meghan married in 2018, the late Queen Elizabeth granted them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Since then, the couple has used “Sussex” as the surname for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, though their birth certificates officially list Mountbatten-Windsor, the royal family’s designated last name.

Facing Media Scrutiny

Returning to her discussion with Chang, Markle also touched on the relentless media criticism she endures and how it could affect her children. She admitted:

“And even though earlier I was saying you can compartmentalize, like I say, ‘That’s a caricature.’ Yes. But my kids will see those magazines, and we all know moms gossip.”

She added with hope, “Maybe there would be less noise if people remembered that I’m a real person.”