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Baby Archie given a South African name during royal tour

WOKINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 10: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor attend the King Power Royal Charity Polo Match, in which Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex were competing for the Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Polo Trophy at Billingbear Polo Club on July 10, 2019 in Wokingham, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Baby Archie, pictured here with the Duchess of Sussex at the Billingbear Polo Club, Wokingham, in July, has been given a new name. [Photo: Getty]

Baby Archie has received a South African name during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal tour of the country.

It seems like just yesterday that the young royal’s moniker, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was announced.

But now the four-month-old, who is currently experiencing his first royal tour with parents Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, has been given a new name to go by, courtesy of South African organisation Justice Desk.

Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited South African township Nyanga to meet with the human rights advocacy group.

READ MORE: Baby Archie arrives in South Africa

During the engagement, Jessica Dewhurst, the group’s CEO and founder, presented the royal couple with a framed naming certificate explaining the meaning of Archie’s South African name.

The given name is “Ntsika”: It’s a traditional South African name, pronounced “in-Tsee-kah”.

Dewhurst explained to the couple it has a similar meaning to the name Archie – a name of German origin that means “brave”.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - SEPTEMBER 23: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex laugh as Jessica Dewhurst, Justice Desk Founder (R) makes a joke as they visit a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, during their royal tour of South Africa on September 23, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Justice Desk initiative teaches children about their rights and provides self-defence classes and female empowerment training to young girls in the community.  (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex laugh as Jessica Dewhurst, Justice Desk Founder, presents them with the name certificate for baby Archie. [Photo: Getty]

"When your beautiful boy was born you gave him the name Archie," Dewhurst told the couple.

"The name Archie means 'bravery and strength.' So to welcome Archie home, your family at the Justice Desk has given him the traditional South African name Ntsika,” she added.

“This name of Xhosa African origin means 'pillar of strength.' May you always be a pillar of strength for those who need you."

READ MORE: Meghan Markle speaks publicly about being 'woman of colour'

During an interview with US publication Harper’s Bazaar, Dewhurst expanded on how the name was chosen.

She revealed it was “picked by the local township gogos (grandmothers).”

"It's quite traditional for foreign visitors to township communities to be given a South African name,” she added. “South Africa is the cradle of mankind, this is where the human race began, so we are all children of this country."