“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”(“名字有啥意思？玫瑰叫什么也是一样的香。”)这是莎士比亚Romeo and Juliet中的名句。
“What’s in a name?”这句话的意思是︰what someone or something is called or labeled is arbitrary compared to their intrinsic quality。 Intrinsic，解本质的、内在的。人和事物，叫什么都可以，本质才最重要。
但名字真的不打紧吗？为什么又会说“不怕生坏命，最怕取坏名”？无论如何，早前大家讨论得最热闹的，也是个名字问题，又或可说是Archie Harrison这个名字的问题。
以前在互联网搜寻Archie，先出现的搜索结果应该是Archie Comics。在美国流行了几代，以大男孩Archie做主角的漫画书。但今天最优先列出的，当然是英国皇室最新成员，Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry和Meghan Markle所生的小王子。
小王子未改名前，英国传媒称他为Baby Sussex。 Archie Harrison名字出炉后，大家就兴高采烈地，你一言、我一语地大做文章。首先，英国皇室专家立即指出，Archie或Harrison都不是英国皇室传统常见的名字。这当然令下注于Arthur、Edward或Philip的赌客大跌眼镜。
只看现在
Archie和Harrison背后有什么玄机？ Majesty皇家杂志的执行编辑Joe Little就说：
Archie means “genuine(真诚的)”, “bold(大胆的)” or “brave(勇敢的)” – and is more popular in Britain than the US. It was originally a shortened form of Archibald but is now often used as a name on its own.
为什么选这两个名字？ Little就说：
It may well be it’s a name that Meghan is familiar(熟悉的) with and again that’s why they are using it. Archie has a British feel to it, whereas Harrison is more of an American name. The first Harrison that springs to mind is Harrison Ford. They have wanted to do something a little bit different, and they have done.
皇室观察家就认为这反映了王子爸妈的心态和做事方式，CNN皇室记者Max Foster写道：
Instead of a traditional royal name, they chose a name they loved. What they are very much doing is reflecting their generation. They are not looking to history, they are looking to now.
他们舍弃皇室传统而选个自己喜欢的名字，正正反映了他们这一代，不看历史，只看现在的态度。为什么为小王子改Archie这个名？英国小报The Sun就说是这个原因：
Baby Archie was named after Meghan’s pet cat and a vintage(经典的、老牌的) US comic she used to collect, her pals believe. The future Duchess of Sussex used to tell friends about her beloved moggie(猫) Archie, who ended up fat after being constantly(不断地) fed frozen grapes.
爱猫名字
Meghan的朋友说，其实是因为她以前养过一只叫Archie的猫！
信不信由你，总之一个人当红，自然引来很多流言。至于”what’s in a name?”，看来名字并不是真的那么无关痛痒。要找名字背后的故事，可读Patrick Foote的The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between。
