Several weeks back, we heard an odd story about Prince George of Cambridge. George was out with his grandmother, Carole Middleton, and he introduced himself to a stranger. The weird thing was that he introduced himself as “Archie.” Some theorized that Archie is possibly his family nickname, or maybe his security code name, or something else entirely. We still don’t know and it still haunts me, the idea that George Alexander Louis = Archie. But at least Princess Charlotte’s nickname is an actual, established nickname for the name Charlotte: Lottie.
The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed Princess Charlotte’s nickname is ‘Lottie’ after letting the name slip to well-wishers during a visit to Northern Ireland. Mummy blogger Laura-Ann, 30, from Belfast, took her two-year-old son George to meet Kate and Prince William on their visit to the city’s Windsor Park stadium.
Footage of the meeting shows the Duchess speaking to the toddler, and saying: ‘Hello – what’s your name? Hi George, what a cool name you’ve got, and you look very smart in your bow tie. It’s very nice to meet you.’
Laura-Ann, a part-time estate agent, said after the event: ‘So then she asked how old Bertie [her older son] is, and I said he is four and she said ‘oh he’s the same age as Lottie’ – she calls her Lottie! I wish there was more videos because I can’t remember what she said, or I said- she’s my idol, I absolutely love her!’
I haven’t known that many Charlottes in my life, but the ones I have known usually go by “Charlotte” (no nickname) or “Char” pronounced “Shar.” But yes, Lottie is thing. So is Charlie. I wonder if Charlotte chose it, or whether it just happened organically within the family or what. Yes, I’m fascinated by nicknames and how they happened. So now we know: George and Charlotte are actually Archie and Lottie.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Charlie is such a cute nickname for a girl. They should have gone with that 😏
All a matter of preference I guess. I don’t at all care for Charlie as a nickname for Charlotte.
Agreed. If I had a daughter named Charlotte we’d call her Lottie.
I’ve always wanted to name a girl Charlotte Adeline. My husband would want to call her Charlie but our last name is McCarthy so that’s awkward. A few months ago I was like “oh we can call her Lottie!” But I guess not now.
Why ‘not now’?
There was a several-year period where I swear every late-20s woman around me wanted to name her kid Charlotte and call her Charlie, and they all thought they were super original. If indeed those ladies followed/follow through, there’s going to be a lot of Charlotte/Charlie girls out there for a few years.
There are.
One of my cousins named his daughter Charlee.
I agree.
My friends named their daughter Charlotte with the intent to give her the nickname Charlie. She. Hated. It. She’s 10 now and has always insisted on Charlotte. They were bummed, haha, but everyone acknowledges that it definitely suits her.
I mean, my five year old went through a phase of refusing to be called anything but ‘Rocky’ and then ‘Simba’, so I wouldn’t necessarily read too much into the Archie thing.
One of my nephews spent two years telling everyone his name was “Sonic the blue hedgehog.” This was after a few months of telling people he was a killer whale. Kids are kids.
At 5, my eldest son wanted to be called Abraham Lincoln or his name followed by ‘snake’. His fellow classmates asked me if his name was actually Mitchell Snake. Of course I could not sell him out so- I told them yes. Now he is almost 21 and although I’m certain he is brave and smart and oh so Gryffindor, he swears he’s a Slytherin. Lol 😂
I insisted on being called Colleen for like…2 years? (my mother didn’t listen, she had no time for my shenanigans 😂)
I think Lottie is adorable.
Colleen is a lovely name! She should have rolled with it. 😉
A friend’s son announced that his name was now Chainsaw.
😂😂😂
My youngest was Baby Werewolf for close to a year. They made her a new name tag at co-op and everything.
My eldest daughter refused to answer to anything except “Briar Rose” for almost a year, even in school. (Her name is Sarah).
Love this thread. My 8-yr-old recently told me that I failed with his name & he wishes he was named….Pinch. How did I not know?!
🙂 So cute!
I love this thread. Neither of my kids wanted to be named something different, but I hated my long French name as a kid (love it now) and came up with lots of short alternatives for her, none of which she listened to, of course. Like Enn’s mom, she wasn’t really interested in my opinion, she would just laugh and tell me I could legally change it when I was 18.
My daughter would only answer to Scarecrow as in Wizard of Oz
My son insisted he was named Amber for a couple of months- we found out eventually he thought all ambulances were name’s Amber and he wanted to be an ambulance 🤷🏻♀️ Kids are weird.
All I have to say is I’m incredibly uncreative, and my whole family for that matter. We just went for the name everyone called us, and pretty much didn’t care. I love these kids and their creativity. When I was a kid I think I would have picked Cher, if it even occurred to me it was an option. Cher was too cool back then and today. I like both Lotte and Archie. What do you think Louis will be or is?
If you see this comment…. there are a bunch of episodes of the Cher Show (the tv show from the ’70s) out there. They pop up on youtube from time to time. SO awesome! I idolized Cher and watched faithfully every week!
We named our daughter Katherine, but pre-nicknamed her Katie, because we don’t like Kathy, and our family has a ton of Kathys. Now that Katie is an adult, she goes by Kat, which I like, but now I wish we had nicknamed her Kit. It’s so cute and different and is a legit nickname of Katherine.
My son told a woman at the park his name was Elvis. His name is Matt.
Not my preference, I would have gone with Char.
I guess Louis’ nickname will be ‘the Andrew’.
“Laura-Ann, a part-time estate agent” who considers Kate Cambridge her “idol.”
I’m seeing a young Carolyn Burnham, who is all over Jennifer Garner’s Instagram and Reese Witherspoon’s book club.
I love Lottie as a nickname for Charlotte! It’s sweet and a little old-fashioned.
My cousin went by Charley and still does. Her mum tried the Lottie nickname but she ignored that. My Dad nicknamed me Robin because he said my mouth was always open for the food, like a baby bird. 😄🐦
That is so cute.
Aw!
We planned to call our Christina Christie. She came home from school and was suddenly and forever Tina, which for years I could only associate with a battered woman, since Tina Turner had just revealed Ike’s years of abuse. Nicknames have a life of their own.
Aw that’s cute. I too am still intrigued by Archie but like someone said, kids pick their own nick names sometimes. I prefer Char for Charlotte but Lottie’s still really cute.
Lottie is a sweet nickname. Old-fashioned in a charming way.
Lottie is a quite common nickname for Charlotte in upper class circles, so it doesn’t surprise me.
As to George’s mysterious Archie…*whispers*…I prefer it to George, so crack on!
I know LOTS of ‘Lottie’s’ in my area of America. I have seen it used for Charlotte, Scarlett and Colette. Anything with that same sounding name.
Yeah my sons preschool class last year had a few Charlottes, one went by Char, one Char B and the other Lottie. No one wanted to use their full name I guess lol.
yep, look at kate moss’ model sister, she’s a charlotte who goes by lottie.
A lovely Agatha Christie name (from
‘A Murder Is Announced’)
It all ties in with Charlotte’s unusual intellectual interests such as nuclear fusion, and rural crime fighting with Super-Aunt Anne. 🕵🏼♀️ Perfect!
Glor, that is the first thing that came to my mind, too (being a great Agatha Christie fan)!
Excellent!
If you enjoy Sayers also, Charlotte strikes me as a born ‘Harriet’ too. 🙂
I was thinking ‘Archie’ comes from some English murder mystery series, too, but I just can’t think of it. Detective? Butler? Any ideas?
Archie Goodwin is the assistant to detective Nero Wolfe, written by Rex Stout.
Oh bravo NASH (what’s your short form, if any ?)
Terrific books; time I dived in again. 👍🏼
I thought His Georgeness was channelling Cary Grant…..wasn’t he an Archie? The lad could indeed become that mix of suave urbanity…and contained (but not entirely!) giddy mischief.
A great name whoever he has in mind; suits him well, I think.
Yeah, Lottie is pretty much an established shortening of Charlotte in my neck of the woods. ‘Charlie’ is cute, but comes off as very American, if that makes sense.
Same here. I went to school with three Charlottes here in Australia and they were all Lottie. Most people didn’t even know their name was Charlotte. One of them is my good friend and I would never call her Char. Lottie is much prettier I think. I actually love both Charlotte and Lottie as names!
I’m in the Midwest and all the Charlotte’s I know go by Char or Lottie. I’ve honestly never heard of Charlie as a nickname for Charlotte. I also don’t understand nicknames that are just as long as the original name, isn’t the point to shorten it up?
Lottie is a very English nickname for Charlotte. So I’m not that surprised
My nickname from my dad and his side of the family is Raz because when I was younger I was full of razzmatazz. At the age of 13/14 I would have fits if people called me that but at 34 I’ve realised it’s a losing battle so Raz I will forever be!
These are the kind of nicknames I love. In our family our names are our names, but we have a dozen sweet nicknames related to a personal characteristic or funny event.
I got variations on Tada Bug (as in, ‘potato bug’)–so Tay, Tada, Tada Bug. No particular reason that I ever could discern, since it’s not close to my actual name.
I have two little grandsons. Rather than picking a grandmother name for myself, I figured they’d just naturally call me something cute and I’d go with that. Well no, the two little fellows have perfect enunciation and call me distinctly and rather grandly, GRANDMOTHER, with an almost British flair. So it’s ironically cute in that a) I’m from Texas and b) I’m very much a casual type.
@LadyT we usually call my stepdad Papow, but for whatever reason my two and a half year old calls him Babette. Refuses to call him anything but Babette.
My stepfather attended a work function of mine recently and the whole time in my head I am going “do NOT introduce him as Babette”
Somehow, our daughter acquired the nickname Toes. We were vacationing when she was young, and she and my husband held “twinkle toe” races across the pool (i.e., tip-toeing across the width of the pool), and he started calling her “Twinkle Toes,” which quickly reduced to “Toes.” My smart, beautiful 20-something daughter is called Toes to this day within the family.
That’s cute!
Charlotte “Lottie” Dod, the five time Wimbledon champ (among other things) comes to mind
Very cute. I love little nicknames, my brothers name is Jaxon and he goes by Jax (or as I call him) Jaxy.
I take it you’re not British then…….Jaxy (Jacksy) has a somewhat rude meaning here. Or perhaps you are and that’s the point.
I like it & those kids are so stinkin’ cute.
I have a very posh friend called Charlotte and she has always been Champers or Shampoo, I love those nicknames for her!
I like Charlie or spelled Charley but I’m American and we don’t hear Lottie in my neck of the woods at all. But if my daughter’s name was Charlotte I wouldn’t use a nickname at all. After all it’s just 2 syllables and it is so much prettier than any nickname.
Now I want to know Louis’s nicknames too. We have three kids, and our kid with the shortest name ended up being the one with the most nicknames.
‘Louie Louiiiiyyyy’ with Johnny Thunders or a passing Ramone as the guiding spirit! 😈
After being born, the old man of the block came to see the newest baby. apparently I looked up from my bassinet and giggled at him. “She’s quite the giggler, isn’t she?” and I have forever more been “Gig” or Giggles, or Gigi (no soft g’s) or ‘The Gigs’ or just plain Gigs. Also, Barney Google, from being 6 and getting glasses (with the great big googly eyes) and from my Dad
“Mrs. Applepopolus” ……..cause I was a very round child….so to sum everything up, I was a chubby, giggly, glasses-wearing kid – nothing much has changed in 65 years, either!!!
Great story!
“Lottie” is forever linked in my mind with the comic character : Little Lottie….so I would prefer Char (pronounced Shar) or Charly vs Charlie (Charly pronounced like Charlie, tho’)
I went to see A Murder is Announced a couple of weekends ago – Lettie and Lottie!
My youngest is Charlotte and I have always called her Charlie. She answers to both. Lottie is very cute too.
I prefer Charlie, or Charlotte since it is her name. Charlie is more modern. Lottie make me think of old ladies wearing fox fur stoles smelling of moth balls. Sort of like Longbottom’s grandmother from Harry Potter.
Nothing really amazing in shortening Charlotte to Lottie – it is very common in the UK. And they are hadly likely to shorten it to Charlie given her grandfather is Charles!
I can see where you can get Archie from George, especially if it’s based on George mispronouncing his name. They call him Georgie, he says “Orchie”, the adults start calling him “Archie”.
In the tv show Atlanta, Earn and Van’s baby girl is called Lottie. I love Van, she is such a great character
I know three girls named Charlotte, actually. Two of them are from the UK, one is from the US. We call them Char and Lottie, while we call American Charlotte – Charlie. However, I prefer Lotty, it is sound so cool to me.
I know of a toddler Charlotte who goes by Cha Cha, and I love it!!! Maybe not as translatable to an adult, but adorable for a little one!
Char > Lottie 😉
Never mind the nick name-that caped shoulder that Duchess Kate is wearing looks like Darth Vader’s helmet.
It does! Now I can’t un-see it.
You would think Collette and Scarlet would shorten to Lettie. Anywho, I like Lottie. I knew a Cnar In high school and she was not a nice person. Charlie will always remind me of the little girl in Heredity so that name is now ruined for me now.
I have a 9 letter name and at the tender age of 38 my family calls me Chief. Is is related to my work somehow but mostly I have a short version of my name for everybody else. My friends call me witch, monster, frog, it depends how pissed they are with me. My boyfriend calls me Fluffy because I called him first and he copied me. Go figure
We used to call my little sister by our surname and at the age of 6 people were surprized to learn that she had an entirely different name. And my niece is called Kejsi and her brother called her Tito for years and we still don’t know why. She answered to so all was funny and ok. Nicknames sometimes have no real meaning. Just something that stays.
In my African-American family, the name “Lottie” has been given to someone in my family tree since the 1800s. My maternal great, great aunt had that name and my mother’s older sister is named, Lottie Mae. Aunt Lottie’s granddaughter is named, Lottisha. I also have a friend named Lottie too.
Charlotte was on the list of possible names for my daughter. We would‘ve called her Lotta if we had picked it. Lottie is a grandma‘s name here.
My beloved brother has a solid, straightforward Irish name that really suits him, but for some still unexplained reason (we’re in our 60s for gawd’s sake!) I call him ‘Fred’. Have done since he was born! I was adamant that this was his real name, and that my parents had got it all wrong. Poor little scrap.
I can’t help it now, it’s completely ingrained, and it drives my poor sister-in-law up the wall. (Sure mystifies people at gatherings).
As far as nicknames go, the best one for Charlotte will always be Chuck, as in, A Girl Named Chuck.
I don’t know why anyone is surprised, Lottie is a super common nickname for Charlotte and it’s not like they’ll make any of the really weird ones all that public.
Cha, Char, Charlie are very ‘of the moment’ shorts for Charlotte. Lottie is much more traditional although I actually don’t like any of them.
Maybe George is called Archie. Could come from the phrase ‘Think you are Archie, don’t you?’ When I was his age though I used to tell people my name was Glass.
The only Charlottes I have known insisted on being called Charlotte both were larger than life . My grandfather’s sister, who was a trance medium and a rather spectacular jewish lady kown as Charlotte Hilton who wisely left Germany and later France when the Nazi’s came to power and set up her underwear/ corset business in London….she was tasked with making ‘French and German style underwear’ for the female spies who worked on the continent during WWII, a fascinating woman.
Um omg please tell us more about your grandfather’s sister!
I’m thinking their nicknames are a phonetic take on how to spell their names. “R-G-E” is the end of “George”, and “LOTT-E” for Charlotte.
Just a guess! I think they’re adorable!
Wow. Didn’t think of that. Good observation.
Of the Charlottes I’ve known, they all went by Charlotte with no nicknames, but I really like Lottie. As for Archie, my brother decided when he was like two years old he wanted to be called “Bo,” like from Dukes of Hazzard lol. He’s 39 now, and I still call him Bo actually. He didn’t start using his real name until he was in college.
My daughter’s name is Charlotte and even at 4 she will only answer to Charlotte. I’ve tried to call her Charlie and she just looks at me like i’m crazy.
My great aunt was named Lottie. It was only years after her death that I realized her given name was Charlotte.