Meghan Markle is reflecting on the deeper significance of the Sussex title.

In an intimate interview with PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story, Meghan says the Sussex name — bestowed upon her and Prince Harry by Queen Elizabeth on their 2018 wedding day — holds a much greater meaning now than she ever anticipated before motherhood.

“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,” she says in this week’s cover story.

The couple’s children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, use it as their last name, which is a tradition within the royal family. Harry himself was known as “Harry Wales” growing up in school, taking his father King Charles’ former title, Prince of Wales, as his surname.

“I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me,” Meghan says.

Noting that the Sussex name “is part of our love story,” she adds, “I think 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.”

The Sussex name becomes a point of conversation in an episode of Meghan’s new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan. When friend Mindy Kaling refers to her as “Meghan Markle,” Meghan gently points out, “It’s so funny that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now. You have kids and you go, ’No, I share my name with my children.’ And that feels so…I didn’t know how meaningful it would be, but it just means so much to go, ‘This is our family name, our little family name.’”

Kaling nods and replies, “Now I know, and I love it.”

Archie and Lilibet were previously known as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor” but were granted the titles of prince and princess when their grandfather King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022. Meghan and Harry used these titles for the first time in March 2023, announcing Lili’s christening and their names were updated to “Prince Archie of Sussex” and “Princess Lilibet of Sussex” on the royal family’s official website.

With her new series, debuting March 4 on Netflix, Meghan is sharing her personal passions— including cooking, hostessing and decorating— with her biggest audience yet.

“When your children get to a certain age—when you’re not just playing in the sandbox with them but almost playing in your own sandbox again—it’s super joyful,” she says. “As a woman, a mom and a wife, to be able to find yourself again—in a way that was always present but that you maybe couldn’t put as much attention on as you now can when your kids are a little bit older—is a wonderful feeling.”

Since she and Harry moved to California five years ago, Meghan acknowledges just how much life has changed.

“Five years ago Archie was only 8 or 9 months old, so my life has changed so much,” she says, , opening up about her journey through motherhood — welcoming a newborn, navigating pregnancy while raising a toddler and now parenting both Archie and Lili. “Anyone who has children will tell you, it’s a huge evolution as a woman during that time.”