some reasons why she is referred to as "kate middleton."
The simplest explanation for the fact that we still refer to her as Kate Middleton is that, well, that is the name we all “grew up with.” When, as a public, we were first introduced to Kate, she was Prince William’s longtime girlfriend, not yet a member of the royal family (or a style icon) herself. Headlines shouted about their romance (“Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Glam Polo Match Afternoon,” etc.), and part of the appeal of their relationship, a key aspect of the narrative, was that William’s girlfriend did not come from an aristocratic or royal background. As such, that “Middleton” surname always acted—and still does act, in a way—like a reminder of the “fairy-tale” element of their romance: Kate dating, and then marrying, an actual prince could happen to you (you know, if you bumped into a man in a Duane Reade after work one day who asked you on a date, only for him to reveal at Shake Shack later that he was in fact a prince).
The “Middleton” stuck—another factor is that “Middleton” is, as far as last names go, catchy and memorable (and if we really want to run with this, the name itself suggests the rise from the “middle” that she made)—and, for the eight years of their pre-wedding relationship, that is what we strictly knew her by. While it is not impossible to shift what you’re known as to the general public (as “Diddy” can attest to), it is never exactly an easy feat to pull off, either.
Another key element that has led to the continued use of “Kate Middleton,” on the part of the U.S. media, is, yes, the Internet. As was suggested by the previous Google search results, American Internet users know her, primarily, as “Kate Middleton.” When most Americans are unwinding from a busy day at work—lounging in athletic shorts on their couches, not having made it to the gym—they are typing “Kate Middleton,” not “Duchess of Cambridge,” into their phones, to see what she is up to and what she’s been wearing. And, correspondingly, while you’ll see publishers attempt a “Duchess Kate” here and there, it is very rare to see her referred to exclusively as the “Duchess of Cambridge” in an article or post.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/09/duchess-of-cambridge-kate-middleton-name-title
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