When we learned last year that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds had named their baby girl “James,” my first reaction was to roll my eyes. I thought it was a hipster thing, some sort of affected, twee, contrarian thing to prove how “different” they are by giving their daughter a guy’s name. But I have to take it back. Ryan was in London doing some promotional work for Deadpool and he explained the name choice simply: they named their daughter after Ryan’s late father.
Oh, what’s in a name? Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel when they decided to call their daughter James Reynolds. But, when Ryan made an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain Friday, co-host Kate Garraway asked why they gave James a name traditionally given to boys, calling the decision “unusual.” Ryan explained that they chose the name as a tribute to his dad, James C. Reynolds, 74, who died last year after a 20-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“In the spectrum of weird celebrity baby names, I feel like we’re not really breaking any new ground here,” Ryan said. “I mean, I didn’t call her Summer Squash Meadow Lark, or something. I also thought of all the letters being silent in her name, so it would be just be ‘Haa,'” he joked.
Ryan also shared a milestone in his 13-month-old daughter’s life, saying, “She’s teething at the moment. I love being a father. I don’t want to be one of those celebs who talks about being a parent like they’re the only person in the world who has ever done it.” The actor later added, “It’s the most common thing in the world but the most profound. It’s super fun. I just love it.”
Ryan also discussed his new movie Deadpool, which took 11 years to get made. While he called the titular character his “alter ego,” he promised that he’s “not nearly as homicidal.” In fact, the actor loved the role so much that he brought the costume home to wear for Blake. “She was a bit concerned. She thought it was a bit twisted. ‘Happy anniversary!'” Ryan joked. “I keep it in the TV room, where it scares the dogs. I would hate to be the person to break into my house.”
Okay. I’m sorry, Blake and Ryan! That’s a nice tribute to a late parent. I also understand why they didn’t just wait to have a boy to name him James. Why wait? Ryan sounds like he’s still kind of raw and grieving about his father, so he was probably thinking that giving his daughter his father’s name would be a great way to honor his dad without being overwhelmed, you know? New beginning, new life, etc.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet, Instagram.
Am I starting to kind of not dislike him…? But Blake makes me roll my eyes enough for the both of them.
Same! She seems so vapid.
Why wait to have a boy? Because that’s stupid. Must they also only put her in dresses too?
I love that they did that. I had my daughter after my dad passed but I vowed that once I have a second (if and when) regardless of gender, it’ll be named after my dad.
Ok that’s completely adorable. I can’t hate on them for that, it’s a very nice tribute to his late father. I’ve been liking Ryan Reynolds this past few years & his Deadpool tour has been so hilarious, he clearly is fully devoted to his character. He reminds me of Hugh Jackman with Wolverine, both happy to promote his character & the films. Plus Ryan’s twitter is the funniest sh-t that I’ve ever read.
“Summer Squash Meadow Lark” Ha!
The problem with waiting to have a son is that he may never have a son. He may never have another kid actually. I totally respect Ryan and Blake for keeping their daughter out of the spotlight and for honoring Ryan’s dad the way they did. James may never know her grandfather but she will have him with her everywhere she goes.
“Summer Squash Meadow Lark”
LMAO, okay that made me snort.
I don’t know what kind of cosmic thing is happening but this man has become so attrative to me lately. Has he always been this intelligent? Given such good interviews? Because lately his interviews are amazing, and not in that polished PR spin way either.
You can tell he’s at a point in his life where he’s happy and at peace and his interviews just flow.
I think you nailed it with the last sentence. He’s at peace, and it shows.
As my friends freak out about the impending end of their 20’s, I’m actually finding more and more reasons to look forward to aging. Ryan’s a good example of someone whose outward demeanor/appearance is getting more attractive as his priorities shift for the better. From being “extra” to being crippled by social anxiety, youthful ignorance and self-obsession is almost never flattering.
YES. I remember being quite pointedly turned off by him when he was younger and everyone was gushing about how hot he was. He seemed too hyper and crass, there was just nothing appealing there. Now I look (and listen to him) and I find myself quite appealed.
I think growing up deserves more credit, lol, society tells us to fear it but it does seem to offer an antidote to some of the issues that plague us.
I never got it, either… and I was an impressionable tween when 2 Guys, A Girl & A Pizza Place aired! I think his face (not exactly my type, for whatever reason) could have “grown on me” if he’d been more mature or grounded in those early years.
And you’re right; there’s not enough respect for aging — and too much glorification of youth. Sad to see so many people (from celebs to my own family members) equate youth with beauty/strength and age with ugliness/weakness. Even if we’re focusing solely on the superficial… life experience is sexy! Learning your style and personality and owning it (instead of chasing some ideal) is sexy! When I’m judging a person’s romantic potential, scars and lines and “distinguished” features are more promising to me than an innocent (read: oblivious) and generically flawless face. Relevant example: those lines near his eyes in the top picture…
I have to admit I like the name James for a girl. I think it took a while to grow on me, but I like it now.
I hate the trend of giving girls traditionally boys names.
I wouldn’t describe this situation as following a trend. At all.
You mean like Kelly, Shannon, Jocelyn, Ashley, Leslie? What about Dana, Aubrey or Hilary?Because ALL of those were “traditionally” male names but aren’t anymore. There’s even a ton of more gender-neutral names like Gale, Reagan, Mackenzie, Emery, Blair, Bailey, etc.
I love Ryan Reynolds, have always found him to be adorable, hilarious & charming. I side eyed his marriage to Scarlett Johansson, but I think he really wanted to get married and she was the one he happened to be with at the time (I did the same thing with my ex). He’ll never win an Oscar, but he knows this and seems to have found his niche. He can also ad lib because he’s funny as hell–watching out-takes of him improvising during movie scenes are hilarious.
Also Beverley and Shirley! My grandmother _hated_ her name because “Shirley is a man’s name!” (said in a deep man’s voice because she smoked heavily and had polyps and damaged her voice soon after throat surgery). I hope she never learned that her middle name was a Middle English man’s name as well…
And Tracy, Kelsey, Lindsay and Allison!
I love the name Ashley on a boy. I could never name my son that but I always think of Scarlet O’Hara saying “Oh Ashley!”. Its such a classic manly name in that regard.
And Evelyn! (Thanks, Downton Abbey.)
You mean like Ashley, Meredith, Marion, Courtney, Leslie, Whitney, Stacey? Those all used to be names for males primarily. They can always call her Jamie if she doesn’t want to go by James.
Yes, I mean like Ashley, Leslie, Tracy,Whitney etc etc
I hate that traditionally boys name become girls name after some time.
Maybe it’s irrational but that’s how I feel. You never see parents name their son Mary or Lisa.
You are assuming that every single person who gives his or her child a “girl” name for a boy or vice versa is because of a trend. Our eldest is named Charleigh. Why? Because it was a miracle I was able to conceive at all and we thought she would be our only child. My husband is named Charles and always dreamed of having a child to pass his name on to. My name is Ashley. We talked and named her Charleigh as both a honor to her father and to her mother as it ends in with the “lee” pronunciation.
That’s a great name, Ashley. It’s a unique spelling that reminds me of other pretty names (Raleigh, Ashley, Charlotte, etc.), without being hard to pronounce or making the name unrecognizable.
I totally understand wanting to honour a late parent.
But naming their daughter “James” to me doesn’t sound right to me but whatever who am I to judge. (Plus a soap actor has that name!)
Jamie sounds better but not my kid.
They might call her Jamie as a ‘pet’ name. They call boys who are James Jamie.
I know a couple women named Jamie and I’ve always liked the name for females, it’s kinda unique.
Unfortunately, the feminized versions of some very male names – Jamesina, Davida (tho’ I know people who named their daughter Davida) – now sound more ‘off’ to our modern ears than simply using the original name in a non-gendered way–not to mention the fact that they are grammatically _diminutives_ assigned only to women.
I’m named after a male relative, and my “feminized” version is perhaps a bit more mainstream, but noone spells or pronounces it correctly–and I’ve never felt like it suits me–so I almost wish my parents had stuck with the original. Altho that wasn’t really as accepted in the late 70s. I guess I should just be grateful they didn’t give me my great-uncle’s nickname of Moishe. 🙂
The Instagram caption made me laugh, very cute. And the baby’s name is a lovely tribute to Ryan’s dad.
Bet the kid won’t thank him fo rit which is the main thing. He could easily have had James as the second name, with far less embarrassment as she grows up. Hope if he has a son he doesn’t name it after his mother!
Yes because I’m sure his daughter’s mother aka his wife has the most female friendly name. Blake Lively turned out perfectly fine if you ask me. I’m sure her daughter will be fine as well.
You really think she’ll face a lot of embarrassment over the name James? And your last sentence is just silly, sorry.
I love the name James and I thought it was cute even before I found out the reason. It’s even cuter now.
I love the name James too! Especially for a girl. My youngest was born a few years ago and I realllly wanted to name her James but everyone in our family has 6 letters in our names. So, James is her middle name and it’s beautiful!
I thought the reaction to the name they chose for their child was super over the top, even at the time. My name is Ryan and I feel it suits me really well. As a child I was definitely picked on by other little girls (holding me down to pull down my skirt and not allowing me into the girl’s bathroom!) but I’m far from scarred for life and I would never trade my name! My parents aren’t bohemians, they just liked the name and I had loads of love and affection at home. I grew up to be someone who thinks for myself, is open to freedom in gender identity, and I have incredible high-quality friendships now and as a kid. In conclusion, to all f those who say that the child will be maimed for life by being slightly different, I just have to disagree.
I think it’s a sweet name and it makes me a little teary. I lost my Dad 3 years ago and there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think of him. I would have loved to have been able to name one of my girls after him, but Bruno doesn’t really work for a girl.