Why Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds named their daughter James: the heartbreaking story

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are doting parents to four children, and first became mom and dad with the birth of daughter James back in December 2014.

Although a common, historic moniker for boys, James isn’t often given to girls, but there’s a heartfelt reason behind James’ unique name — all to do with her famous dad.

The Deadpool star named James after his father, James Chester Reynolds, who sadly passed away after a long-term battle with Parkinson’s in 2015.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain after James was born, the proud father discussed her name. “My father just passed away, but my daughter’s named after him,” he shared.

The actor added: “In the spectrum of weird celebrity baby names, I don’t really feel like we’re breaking new ground here. I didn’t call her Summer Squash Meadowlark.”

Blake and Ryan are also parents to daughters Inez, six, and Betty, three, as well as a newborn whose name or gender has yet to be revealed.

Ryan was asked about his fourth child during an appearance at the CNBC’s Power Lunch just after the Super Bowl.

When asked about the gender of their baby, all the actor had to say with a laugh was: “I’m not telling, this ain’t a birth announcement.”

The actor has definitely been just as dedicated to keeping his children out of the spotlight as Blake has, despite his constant presence on social media.

He expressed further in the interview how the news of the birth was able to spread without having to make a formal announcement of the fact, thanks to a photograph that Blake shared.

In the picture, the A Simple Favor actress was seen visibly without her baby bump, alluding in her caption that it was a recent snap and that she had “been busy.”

Speaking of life at home since, he continued: “It’s a zoo over here. This is my office here. To be honest, I’ll probably spend the rest of my life in here.”

Blake has now given birth to her fourth child

He added: “Look, we wouldn’t do this four times if we didn’t love it. Everybody’s doing great. Everybody’s actually doing fantastic. If we hadn’t figured it out by now, I think we’d be in deep, deep trouble.”

While he didn’t divulge any details about their new child’s name – which fans speculate may have come courtesy of close friend Taylor Swift – or birth, he did state that he and Blake are “very excited” about the newborn.

Read more HELLO! US stories here

Keep up with the latest celebrity stories Sign up to our HELLO! Mail newsletter to receive the latest news straight to your inbox.