Jay-Z Reveals the Name He and Beyoncé Almost Gave Blue Ivy Before a Last Minute Change

Before landing on Blue Ivy Carter, Jay-Z and Beyoncé were actually crazy in love with another name.

"It was supposed to be Brooklyn," the "Forever Young" rapper revealed in an Oct. 27 interview with CBS Mornings, a connection to his beloved hometown. "That was the name we had in theory. But when we got the little sonograms, you know, they're super small and we were calling her Blueberry. It was like a nickname. And for nine months we're like, 'Look at little Blueberry.'"

So it was on to the next one as far as they were concerned when it came to a moniker for their daughter, now 11.

"It was natural," the Emmy winner, who also shares twins Rumi and Sir Carter, 6, with the "Crazy in Love" singer, continued. "We just took the Berry off and just called her Blue."

And, of course, the rest is history. 

As for what that history entails? Well, as concertgoers of the Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour witnessed this year, Blue Ivy graced the stage alongside her mom to slay a few routines for the first time—an experience her dad couldn't be prouder to see.

"I still get goosebumps seeing her walk on stage," he shared. "Because Blue's been born into this world, she's been born into a life she didn't ask for. Since she was born, she's been in scrutiny and everyone has an opinion. Even [as] a little girl, how she keeps her hair. So for her to be on that stage and reclaim her power, and the song is called ‘My Power,' and it's just—you can't write a better script."

And while the musician knows first-hand that 99 problems can easily happen as a performer, Blue gave it all her energy and didn't look back.

"I know how nervous she was," he said. "I know how frightened she was. And she wanted to do it. She wanted to do it the first night, and we were like, ‘Okay, if it's something you want to do, you can't just go out there. You gotta go work with the dancers and go work.' And she worked every day."

But Blue isn't the only celeb kid with a name that's simply irreplaceable. Keep reading for even more unique names.

As Gwyneth Paltrow explained to Oprah Winfrey, her daughter's unforgettable name was actually picked by Chris Martin: "When we were first pregnant, her daddy said, 'If it's a girl I think her name should be Apple'...It sounded so sweet, and it conjured such a lovely picture for me, you know. Apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's biblical."

Singer Grimes said in an interview with Vanity Fair, published in March 2022, that she and Elon Musk privately welcomed a baby girl recently via surrogacy.

"Exa is a reference to the supercomputing term exaFLOPS (the ability to perform 1 quintillion floating-point operations per second)," she said. "Dark, meanwhile, is 'the unknown. People fear it but truly it's the absence of photons. Dark matter is the beautiful mystery of our universe.'"

Sideræl—pronounced "sigh-deer-ee-el"—is "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time," she said, and a nod to her favorite Lord of the Rings character, Galadriel, who "chooses to abdicate the ring."

Elon Musk introduced his and Grimes' baby boy X Æ A-12 to the world on Twitter in May 2020. They later slightly modified the spelling of their child's name in order to meet California's legal guidelines, which only permit letters from the English alphabet. Switching over to roman numerals, the parents agreed to spell his name, X Æ A-Xii.

"X, the unknown variable," Grimes explained on Twitter. "Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent."

Grimes continued, "A=Archangel, my favorite song" with an accompanying a rat and sword emoji. "Metal rat."

Cardi B and Offset welcomed their daughter in 2018. 

When asked where the inspiration for their baby girl's name came from, "Bodak Yellow" rapper said, "Kulture [heart emojis] anything else woulda been basic Okrrrrr." As for her middle name, Kiari is actually the Migos rapper's first name. 

Khloe Kardashian welcomed her daughter with Tristan Thompson in 2018, and welcomed a baby boy Tatum via surrogate in 2022.

"In my 32 years of life I thought I had seen a lot of places, experienced a lot of things, met a lot of people and felt love...then came you," Shay Mitchell shared of picking a moniker for her and partner Matte Babel's daughter. "Truth is I had no idea I was capable of loving anything like this before you arrived."

In 2014, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling introduced the world to Esmeralda Amada. In an interview with The Violet Files, the Hitch star shared that the couple's daughter's name carries a sentimental meaning. "Ryan and I both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and we just think it's a beautiful name," she said. "Amada was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish."

Mendes and Gosling used the moniker once again when naming their second daughter Amada Lee Gosling, who they welcomed in 2016. 

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden's little girl has a pretty cool name, and Diaz took to Instagram to announce welcoming the baby into the world, adding, "She is really really cute. Some would even say RAD."

Zooey Deschanel and ex-husband Jacob Pechenik revealed their daughter's name is Elsie Otter because the furry critters are "really sweet, they're also smart, they use tools to keep their favorite tools, [and] they hold hands while they sleep."

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott gave their baby girl the name back in 2018. As for where the inspiration for Stormi's name came from, the Kylie Cosmetics founder shared, "When I was pregnant, I used to call her 'Stormie'—when I would talk to her in my belly. It just always felt right."

Inspired by their faith, Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega named their first child Ocean King. Providing more context for fans, the Spy Kids star said, "God called the dry ground 'land' and the water the 'seas'. And God saw that it was good. That is why we went with Ocean. And he is a son of the one true 'King'. For us it has a beautiful biblical meaning."

The couple are also parents to Kingston James, who they welcomed in 2019, and Rio Rey, who they welcomed in 2021.

In January 2022, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra announced they welcomed their first child. E! News later confirmed they are the parents of a a baby girl, born by surrogate on Jan. 15 in San Diego.

Amber Rose loved the name she gave her and Alexander "AE" Edwards' son so much, she decided to get it inked on her forehead. She also had her and Wiz Khalifa's son Sebastian's name tattooed

Kevin Hart's baby boy's name means "strong and healthy." The Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle star is also dad to Heaven and Hendrix. 

Bachelor alums Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici became parents to baby Mia back in December 2019. They're also parents to sons Samuel Thomas and Isaiah Hendrix.

When it came to naming twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, Neil Patrick Harris said that he and husband David Burtka wanted something versatile, noting that the name "Gideon" could be "a scientist or a guitar player in a band." 

For Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry's third child, the moniker means "officiant of the church" and "young wolf." The couple also share daughters Riley Elizabeth and Ryan Carson. 

Diplo decided to name his second son after his electronic dance music trio, Major Lazer. 

Kandi Burruss became a mom for the third time back in November 2019, introducing the world to baby Blaze. She is also mom to son Ace and daughter Riley. 

Unique names have become a Kim Kardashian and Kanye West staple as evidenced by their children's monikers: North West, Saint West, Chicago West and Psalm West. 

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen became parents to Luna Simone back in 2016. During a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Cravings author revealed that the name was inspired by a blood moon that had occurred right before her birth. "There was a blood moon happening, and it was really a beautiful night," she recalled. "There was a really big, vivid red moon. It was just gorgeous."

Would any other name smell as sweet? Bachelor Nation's Krystal Nielson and Miles Bowles introduced their little girl to the world, announcing the name: "It's official!!! Glitter baby has a name!!!! Introducing our beautiful angel, Andara Rose Bowles."

Dwayne Johnson and wife Lauren Hashian's youngest daughter's moniker seems to be inspired by Princess Tiana from Disney's Princess and the Frog. 

Tyra Banks and her boyfriend Erik Asla welcomed baby York Banks Asia via surrogate back in 2016. 

Chris Brown's little girl has a name fit for a queen. 

There must be a good story behind Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis' daughter's name. 

Hope Solo and Jerramy Stevens had twice the joy when they welcomed their twins into the world.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z unforgettably named their firstborn child Blue Ivy, followed by equally standout names for their twins, Rumi and Sir. 

Back in 2014, Ciara and Future welcomed their son Future Zahir, whose name was inspired by his dad's stage name. The "One Two Step" singer is also mom to daughter Sienna Princess, and Win Harrison, who she shares with husband Russell Wilson. 

Willow Smith's name pays homage to dad Will Smith. Similarly, her brother Jaden Smith's moniker was also inspired by mom Jada Pinkett Smith. 

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