Along with carving out two successful Hollywood movie careers, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are the busy parents of four children. They started their family with James, a daughter born in 2014, followed by Inez, another daughter born in 2016. Blake ended up giving birth to another girl, Betty, born in 2019. Earlier in 2023, likely in the month of February, Blake had their fourth child, and it is unclear if they want to have more children now that they are a family of six.

Both actors have opened up about parenthood over the years, occasionally talking to the media about their children. They do not want their children to be exploited, and they have very strict rules about parenting. Blake and Ryan have also spoken about the inspiration behind their daughters’ unique names. Read on to find out how they decided on the names Betty, Inez, and James Reynolds for their children.

Updated on May 18, 2023: 2023 has been an exciting year for the Reynolds-Lively household already as they welcomed baby number four into their lives. The family is notorious for keeping family matters private, and the parents work especially hard to keep their children out of the paparazzi/news/social media.

Because of this there is not too much information out there about the newest family member, but Ryan shared his happiness when welcoming their new baby and continuing to grow their family, remarking on how he has always wanted a big family, "Yeah, I come from four, Blake comes from five. Both of us are the youngest."

Why Did Ryan And Blake Name Their First Daughter James?

Following their 2012 nuptials, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds welcomed their first child in December 2014. As James is traditionally known as a male name, fans were immediately curious about the couple’s decision to give this name to their daughter.

According to Life and Style, the couple went with the name James because it was a way to honor Ryan’s father, James. While James Reynolds did get to meet his granddaughter who was named after him, he sadly passed away in 2015.

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“It felt right,” Ryan explained in a 2018 interview.

The inspiration to name their daughter after James may have stemmed from the fact that Ryan had a complex relationship with his father. Life and Style reports that the two weren’t always close, but Blake helped him to mend his relationship with his dad before he passed away from Parkinson’s Disease.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds at the Special Screening of Deadpool 2
Via: Instar

“All family relationships come with some complications,” Ryan said in his 2018 interview. “For better or worse, all roads lead to here. At the end of the day, it’s easier to focus on the good stuff than the bad. My father died soon after my daughter was born, but he got to see her, which makes me happy.”

In terms of choosing a unique baby name, Ryan revealed in a 2016 interview that the name James is quite normal: “In the spectrum of weird celebrity baby names, I feel like we’re not really breaking any new ground here. I mean, I didn’t call her Summer Squash Meadowlark, or something.”

Why Did Ryan And Blake Name Their Second Daughter Inez?

Two years after welcoming James, Blake and Ryan had another daughter: Inez. The couple didn’t officially confirm the name of their new baby until various publications reported that her name was Inez (they incorrectly spelled it as Ines) when the baby was three months old.

Related: The Real Reason Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds Refuse To Spend Thousands On A Nanny

This time, neither parent has explained why they went with the name. Self reports that the name means “sacred” or “chaste” and is a variation of the name Agnes, which originates from Greek.

The publication also points out that the name can have different spellings in different languages. In French and Spanish, for example, it’s spelled as Inès or Inés, respectively.

Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds
Via: Instagram

Life and Style cites a 2018 interview where Blake confirmed the spelling of her second daughter’s name: “I had a new baby, Inez, with a ‘z’ even though everyone says it’s with an ‘s’. I don’t know why, please tell Wikipedia.”

Why Did Ryan And Blake Name Their Third Daughter Betty?

Blake and Ryan welcomed their third daughter in October 2019, however, they didn’t confirm her name until Taylor Swift—who’s best friends with the couple—revealed it in her 2020 song Betty.

In the song, Taylor references James and Inez too as an ode to her close friends in the lines “Betty, I won't make assumptions” and “You heard the rumors from Inez” and “She said ‘James, get in, let's drive’”.

The Gossip Girl actress shed a little light on the inspiration behind the name when talking about her line of non-alcoholic mixers, Betty Buzz. As it turns out, the name Betty is a tribute to her late father.

“My dad’s name was Ernest Brown Jr. but he was known as Ernie Lively,” Blake explained (via Us Weekly). “He gave up his last name when he married my mom, [Elaine Lively], and any success he, or I, have experienced has been in a name that isn’t his.

Related: Male Pronouns Are Frowned Upon In The Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds Household

“So when I was working hard to build this company, I wanted any success to be in a name that was meaningful to him. Betty was his mom and his sister’s name. Also, Ernie would not be the best name for a mixer.”

Sadly, Ernie Lively passed away in June 2021 from cardiac complications.

What We Know About Baby Number 4, And Will Taylor Swift Reveal Any Names?

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds welcomed their fourth child into the world in early February 2023. Sticking with the trend of their past pregnancies, the couple did not want to know the gender of their recent addition, just like they did not want to know the genders of their previous children.

Fans wonder if Lively and Reynolds will again announce the name of their child through Taylor Swift, especially considering she recently released her newest album Midnights. The only name from her album was "Daisy," but only time will tell if she again announced Lively and Reynolds' baby name.

Though the couple have not publicly confirmed the name or gender of their new child, Reynolds addressed the shifting dynamic in an interview with ET Canada. "You know, two to three was a huge jump… three to four less so. I cannot speak for my wife, but it’s just from what I’ve observed. But, we love it. You know, we would be idiots to do this again if we didn’t love it."