Entertainment
Ashley Graham Introduced Her Newborn Son & Revealed His Meaningful Name — VIDEO
In a touching video with her husband Justin Ervin, Ashley Graham revealed her baby boy's name and introduced for the very first time. The video, an episode of her web series Pretty Big Deal posted to her YouTube Channel Tuesday morning, goes into detail about a lot of things baby-related, but perhaps the most exciting is the announcement of their son's name:
Throughout the video, Graham and Ervin reflect on their journey to parenthood. Touching on Graham's maternity cover for Vogue, her changing body image during pregnancy, the decision to deliver naturally, her labor and delivery experience, and the changes a baby has brought to their family; the sweet walk down memory lane culminates with a visit from the new baby.
"We are so excited for all of you to meet Baby Irvin," Graham said early on in the video. "He's a little bit busy right now napping, pooping, and feeding — currently napping, thank goodness." But it isn't long until the little guy makes his appearance. "I think it's time to bring out our son!" she said a little while later.
"Alright world, meet Isaac Menelik Giovanni Ervin," the new parents said in unison. And the teeny tiny baby boy is quite something.
After bringing the little guy on screen and giving him lots of kisses, Graham and Ervin talk a bit about the meaning behind Isaac's name.
"Now let's explain everything," Graham said. "Isaac you thought of in high school/middle school." Ervin responds, "Middle school, yeah. Kia and I, my sister ... would have a discussion like, 'When I have kids... and she was always brainstorming names. So I brainstormed my own names for my future son and I knew it was going to be Isaac."
As for the boy's two middle names, they have an interesting backstory as well. "And Menelik," Graham said, "we were inspired in Ethiopia last Christmas. We went with Rachel, our best friend, and Menelik is the first emperor of Ethiopia. It also means 'Son of the Wise.' And Menelik was the son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon." "So everything in his name is pointing towards legacy," Ervin added. "Isaac, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Menelik being royal African roots, and then Giovanni is the Italian version of John."
They go on to explain how they landed on Giovanni as a second middle name. "Our friend Anthony was tossing out names when we were in Amalfi together," Ervin explained. "And he loved the name Giovanni," Graham chimed in. "But if kind of hit home for us because your grandfather's name is John, my grandfather's name is John." Another special John in Ervin's life: "The founder of the church that my parents got baptized and saved in."
It's safe to say that Graham and Ervin didn't choose their child's name at random. Baby names can hold so much meaning for parents and it looks like baby Isaac has plenty of the legacy to live up to that his parents mention in the video.