CHOOSING the perfect name for your little one isn’t always easy, and it’s common for parents to draw inspiration from their favourite musicians, athletes and celebs.
But one couple have defended naming their newborn daughter after Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift despite “super negative” claims they did it for attention.
Haley Richardson, 26, a stay-at-home mom, and Robert Dillon, 34, a delivery driver, welcomed Kelce Taylor-Grace on July 24 at The University of Kansas Health System’s Liberty Hospital, weighing 7lbs 7oz.
Haley and Robert from Richmond, Missouri , say the name honors family traditions and reflects admiration for Kelce and Swift’s character – not their celebrity .
But online haters have hit out at the couple after the name was shared online by Liberty Hospital subjecting the family to unexpected scrutiny and accusations they named their child purely for attention or to receive gifts from the famous couple.
But the couple insist they never sought fame or gifts, and just wanted to share a joyful moment in their lives.
“With her name going viral, some people are just super negative, saying we did this for attention,” Robert said.
“But in the original post that Liberty Hospital shared, our names weren’t in it, our faces weren’t in it.
He added: “It was simply about her and her name, almost like just a birth announcement.”
The engaged couple emphasized they never sought material gain from their naming choice.
“We haven’t received a thing, we haven’t asked for a thing, we don’t want anything,” Robert said.
“Our goal wasn’t to get possessions. It was just to share a moment in our lives that we thought people would think was cool.”
Haley added: “People keep saying she’s named after the couple, and while she may have the couple’s names, that wasn’t ever the intention.
“Kelce Taylor flows well and is really pretty as a name in general.”
Robert’s two sons from a previous relationship -10 and 6 – both also have five-letter names starting with K.
Additionally, Haley incorporated her middle name, Grace, into her daughter’s hyphenated middle name.
“We’re not super fans of Travis and Taylor as a couple,” Haley said.
“We are huge fans of them as individuals because of the work they do in the community and the philanthropic work that makes them genuinely good human beings.”
The couple hopes their daughter will embody these same qualities of generosity and kindness.
“I just want her to be kind, show compassion, have empathy for people, and know that every time she goes somewhere, try and leave that place better when she leaves than when she walked through the door,” Robert added.
Despite a challenging pregnancy which included gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, Haley describes Kelce as “a really super sweet, easy baby” who is “pretty chill”.
The new parents are looking forward to raising their daughter in the Kansas City area.
As for the rumors that Kelce and Swift have reached out or sent gifts to the family, Robert dismissed them.
“There’s a bunch of fake news articles out there saying they’ve sent us gifts. We haven’t heard from them, nor have we received anything,” he said.
Haley hopes her daughter will learn an important lesson from her namesakes.
“Taylor and Travis don’t do their philanthropic work or charity work to get attention. They do it because it’s what they want to do,” she said.
“I want her to know that not everything good that you do has to be announced to the world, and you can do things in the quiet without expecting anything in return.”
The struggle of choosing a baby name
CHLOE Morgan, a Senior Writer at Fabulous, has revealed her dilemma on choosing a baby name...
At 35 weeks pregnant, by far the trickiest part of pregnancy for me in the past few months (minus the insomnia and countless night-time wee breaks!) has been trying to decide on a baby name.
The dilemmas are endless…
My partner and I went for a private scan to find out the gender as early as we could – partly due to the fact we thought it would make baby naming so much easier because we’d only have to come up with a list of names for one gender rather than two.
How wrong we were…
I was absolutely thrilled to be told I was expecting the baby girl I’d already dreamed of, but being one of the last of my friends to fall pregnant, I’ve had countless conversations over the years with excited pals discussing their top baby names …something which I wish I could go back in time and un-hear.
With each friend mentioning at least 10 possible monikers, I can’t help but feel like several are now a no-go even though I know it’s something that none of them would mind in the slightest – it’s a total me problem!
The debate comes up time and time again on social media forums – can you choose the same name that was a “potential” for a friend’s baby?
It’s a very divisive topic and opinions are always mixed…and I don’t want to be THAT person.
While some will argue there’s thousands of other names out there to choose from, others will say you need to choose YOUR favourite…after all, there’s no guarantee that person will even have another baby.
Then there’s also the issue of finding a name you adore…only to research it online and read one negative comment amongst hundreds of positives that you just can’t shake off.
I made that very mistake when I fell in love with a certain name (I won’t reveal it because I don’t want to ruin it for others!) …only to see someone point out that it constantly gets autocorrected on a phone to something rather rude instead.
So, back to the drawing board we went..
Just five weeks to go and it looks like our little one is going to be known as ‘baby gal’ for a little while longer!
