Rumer Willis reveals the inspiration for daughter Louetta's name: 'It was a typo'
Some typos are inconsequential, but for Rumer Willis' daughter Louetta, a simple texting mishap had a huge impact.
The actress, who recently welcomed her first child with husband Derek Thomas, revealed in a new interview that her baby's unique name was not the original plan. "We were thinking about the name Loretta, and it was a typo," Willis told PEOPLE. "Her dad and I were texting, and he left the 'R' out of Loretta, and it was just Louetta."
And just like that, Willis had a change of heart. "I was like, 'Oh, I love that!' I feel like it was one of those kind of divine intervention universe moments," she said, "and we figured it out actually quite early in my pregnancy."
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Rumer Willis
Though the fateful misspelling won the couple over as a baby name, Willis admits that she still spent plenty of time worrying that they had chosen incorrectly. "What was scary was, I love this name, but oh man, is it going to be her name?" she said. "Is it the right name? What if she comes out and doesn't look like this?"
Willis continued, "I fell in love with the name so much, so early on, that I was then worried that it wouldn't work. But then she came out, and I mean, to me, at least right now, I was going to name her Lou, whether she was a boy or a girl."
The "versatility" was a huge part of the name's appeal for her and Thomas, who like the idea that Louetta could change her moniker in years to come.
"If she doesn't feel like a Louetta, she can go by Lou, she can go by Etta," Willis mused. "She can go change it up throughout her life. Whatever she wants."
Willis, the eldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, recently marked her 35th birthday by reflecting on her early days of motherhood, posting a photo of her breastfeeding Louetta on social media.
"Last year on my birthday I had just found out I was pregnant with Lou and I was so tired and kinda nauseous and I hadn't really told anyone," she wrote. "I was nervous and excited and felt so many tiny little butterflies in my belly and in deep wondering of who this little soul may be. To have her here now in my arms on this next trip around the sun, I feel every birthday wish I have ever had has come true ten fold."
When commenters criticized the actress for showing herself breastfeeding, she didn't hesitate to clap back.
"Becoming a mother is a privilege, being able to breastfeed is a privilege. One I definitely don't take for granted" Willis replied to one commenter. "So I will celebrate every sec of this journey because this is my first time doing all of this and I honor and have the deepest reverence for the women who have walked this path before me."
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