John Legend Shares the Sweet Meaning Behind Baby Esti Maxine's Name

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen welcomed their newborn baby girl on Jan. 13. The singer first shared the news of their daughter's arrival during a private concert, where he told attendees that "the little baby" arrived "this morning," per People. He added that while he "didn't get much sleep," he felt "energized" after spending time at the hospital with Teigen and their little one. "What a blessed day," he added.

Legend and Teigen shared the first photo of Esti on Jan. 19, when the "Cravings" cookbook author posted a snap of the infant with the couple's older two kids, 6-year-old Luna and 4-year-old Miles. "She's here! Esti Maxine Stephens - the house is bustling and our family could not be happier 💕," she wrote on Instagram. "Daddy sheds nightly tears of joy seeing Luna and Miles so full of love, and I am learning you still need diapers with a c section!? We are in bliss. Thank you for all the love and well wishes - we feel it all!"

Then on Jan. 24, Teigen shared a close-up photo of the newborn on Instagram, in which little Esti is seen sleeping soundly in her mom's arms with her head resting on one of her tiny hands. Teigen captioned the photo, "look at u out here lookin like a baby." Meanwhile, Legend commented, "My little Esti 😢❤️."

The couple's famous friends were quick to chime in as well, with soon-to-be-mom Kaley Cuoco writing, "Oh em gee what a beaut!!!!!!" Kris Jenner added, "Soooo beautiful just like her mama 💕💗💕💗." And Mandy Moore, Andy Cohen, and Gabrielle Union all commented with red hearts.

Teigen first announced her pregnancy on Aug. 3, 2022, with an Instagram photo of her baby bump, captioned, "the last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again. 1 billion shots later (in the leg lately, as u can see!) we have another on the way."

On Sept. 30, 2020, Teigen revealed that she and Legend lost their third baby, a boy named Jack, midway through her pregnancy. She shared the news in a heartbreaking Instagram post that included black-and-white photos of their son. Legend previously opened up about his doubts about releasing said pictures in an interview with BBC Radio 4. "I was hesitant to share it," he said, "but I think Chrissy was really right. Way more people than anybody realizes go through this, and they think they are alone. It was a really powerful, wise decision by Chrissy to share it."

Teigen reflected on her pregnancy loss in People's 2021 Beautiful Issue, where she said losing Jack actually taught her "how strong physically and mentally a body can be." "Seeing people rally around us has been really beautiful," she added. "There have been things in the past year that I never thought John would have to see, but it's also been so wonderful that we have prevailed and still see each other with so much more love than we could have ever, ever imagined ever in our lives. Whatever love we put out into the world 10 years ago, we're getting it back tenfold. I feel every piece of love from everybody around the world."

These days, Legend and Teigen are basking in family life with their adorable newest addition. And it turns out, their daughter actually has a sweet connection to Legend's side of the family. Read on to find out the meaning behind Esti's name.

Legend opened up about the connection Esti's name has to his family in a Feb. 1 interview with E! News. "It turns out, my great-grandmother was named Esther," he explained. He added, "It wasn't intentionally after someone, but once Chrissy told me that idea, I was like, 'Oh, my great-grandmother's name was Esther.'"

Esti's middle name, Maxine, is also in honor of one of John's relatives. "We wanted to already name her middle name Maxine after my grandmother, whose middle name was Maxine," he told the outlet. "So, it's a lot of my family in the name."