Ed Sheeran Is a Dad! The Sweet Name He Chose For His Baby Girl Is Gaining Popularity
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Ed Sheeran is a dad! The singer and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, welcomed their first child in August, a daughter named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. Ed announced Lyra's arrival with a sweet photo on Instagram of teeny tiny socks sitting atop a knit blanket. He said both Cherry and Lyra are doing well and that they're "on cloud nine over here" — aw!
The name Lyra, which has Greek origins, has just begun to increase in popularity in the US over the past few years. In 2015, the name snuck into the top 1,000 names of the year for girls, and in 2018, it sat in its highest ranked spot at 680th most popular of the year. However, Ed isn't one who's known to do things because they're cool or trendy — fans are speculating that Ed was inspired to use the name as a fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, in which the main character is a young girl named Lyra. In 2015, the singer said on Twitter that the three novels "are the best books I've ever read."
As for Lyra's geographical middle name, Antarctica, it's definitely a unique one we haven't heard used before, but it holds meaning for the couple.
"Me and Cherry always wanted to go to Antarctica, it was always on our list," Ed said on The Hits Radio Breakfast Show. "So we went there and it's just an amazing place, it's really special to us, and obviously, like, we got home and Cherry was pregnant. Yeah, it was just something we wanted to have in her name. I know people see it as a weird thing, but . . . it's less about where she was made and more about it being special. I just wanted to have a connection to it." He added, "I understand it's like awkward for kids to grow up and then she'll like watch this interview and be 'eww.'"
As Lyra's surname doesn't appear to be double-barreled, she also sports Seaborn, her mom's last name, as a second middle name.
Congratulations to Ed and Cherry on the arrival of their daughter — we know they're both super private, but we hope to see a glimpse of Lyra soon!