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Ryan Reynolds Defends His Daughter James’ ‘Unusual’ Name: ‘We’re Not Breaking Any New Ground’

Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds attends a fan screening of Deadpool in 2016.

It’s in the fam! Ryan Reynolds defended his decision to name his baby daughter James on Friday, February 5, after Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway questioned the “unusual” name.

“In the spectrum of weird celebrity baby names, I feel like we’re not really breaking any new ground here,” the Deadpool actor, 39, said of his first child with wife Blake Lively. “I mean, I didn’t call her Summer Squash Meadowlark, or something.”

He jokingly added, “I also thought of just going with all the letters being silent in her name, so it would just be ‘Haa.’”

The Hollywood hunk and Lively, 28, welcomed James, 13 months, on December 16, 2014.

Related: PHOTOS: 2015's Babies of the Year

Reynolds confirmed in March 2015 that he and his wife had named their girl after his late father, who passed away last October.

“It’s out there,” the actor said at the time. “It’s James. Everyone knows, and I told everyone who would listen before it was out there that I didn’t want to be the first guy screaming it out to the media because, as we know, little girls turn into teenage girls and little teenage girls sometimes scan through the archives and go, ‘Why did you do that?’”

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Lively and Reynolds attend the Costume Institute Gala in 2014.

Reynolds, who is currently promoting his latest film, Deadpool, also gushed on Friday about life as a new dad. “It’s the most common thing in the world but the most profound,” he said. “It’s superfun. I just love it.”

Related: PHOTOS: Ryan Reynolds' Hotness Evolution

The proud dad marked James’ first birthday around the holidays. “Happy birthday to my baby girl!” he tweeted in December. “Sad I lost my virginity. But thankful I have a daughter.”

Reynolds and Lively tied the knot in September 2012.

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