George Clooney Reveals Why He And Amal Named Their Twins Alex And Ella | HuffPost Life

'We wanted them to at least have a break with the names.'

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Life editor at HuffPost UK

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George Clooney has revealed what inspired him and Amal to name their 12-week-old twins Alex and Ella.

The new dad, 56, quite simply said he didn’t want his kids to have “really dumb names”.

“We figured these kids are going to be looked at a lot and watched and [have their] every move sort of judged, and we wanted them to at least have a break with the names,” Clooney told Entertainment Tonight at the Venice Film Festival.

Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis via Getty Images

Clooney continued: “So we looked for some sort of normal names.

“We didn’t have any great inspiration. It wasn’t Alexander the Great and Ella Fitzgerald.”

The couple revealed in February 2017 they were expecting twins, however Clooney said it wasn’t until the children were born that the reality of parenthood hit him.

“I suppose [the realest moment is] just the minute they came out,” he said.

“None of it is real until all of a sudden they’re standing there covered in slime and crying. We were just two and now we’re four.”

Whether you’re looking for a name that is ‘cool’, ‘cute’, ‘pretty’, or ‘unique’, our Baby Name Generator is here to inspire you. Discover the meaning of your favourite name, browse the 100 most popular baby girl names and baby boy names in England and Wales, or let our Random Name Generator throw up an unusual suggestion.

Before You Go

Pride 2017: 13 Baby Names Inspired By The LGBT Community

1. Harvey(01 of13)

Harvey Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

2. Gilbert(02 of13)

Gilbert Baker, an openly gay artist and civil rights activist, designed the Rainbow Flag in 1978. The flag has since become a prominent symbol to the gay community around the world.

3. Sylvia(03 of13)

Sylvia Rivera was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and self-identified drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance.

4. Ellen(04 of13)

Ellen Page is a Canadian actress who came out in 2014, and has since spoken openly about the double standards around LGBT actors in Hollywood, she said: "Now I’m gay, I can’t play a straight person?!”

5. Martina(05 of13)

Martina Navratilova is a Czech and American retired tennis player and coach. In 2005, Tennis magazine selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005. In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the USA's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group for her campaigning.

6. Audre(06 of13)

Audre Lorde was a African-American writer, feminist, poet and civil-rights activist. She took part in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979 and used her theory of difference to establish the fight for gay rights. She quickly became the best known out-of-the-closet Black radical lesbian feminist.

7. Ian(07 of13)

Sir Ian McKellen is an actor and the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He is one of the founding members of Stonewall UK, along with John Miskelly and Michael Cashman.

8. Keegan(08 of13)

Keegan Hirst is Britain's first openly gay rugby player who came out in August 2015.

9. Laverne(09 of13)

Laverne Cox is an American actress on the hit Netflix series 'Orange is the New Black'. Cox has made history as being the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy award in an acting role and to be on the cover of Time magazine.

10. Edie(10 of13)

Edie Windsor is an American LGBT rights activist and former technology manager at IBM. She was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court of the United States, which successfully overturned Section 3 of the Defence of Marriage Act, considered a landmark legal victory for same-sex marriage.

11. Bayard(11 of13)

Bayard Rustin is best known for his work with Martin Luther King in the civil right's movement, but in the 1970s, he became a public advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes as well.

12. Ruby(12 of13)

Ruby Rose is an Australian model, DJ, recording artist, actress and television presenter. She has spoken openly, and extensively, about her sexuality and identifying as gender fluid.

13. Larry(13 of13)

Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist.

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