On Thursday, April 30, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper announced that he's a new dad!
During a two-minute segment at the end of CNN's Town Hall, Cooper revealed that his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, had been born on Monday evening via surrogate.
"On Monday, I became a father," he said. "I've never said actually said that, before, out loud and it still kind of astonishes me."
Turns out there's a lot of family significance behind the sweet name!
The baby's first name, Wyatt, comes from Cooper's father, who died when the anchor was just 10 years old.
"He's named after my dad ... I hope I can be as good a dad as he was," Cooper explained.
According to the Social Security Administration's baby name ranking, the name Wyatt has been steadily growing in popularity for years. In 2000, it wasn't even one of the top 100 names in the United States, but by 2018, it was the 26th most popular name in the country.
The middle name, Morgan, is a family name that comes from Cooper's mother's side of the family.
"I know my mom and dad liked the name Morgan, because while I was going through her things recently, I found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me, and Morgan was on the list," Cooper said.
As a first name, Morgan is much more rare than Wyatt — according to the Social Security Administration, it was only the 164th most popular name in 2018. It peaked in popularity in the year 2000, when more than 9,502 children were given the name.
Cooper said that he wished his family was able to meet their newest relative.
"I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt," Cooper wrote on Instagram. "I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and Wyatt, and that our family continues."
"So that's Wyatt Morgan Cooper," the proud father said. "He was 7.2 pounds at birth, and he is sweet, and soft and healthy, and I am beyond happy."