Proud mom Maria Menounos is opening up about the special meaning behind her newborn daughter's name.
The 45-year-old TV presenter, who welcomed her first child, Athena Alexandra, in June, chatted with PureWow about her new partnership with RXBAR to launch ManifX bars—a limited edition kit designed to help people reach their goals. She also discussed her parenting journey and revealed how she and her husband, Keven Undergaro, decided on the name for their 2-month-old baby.
At first, Menounos was unsure about what to name her little girl. But apparently, she had already used the name 'Athena' before her child was even born. She told us, "There was a moment I told Keven we were pregnant. I was working out in the gym. I ran outside and I told him, and I have on the video me saying 'Athena'. It was one of the names that we had on our list. I don't know why in that moment I chose to just use that. But then, for a long time, we had another name in mind."
She continued, "It was only the second day in the hospital where I was like Keven, we've gotta get our sh*t together. We have to figure out what we're going to name this baby. Because everyone always says, 'Oh, when you see her you'll know. Now that wasn't the case. We had no clue. We're like, 'She's this little pudgy muffin. I don't know what her name is.'"
The couple eventually decided on Athena because of its Greek origin and profound meaning. Menounos said, "We loved Athena because it was Greek and we wanted Greek. It was powerful. And her middle name, Alexandra, was also powerful and beautiful."
FYI, per Baby Names, Athena means "goddess of wisdom and war," while Alexandra means "defender of the people." And according to Menounos, her newborn is already starting to live up to the moniker.
"It's funny, her name fits her so well because of so many reasons," she said. "She's already double, she's two months and she's already the size of a four-month-old. She's tracking so ahead. She's already teething. She's very advanced. And I had an astrology chart done on her, and everything that her names stand for is what the astrology chart says too, which is so funny."
According to astrologer Jaime Wright, Athena's astrological sign, "Gemini," is known to have an "unrelenting thirst for knowledge and new experiences." She also noted that they tend to be more open-minded and see the world with "childlike curiosity," which is totally in line with the meaning behind her name.
Menounos told us, "It's gonna be really cool to watch her grow into who she's going to be."
Sounds like Athena has a bright future ahead.
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