One of the first decisions we make for our children is also the hardest: choosing a name.
There are many different ways to choose a baby name. The TODAY anchors have mined their family trees, hopped on recent trends or looked to nature for inspiration.
TODAY is led by a very special group of parents. Regardless of how the TODAY anchors chose their children's names (or what the kids' nicknames might be), they always end up feeling perfectly suited to the recipients.
Let's take a closer look at the names of the TODAY co-hosts' children, examining their inspiration and meaning.
Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Guthrie has two kids — Vale and Charley — with her husband, Michael Feldman.
The afternoon their first child was born, Savannah and Feldman pored over their short list of names. They decided on Vale, which means “valley by a stream.”
“We thought it was pretty unique, but not kooky or so weird,” Savannah said.
As for Charles ‘Charley’ Max Guthrie Feldman, Savannah said that she named him after her late father and Feldman’s grandfather.
Hoda Kotb
Anchor Hoda Kotb shares two daughters with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
Hoda revealed that she had named her oldest daughter Haley after Halley’s comet, which can only be seen from Earth once every 70 years. Haley’s middle name, Joy, was picked because of the emotion she brings to her family.
Hope’s name was inspired by Hoda’s yearning to have another child, she said, adding that the word “hope” appeared in her journal “about ten million times” when she would write about her desire to have a second child. Hope's middle name, Catherine, honors Hoda's best friend Karen Swensen’s daughter, Catherine.
Al Roker
Al Roker and his wife, Deborah Roberts, share two children, and Roberts acts as a stepmother for Al's oldest daughter.
Al and his previous wife adopted daughter Courtney, whose name is of French origin and means "short nose." The name hit the height of its recent popularity in the 1990s.
Al and Roberts named their daughter Leila, which means "night," and they named their son Nick, which means "victory of the people." Nick is short for Nicholas, a name that was popularized by a certain gift-giving saint.
Craig Melvin
Craig Melvin is a proud dad to two kids, Delano and Sybil, whom he shares with his wife, sports broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak.
It seems that Delano runs in the family! Del's first name is also his father's middle name.
Del seems to be responsible for naming his little sister.
In an interview with People, Czarniak and Craig shared that “Sibby” was initially short for sibling, and was a nickname Del would call the new family member while Czarniak was pregnant.
Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Bush Hager and husband Henry Hager share three children: Mila, Poppy and Hal.
Jenna named her oldest daughter after her mother and husband Henry’s mother: Margaret Laura, nicknamed Mila.
Middle child Poppy has a name that is a tribute to her grandfather, the late George H.W. Bush, who went by “Poppy” during his childhood.
Her youngest, Henry Harold Hager, or Hal for short, inherited his name from his father and his middle name from Jenna’s grandfather, Harold Welch — father of former first lady Laura Bush.
Sheinelle Jones
Sheinelle Jones, who has a rather unique name herself, is raising her teenage son Kayin and her twins, Clara and Uche, with her husband, Uche Ojeh.
Her oldest son is named Kayin, a name with roots in African culture. It means "long-awaited child."
Clara means "bright" or "clear" and has become a modern favorite among parents. Clara's twin brother, Uche, gets his name from his father. It is the short form of the Nigerian Uchechukwu, meaning "God's will."
Carson Daly
With his wife Siri, Carson Daly is raising four kids: son Jackson and daughters Etta, London and Goldie.
Jackson technically means "son of Jack." It's derived from the name "John" and has remained hugely popular through the years.
Etta is an English name that climbed in popularity after Etta James’ classic song "At Last" enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Etta means "poetry."
Interestingly, the name London is more popular in America than in the United Kingdom. London is known by the nickname “Chungy” in the Daly family.
“It’s a nickname that comes from a meme where Bugs Bunny turns angry,” Carson shared. “She’s volatile — but in a funny way. She’s like a comedian. She loves to entertain and make people laugh.”
For his youngest, Carson said he chose her first name after he received the results from a recent DNA test he took that revealed he is 98% Irish. He was inspired to look up Irish baby names and stumbled upon Goldie. His daughter’s middle name is a sweet nod to his late mother, Pattie Daly Caruso, who passed away in 2017.
“We had a short list of names that we liked, but nothing was sticking its neck out,” he recalled. “And I thought about it, you know, this is our fourth kid. She seems like the pot of gold at the end of our family rainbow.”
Dylan Dreyer
Dylan Dreyer and her husband, Brian Fichera, are raising three young boys.
The couple found their oldest son's name organically.
“Brian and I were sitting on the couch watching TV and I think someone’s name was Calvin and we were like, ‘I kind of like that,’” she said, at the time. “And same with Bradley. We’re trying to set him up to be a cool kid and we thought Calvin Bradley was a good start with that.”
For their second, Dylan explained that she and Fichera had Oliver on a shortlist early on, and then found themselves seeing it and meeting Olivers everywhere they went.
Rusty, whose full name is Russell James, is named after his paternal grandfather, Russell, and his maternal grandfather, James.
Willie Geist
Willie Geist and his wife Christina have two teenagers: Lucie and George.
The name Lucie stems from French origin and means "light." By spelling the name Lucie rather than Lucy, Willie and his wife made the name a bit more unique.
George is a Greek name that means "farmer." It's also a classic name that feels fairly royal, especially since Britain was ruled by a king named George for 116 straight years.
Laura Jarrett
Saturday TODAY co-host Laura Jarrett and her husband, Tony Balkissoon, have two children.
Her oldest son is named James Anthony. The name James, which means "supplanter," is a current favorite for both baby boys and girls. Anthony is an English form of the Roman name Antonius. It means “priceless one” or “highly praiseworthy.”
June Tahay is named after Laura’s mother, Valerie June Jarrett, and Tony’s mother, Tahay.
Peter Alexander
Peter Alexander and his wife Alison Starling have two girls: Ava and Emma. Both are modern classics.
Ava is a Latin name that can mean “life," "bird," "water" or "island” while Emma is a German name that means "universal."
