Christina Ricci reveals husband decided baby’s name and announced it online without her knowing

‘He got so excited he put it on Instagram,’ Ricci says

Christina Ricci and her husband, Mark Hampton, welcomed their first child together last month, and Hampton made their child’s full name official through an Instagram post, without telling his wife.

On 8 December 2021, Hampton shared of photo of him and Ricci’s newborn baby on Instagram. And in the caption, he revealed what his daughter’s name was going to be.

“My heart has exploded,” he wrote. “@riccigrams and baby Cleo are doing fantastic, we’re all resting after such an eventful morning .. welcome to the world baby Cleopatra Ricci Hampton.”

Speaking on The Ellen Degeneres Show on 12 January, Ricci said that she and her husband had not yet agreed on their daughter’s name, even though Hampton had already gone public with it.

According to The Addams Family star, right before she delivered her baby via cesarean section, she discussed filling out a birth certificate with Hampton. At the time, Ricci said that they decided on Cleo for their daughter’s nickname, but never established a full name.

“My husband was like, ‘Well, we’re going to give her a full name right? And the nickname is Cleo?’ And I was like, ‘Cleopatra?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, the full name’s Cleopatra.’” she explained.  “And I was sort of like, ‘Fine, whatever. We’ll talk about this later,’”

While Hampton was set on the name Cleopatra, his wife wasn’t exactly sure about it.

"He got so excited he put it on Instagram, and media outlets picked up that her name was Cleopatra Ricci Hampton, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess her name’s Cleopatra,’” Ricci said.

“I just thought it would be Cleo,” she added.

The actress then explained that before giving birth, she and Hampton “didn’t go further into the conversation” about their daughter’s full name.

However, Ricci emphasised that she agreed with her husband and thought Cleopatra was a “great name.”

Ricci and Hampton tied the knot this past October and announced that they were expecting a child together this past August.

Although this is Hampton’s first child, Ricci also has a seven-year-old son, Freddie, who she shares with her ex-husband, James Heerdegen.

This isn’t the first time that Ricci has opened up about her life as a mom. Speaking to People in 2020, she said that when she’s not at work, time with her son is always a priority.

"Usually when I’m off, I’m with my son," she said at the time. "When I’m not working, I try to be as full-time with him as I can be. Taking him to his play dates and nursery school."