“We took some time to settle into our new rhythm before sharing this sweet news.”
Meghan McCain’s baby name has internet trolls everywhere doing a double take.
The 41-year-old columnist and eldest daughter of late senator John McCain took to Instagram on Jan. 3 to announce the birth of her third child with husband Ben Domenech.
The couple are already parents to daughters Liberty, 5, and Clover, 2, according to Us Weekly.
“We are absolutely over the moon to share that our son Ransom McCain Domenech has finally arrived,” she wrote of the couple’s first son, who was born on Jan. 2.
“We are all blissed out over the moon. Everyone is happy, healthy and exhausted,” she continued.
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The newly-minted mom of three went on to say that her family is “overwhelmed with blessings,” but it didn’t take long for the internet to step in and question the name she chose for her son: Ransom.
- “What kind of name is Ransom?”
- “Incredibly bad name. Glad you’re all healthy.”
- “Well each to their own but you should have said noooooo to ransom.”
“Come on people really need to understand the implications of names they name their children. While it may seem cute at the time, they should consider how the name will affect them later in life,” a user added.
Of course, not everyone was against the baby name choice.
“Ransom was the boy name my husband chose long ago! But we ended up with 4 beautiful girls. Great choice! Congratulations,” another follower commented.
Meghan McCain’s husband reveals origin of baby’s name
On Jan. 3, Meghan McCain’s husband took to Instagram to defend the baby name they chose for Ransom.
“He is named for two of my favorite characters - Jimmy Stewart's Ransom Stoddard and C.S. Lewis's Elwin Ransom, the hero of his Space Trilogy,” Domenech wrote alongside a photo of the baby boy.
“Both are quiet, peaceful, bookish men who are nonetheless called upon to confront great evil. Praise God for His blessings for our family!” he added.
The name comes from the Old French word ranson, per Etymonline, referring to a sum of money or other payment demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner.
It was also worn by former L.A. city council member Ransom M. Callicott, author Ransom Riggs and Chris Evans’ character in “Knives Out” (2019).
Meghan McCain’s baby name is more common than you’d think
Megan McCain is no stranger to unique baby names.
After all, Liberty — her eldest daughter — was only given to 263 baby girls in 2024 and Clover — her youngest daughter — was given to 482 baby girls, according to the Social Security Administration.
For reference, Olivia was the most popular girl’s name in 2024 with 14,718 live births.
And while Ransom is by far the most unique of the trio, it’s still more common than you’d think and was given to approximately 101 baby boys in 2024, per the SSA.
It was much more popular in the early 1900s and even appeared in the SSA’s list of the top 1,000 most popular boy names from 1900 through 1919 — ultimately peaking at 609th in 1902.
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Other unique baby names used by celebrities recently include Saga (MGK and Megan Fox), Fawnie Golden (Nara Smith and Lucky Blue) and Aquaman (Trisha Paytas and Moses Hacmon).
