I’ve been feeling, for a few weeks now, that George and Amal Clooney would quietly have their babies and wait to announce the birth for days or perhaps even weeks. But it turns out that they announced it right away. Amal gave birth to the Clooney Babies this morning in England. George and Amal have been hunkered down at their English country home for several months, awaiting the birth and presumably nesting. I would guess that Amal gave birth in London, but no one is saying for sure. As for the names…
George and Amal Clooney have welcomed twins, a rep confirms to PEOPLE.
“This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine. George is sedated and should recover in a few days,” the new dad of two says in a statement.
Sources confirmed in February that the Oscar-winning actor-director and international human-rights lawyer were expecting. George, 56, Amal, 39, and their families are “all very happy,” a source said at the time.
Ella and Alexander. The names go together but it doesn’t feel matchy-matchy, like OMG TWINSIES. I love the name Alexander and derivations of Alexander, especially the Russian “Sasha.” Sasha Clooney sounds nice, right? But they’ll probably just call him Alex. Please don’t call him Xander Clooney. PLEASE. As for Ella… that name is everywhere, just like Emma, Bella, Sophia and Isabel and Isabella. I figured that George and Amal would not go for anything too wacky, but did they have to go for the 12th most popular name of the year? Hm. And Alexander is the 16th most popular boy’s name.
As for “George is sedated and should recover in a few days.” I mean, it’s funny and probably true. But I would be a little bit pissed if my baby-daddy made the birth announcement all about him.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
nice names
I don’t think it’s their real names
Lovely announcement and lovely names. I’m not sure what you have against Xander but that’s perfectly acceptable too.
My son name is Xander, there is nothing wrong with that name.
Love Xander as a name!
Like the name but takes me directly to Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
My son is also named Bort.
My husband is an Alexander, but he is always called Xander. Don’t ever call him Alex – he will simply not respond.
@Incredulous – the Simpsons reference made me snort!
I agree. I actualy laught at the Geroge is sedated part. It’s funny and it’s not really taking the spotlight away from the partner. I am sure that it their dynsmic. She will probably be very calm and together, George will loose his shit for sure
Agree with all the sentiments. The names are cute and I laughed at the end of the announcement. Very cute. Congrats to them
Congrats to the family!
Smart move to have their babies in England…
Lovely names. Congrats!!!
I love the names! And if they love them – despite their popularity – that’s all that matters. I also thought the birth announcement was cute.
I love both names, and who cares if they are popular? Don’t get the snark. Call your kid Apple, people complain. Call them something normal/popular, people complain. Give me a break.
Yes. We named my son and daughter names we liked. They both ended up being fairly popular names but there was a reason for that–they were both classic, non-trendy names. I didn’t care, we liked them and they will wear well.
The announcement is very cute. And the names are fine; perfectly normal, which is what I’d expect from an attorney.
I like the names. I did not realize they were quite so popular. Our daughter has an old fashioned name that never made a comeback. She has been fine with it always. But I read a study somewhere that kids actually like having a popular name, even if there are several in one class.
As the most popular name in my decade, I hated it. So did all the other girls who shared the same name with me.
Maybe we were weirdos though, it did create a sort of my parents are super unoriginal bond?
You’re a good writer! And I’m dying to know your name now Jennifer Melissa Ashley Taylor ??
Another Jennifer here! I had a class in high school, there were 12 of us!
If you look at the percentages, the most popular names aren’t as common as the most popular names 30 years ago anyway.
I have an old fashion name that never made a comeback and I was very relieved to find it very few times in my life in another person. Now that I’m pregnant I am looking forward to name my baby with a classic name (I’m not a fan of popular/new names)
my daughter has a unique name that is foreign to where we are, but feminine and I think, really pretty. She used to want to meet someone else with her name, but now she doesn’t, and hasn’t. We thought our older daughter’s name was unique, but she has had 2 other girls in her class at different times with the same name. I was bummed, she wasn’t really. I also told my husband not to call our kids by their real names when they were out so that no one else was inspired and took them ; ) I was a teacher and grew up in a class of 15, with 3 Nicoles and 2 Kellys, so I wanted them to have their own name.
I have an “older” name that isn’t classic, and isn’t beautiful, and I wanted something they could really like, so I hope they do! It’s funny to think of how much time goes into thinking up names that will identify a person forever.
Congrats. I thought the announcement was funny and didn’t take away from Amal and the babies. The Daily Mail has some cute pictures of George and Amal before the birth
Agreed. Announcement was tongue in cheek and funny(ish). This isn’t a JT level event.
Although buck up Georgie, I don’t think parenting ever gets easier than watching your wife carry and push those suckers out.
Cute, funny announcement, sweet names. No shade here.
I agree – they didn’t fame-whore it out and withhold the names for days/weeks. A nice, current announcement with name info + a bit of character to make us all smile. I think it’s sort of sweet how the names seem to ‘match’ with Amal (all names starting with vowel). A+ on the announcement and congratulations to Amal and George!
Totally agree, well done Clooney fam
None of that coy “my children’s names are to be kept a secret” crap a la Blake Lively/Ryan Reynolds
Love the line” George is recovering” It’s a classic! Most first time dads are.
Congrats! And great names, well done!
‘gave birth’ hahahaha ive yet to see anyone carrying twins have the tiny bump she had at 5/6 months
She was TINY. Do you think it was a pillow pregnancy?
My neighbor just had twins. She had a shockingly small baby bump and everyone’s fine.
A woman who works in my building is pregnant with twins. I didn’t know she was having twins and kept thinking she was around 8 months, close to 9. I then found out it was twins and she was only 4 months along. Poor thing, she’s going to be huge.
But having said that, I do believe Amal was pregnant and these aren’t pillow babies.
I don’t know why, but I think she was pregnant too (although I was convinced Beyonce’s first pregnancy was a pillow pregnancy). Amal sort of disappeared for the last few months of her pregnancy so we didn’t get photos of her being huge. Maybe that’s because it was a pillow, or maybe she was just nesting and didn’t feel like putting her bump on parade. I also feel that with their humanitarian leanings, George and Amal would announce if they were using a gestational carrier. Regardless, babies are a cause for celebration!
My daughter had twins. We were in an elevator and a grandmother of a young women who was about 8 – 9 months along (not very big) , pointed to my daughter (who was 4 months along at the time) and said “That’s what you should look like”. My daughter was devastated! I wonder what the birth weight was and if she was all baby and not a lot of excess fluid. Didn’t look like her feet were ever swollen.
There are no pictures of her from her last 2 months of pregnancy. Lots of tall, long-torsoed women carry small until the end when they suddenly explode. Let’s end this pillow baby conspiracy.
Im tall and have twins. The pregnancy was much harder than a singleton one but not particularly bigger, and they didn’t come out as big as my singletons which is common. Didn’t get any more comments about “wow so big” than usual. Also it was harder as in low appetite so there wasn’t a lot of extra fat. All of my pregnancies I’ve lost appetite, and I usually have a pretty big one. Not every mom gets chubby in other spots, thats for sure. (But this is not a boast, I did gain weight post partum- lack of sleep plus BF equals my regular appetite and then some.) anyways I don’t think a small bump is indicative of pillow gate. But who knows
I don’t think it was a pillow pregnancy. Her body looked fuller, particularly her face. I have to say she looked glowing and pretty.
My bosses wife carried two healthy babies and never showed more than a burrito both times. She was positively tiny. All women are not created equal.
I knew someone years ago who carried the same.
Congrats to them! I don’t know why but love that they had the babies outside the USA. Expected Italy but England is lovely too.
I had a bump like that. I’m tall, have a long torso, and didn’t gain anything but baby weight. Even in the last month I had a smaller bump than a lot of women who were only having one. The babies were bigger than average too.
People carry so differently. I know short women who looked 6 months along at 6 weeks and tall women who looked like they just had a food baby right up until the last couple of weeks.
Most weight gain and bump size is in the last couple of weeks. I’m tall and skinny and had a tiny bump with my first one also (second one stretched out more, but still way less than some).
Amal is tiny and these are her first babies. I wore regular size 10 jeans (not maternity) at my baby shower (at 8.5 months) (now I wear size 14 and only have a food baby :-)). Not all woemn carry big.
I have 7 month old twins and I was gigantic. I carried to 38 weeks and my belly measured 52 weeks pregnant, combined they were 14 pounds. It is very common to have twins early. Being a twin mom I am curious as to how far she carried them, not many make it to 38 weeks.
My second was 11 pounds 1.6 ounces and I pushed him out
My friend had twins and when she was 8 months pregnant she was smaller than I was at 6 months lol. She had healthy boys that weighed about 5 each.
Anyway you def don’t want to be the “concern” troll saying she could not have carried twins. Ugh please. There is no reason to think she didn’t.
Babies are my business. Specifically, obstetrics. That said… She looked pregnant. And Bey’s bump looked like dress fabric with maybe a pillow to enhance the curve. Which is a thing. I’m not kidding.
And Beyonce’s twin announcement involved wearing nothing but her belly and gold lame underpants, whereas I don’t recall anything but demure, fully covered photos for her first pregnancy. Interesting difference.
Ugh not this again. Beyonce has released pictures of her naked belly with Blue. Unless she digitally placed her head on the video image, she carried Blue. What does being an obstetrician have to do with knowing Beyonce’s personal vay-vay business?
Okay… don’t get the logic here.
For all those pillow pregnancy theorists, who think she was too small to be pregnant. If this was a pillow pregnancy – why didn’t she just make her fake bump bigger? if it’s for show then you would show it off.
More likely she was pregnant and her body carried the weight differently.
Congrats!! Such lovely names.
Big congratulations to them! So happy everyone is well and love the names. (I hope we get to see them soon!)
Happy for them, simple yet lovely human names …
AWESOME names! My whippet girl was named Ella and my current boy dog is Alex! Tee-hee
Love the names. Glad they didn’t give them strange, silly names like many celebrities do
Good for them. But the never ending hypocrisy between men and woman once again is palpable. When Halle showed up looking pregnant, it was all about her being 50 and too old. Well, statistically women live longer, and George is 56 and I haven’t read a single comment anywhere about him being too old, or when his children graduate from high school, he will be 74. Not saying he doesn’t have the right to have children late in life…..just saying he can do it without the shade women receive. Somehow it’s easier to swallow with George than it is with the donald at 70 having an eleven year old.
Agree 100% about the way older men get treated when they reproduce. Thing is, he won’t die in child birth where as an older woman could potentially (and often do) have life threatening complications. That is the big difference.
+1
The double standards. Look at all the flack Janet Jackson got for having a baby at 50. Personally, I would not want a child in my 50’s because I would think about how old I would be as they grow older. It happens all the time in Hollywood. A man in his 60’s could have a baby and people won’t bat an eyelash. They’ll just break out the cigars and say congrats. I do understand women carry the children so you have to consider health risk. But whether it’s a man or woman becoming a parent at 50, it’s old. The parent will be in his or her 70’s when it’s grown.
I agree there’s more trolling against older mothers than fathers, but I’m reading a lot of negative comments about George being a 1st time father at 56 on other sites.
Its different if there is just one parent who is old when here they are a couple where Amal is not in her 50s. And I have not seen people commenting about Halle actually.
Congrats, love the names.
grats…i look forward to George’s smarmy dumb dad jokes for years to come
I wonder how much Hello or People will pay for the first photos.
Congrats to the Cloonys🙂
I hope they don’t sell the photos. Its such a tacky mercenary thing to do to your own kid. There’ll be a papaprazzi race for the first pics so either cut them off by posting a family pic on social media or just ride out the temporary paparazzi attention.
They sold their wedding photos so I think the babies are up next.
It was said the proceeds from the wedding photos were donated to charity, including his Sudan satellite one. Would expect the same for these.
Someone is going to make money off the first pictures of the babies. It might as well be them (particularly as it means charities benefit rather than the money going into some paparazzo’ pocket)
Could be Ella is a family name on one side or the other. I like both names (and wouldn’t mind xander.) Glad they are all healthy. He’s going to be a very old daddy. Cute announcement though.
Or for Ella Fitzgerald.
I like the names and I like them.
The announcement was funny, very tongue in cheek à la Clooney.
I definitely don’t get the “me me me” vibe here.
He was not trying to steal her thunder.
He’s no Timberlake…
Congrats to the new parents, and good job on the names! So what if they’re popular names, at least they didn’t name them Moon Unit or Dweezil etc.
(Also I really don’t get the thing about names being ‘too popular’ or whatever, but that may be because most modern western names sound to me like things a lot of people have. Unless it’s a legitimately rare name like Romola or a very antique-sounding one like Phyllis)
When I think of antique-sounding names, Ethel, Meryl, Edith type names come to mind.
My grandmother’s name was Ella! She’d be 115 if she was still living
So happy for them! A boy and girl – yea!
Love the names. There is a reason why these names are so popular. They’re timeless and beautiful and not try-hard like most celeb baby names.
Lovely names. Not sure how well they fit together… Alexander is like a proper, full name. But Ella is more like a nickname. They should be Alexander and Elizabeth aka Alex and Ella…
How nice to have celebs call their kids sensible names that won’t embarrass them.
Congrats to them, I honestly thought I’d never see the day then George would be married much less have a family. As far as the names go, as long as the parents like them that’s all that matters. Congrats, again and I’m glad everyone is doing well.
See Keanu! Clooney is 56, its not too late to be a daddy.
Whether Alexander or Ella is a CEO, doctor or lawyer in their future their names will still look suitable on a resume. I never understood why some celebrities give their child such out there names as if their kids will always be in some hollyweird bubble. I couldn’t even look a police officer or judge or army corporal named Apple or Rainbow and not laugh my butt off.
I have known lawyers and doctors named something like Candy and Bear , no big deal, teach your kids to look at the character of a person instead of being superficial and judging someone based on something as stupid as a name.
What’s in a name…
Well, it’s pretty late, actually. People were plotzing over the idea of Halle Berry being a new mom at 51, so there’s that.
But whatever, it’s a done deed, the kids will be rich and loved and very well cared for. They could have worse lives.
That is rude. Why should Keanu be a parent? Not everyone wants kids. Look at how some of the celebs kids like the Smith kids or the uneducated Jolie-Pitt kids have turned out.
@Lauren: In one of his recent interviews, Keanu said he was too old to have kids. I think that’s what Elsa was addressing…
ps: Keanu had a daughter (stillborn) named Ava
The Jolie-Pitt kids are uneducated?
Considering we don’t actually know anything solid about the Jolie-Pitt kids except that they’re well behaved when they’re out together that seems like a fairly big assumption.
Huh? What’s wrong with the Jolie-Pitt kids and how are they uneducated?
@Shannon and Ange
We know well enough that those kids do nothing other then travel around with their parents and hang around movie sets all day. They are not enrolled in a school, when they should be. I also don’t believe Angelina’s claims that they have tutors and all. With the lifestyle she leads, its not possible for each kid to get the education they need. They have 6 kids who are all of different ages. Maddox should be in high school. Tell me how in the world is he getting the education he needs to be getting?
Non-stop travelling and hanging around movie sets all day is not a proper education. It doesn’t even count as any kind of education in fact. I highly doubt those kids can even compete with their regular peers in terms of Math, Science, English, History,etc.
There are all said to have nannies who are fluent in the native tongue of the child that is their main charge, along with the private tutors. iirc the kids are enrolled in an international school along with the independent schooling from the tutors. That organization has branches all over the world and teaches the same curriculum every week in every school they have across the planet. Wherever they are, they can be in that school and be exactly in the same place in school as they were last week in another country.
@notasugarhere
You mean to tell me that they go to different school every time they go to a different country? How is that possible?
Sorry I don’t buy that . And I doubt they are on the same levels in terms of English, Math, Science skills as the rest of the other kids their ages are. I am really curious about Maddox’s case, since he is 15 and should be in a proper HS.
Even with a private tutor, I doubt they are each getting the proper education they need. Those kids are uneducated I am sorry to say, and they are not getting the proper education each of them need.
Congrats! she was probably resting up the last months. She has a long torso and small hips, also, the size of the parents at birth is to influence the size of the babies.
Good for them they have their hands full.
I like the names–they will still be lovely when the twins are adults.
We have a 19yo Ella. Given long before it became so popular. It is both a family name and the name of my favorite jazz singer. I would consider Ella to be a proper name.
I wish Ella and Alexander wonderful lives. 🙂
PS. I’m partial to ‘Sasha’ too, haha.
Yes, it was very nice and low key. I bet they stay that way, too. The names are very nice – unexciting but very nice. Which is actually a good sign for a life led outside the spotlight.
It’s interesting how the interest in these two has dropped to a drip.
Nice to see some happy simple news. Trump has made me appreciate and be grateful for any small bits of joy when I open social media.
Amen to that.
Err…my name is Ella. Havent seen my name dissected this much!!! The 12 th most popular name eh? Now wouldnt you know.
The kids will want for nothing. That’s all I’ve got. The Clooneys seem so yesterday.
Good for them. Twins are a handful but it is cute watching them in their tandem world. Sometimes they create their own ways of communicating. I don’t know if she is nursing them but she will ALWAYS be hungry. Sweet names.
Julia Roberts must be all – “ah boy and girl twins, I did it first”.
Congratulations to them both. I don’t think they’re going to last much longer as a couple, sad to say. Now that the twins are here, the honeymoon period is going to end quicker than they think.
Nah, Clooney wants to run for office soon I think. I think he only ‘married’ Amal because she fits what the Democratic party loves.
Not trying to put down her accomplishments. But its obvious Clooneys get more out of being married to her then she does to him.
The Dems in this country needs to stop pandering to celebs so much. I disliked how cozy the Obamas were with Hollywood stars.
I really doubt George Clooney will ever run for office. He’s said himself he ingested way too many substances, and that mullet photo! He campaigned for his father (who lost) and knows what it’s like.
I’m wondering if he’s going to pay off all those bets he made about getting married and having kids!
Elise, he’ll probably avoid paying them by getting a divorce. Mark my words, fatherhood doesn’t suit him, neither does marriage(well, a traditional monogamous marriage). If they stay together for the long haul, chances are they’re monogamish or they see other people(both see other people). I’ve commented before that those scenarios I previously mentioned are the only way they’ll stay together for 5 years or more. I just hope the twinsies look like Amal.
@Eva – I don’t know how anyone can seriously think that George went for a foreigner of visibly Middle Eastern descent as a ‘suitable spouse’ for American political purposes, Dem or no.
Or have the last fifteen years gone completely over the heads of everyone making this claim?
@teacakes Indeed. I’m always perplexed that some people seem to think that George married Amal for political purposes. For one thing, she’s Middle Eastern, which isn’t something that would play well in American politics. Moreover, she lives in a foreign country, and she and George have set up their home in the U.K. Marrying a British-Middle Eastern wife who still lives in the U.K. doesn’t something you would do if you want to run for office in California (or, indeed, anywhere in the US).
@Lily I’ve always thought the marriage was more or less George’s way of giving Amy & Tina the middle finger after they shaded his dating/love/sex life at the Golden Globes. He took offense to what was said. I still think George is doing all of this for Amal; making their home in the UK and becoming a father. I still don’t think he really wants any of this, it’s about image and PR, still don’t buy the “repentant” bachelor angle and never will. I see right through all of this for some reason. Love him to death, but I think he’s taken this thing too far. It’s going to catch up to him a some point, when that comes it’s going to be something that’s far outta left field. Once they settle in, it’s going to get to him, and I don’t mean that in a good way.
I see it as both of them getting what they want – high-profile spouse that helps further their own ambitions.
Congrats Grandpa….um I mean George!
They “welcomed” the babies, and nothing about how Amal is doing after delivering twins.
Like this sentence here: “Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.”
Says it right in the second line of the statement. “Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.”
The statement says that “Ella, Alexander, and Amal are all healthy, happy, and doing fine,” so they have indeed told us how Amal is doing.
George looks so old in that header pic. I dont believe he’s 56? Looks 66. Anyway good for them on the safe delivery of their babies. Lovely names!
I sometimes think that’s the trade-off he got for getting married and becoming a father.
George is always self-deprecating, hence the dig at himself in the announcement. The names are nice. Congrats to the Clooneys.
Nice names, normal. I like Xander; my son’s uncle on his dad’s side is an Alexander and called Xander, I think it’s kind of cool. But I bet they’ll probably just go with Alex. Congrats to them 🙂