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Blake Lively reveals why daughter James was gifted with the unusual name

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After months of speculation, in mid-March Ryan Reynolds confirmed that his and Blake Lively's baby daughter was named James. The little girl was born in late December, and now Blake has opened up on the unusual name choice.

"'It's a family name, and I liked having a boy's name," Blake admitted on Good Morning America on Tuesday.

blake lively © Photo: Getty Images

Blake Lively revealed why she named her daughter James

The actress, who has been promoting her new film The Age of Adaline, also revealed that one piece advice she would give her daughter would be "don't let anyone tell you no."

Ryan had previously confirmed the name, joking: "It's Butternut Summer Squash. No, it's out there. It's James. Everyone knows."

Earlier in April, Blake admitted that she was beginning to fully embrace her new role as a mother, telling Allure magazine: "I feel like I've figured out the most important thing to me, and everything supports that."

blake lively1 © Photo: Getty Images

It was previously reported that Blake and Ryan had named their daughter Violet

The former Gossip Girl actress also revealed why she and her husband initially chose to keep their daughter's name a secret.

"It's her life. She should have her privacy until she chooses not to have her privacy, just as I got to choose and my husband got to choose."

Both Blake and her actor husband have been fiercely protective over their daughter's privacy, and even waited until Blake was seven months into her pregnancy before announcing on her lifestyle site Preserve, that she was expecting.

blake

"That moment was really neat, and I was scared to take that picture because I'm very private. I had a feeling that we weren't going to get away with our privacy for a while," Blake revealed.

"That was my way of owning that moment. I can't be someone like Beyoncé and be like – [her 2011 VMAs announcement]. But it was important for us. It was a struggle, because we want to keep our privacy, but we also don't want our lives to be exploited by other people."