Paris Hilton Explains the Special Meaning Behind Her Son’s Name

A month after she and husband Carter Reum welcomed their first child, Paris Hilton is finally ready to share the baby boy’s name—Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.

The hotel heiress announced the moniker she selected for her newborn on the latest episode of her podcast This Is Paris. While reading an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, titled Paris, she revealed that she actually came up with the name a decade ago. “If all goes well, by the time you read this, Carter and I will have a baby boy. We plan to name him Phoenix, a name that I decided on years ago when I was searching cities, countries and states on a map looking for something to go with Paris and London,” she read. “Phoenix has a few good pop culture reference points, but more importantly it’s the bird that flames out and then rises from the ashes to fly again. I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph go around and come around throughout our lives. And that this should give us great hope for the future.” Later on in the episode, she explained that the choice of her baby’s middle name is meant to pay tribute to her late grandfather, Barron Hilton. The former Simple Life star said, “He was always my mentor. I looked up to my grandfather so much, and we were so close, and I miss him every day. So, I really wanted to honor him by having his name in my first son’s name. So there you go. My beautiful baby boy’s name is Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.”

Hilton also raved about motherhood and how much she and her husband have treasured this first month with their child. “As you all know, Carter and I have been blessed with the arrival of our baby boy. He is such a precious angel, and we’re over the moon, so in love with him. We’re just so excited to start our family, and we can’t wait for you to see him,” she enthused. “But for now, we’ve just been keeping everything really private. Not even my mom, my sisters, my best friend knew until he was over a week old. It was really nice to have that with Carter, be our own journey together. I just feel like my life has been so public, and I’ve never really had anything be just mine.” Later on, she added, “From the moment I laid eyes on him, my heart felt so full. I feel like my life is so complete now. I always wanted to be a mom. I’m so happy I found the perfect partner. Carter, he is such an angel and such an incredible father. It’s so cute seeing them together and I just love this baby so much. He’s laying on my chest and looking up into my eyes, my heart just melts.”

And while the name reveal might have been a surprise for the rest of the world, Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t shocked in the slightest as it turns out the talk show host actually guessed the baby’s name correctly over a year ago. On Wednesday, she shared a clip from their January 2022 interview on her Instagram account during which DeGeneres asks Hilton if she would consider naming her future child after a “city or country.” She replied that that was her plan, but “I’m not going to say yet as I’m scared someone will steal the name,” adding that “no one I know” has it. The host’s first guess was Argentina, prompting a laugh from Hilton who said, “Not telling you!” DeGeneres then replied, “Alright. We’re going to take a break then. I’ll guess it. I will,” before suddenly asking, “Phoenix?” Her guest played coy, not revealing DeGeneres had guessed correctly. When re-sharing the old clip this week, the host was clearly impressed by her own psychic abilities, writing in the caption, “I named @ParisHilton’s baby! What do I win?!?! A hotel?!?!”