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Carly Rae Jepsen is detailing her search for finding the perfect name for her son.
In a recent conversation with People, the "Call Me Maybe" singer, 40, shared the real story behind the inspiration for her son's name. She welcomed her first child, Ilya Blue, with husband Cole M.G.N. earlier this year. Jepsen explained that she and the music producer were "looking for something that felt original" and that she felt "crazy" because "it almost felt like the most important creative decision I've ever made."
"We were just really looking through books and talking to friends, and anytime I'd see a street name, I was looking for inspiration, and I knew when I heard it, it would be clear," she said. "My husband was doing the same thing, and he named our son his middle name, and as soon as he said it to me, it was right."
Still, she was searching for inspiration for her son's first name everywhere she could look until she started watching the hit hockey romance drama Heated Rivalry . She previously teased that her son's name was inspired by Connor Storrie's character Ilya Rozanov, but she told People that she found the name "beautiful."
"[My husband] had not seen the show; he just walked in while I was hormonal and watching it, and I was like, 'Ilya's beautiful,' and he was like, 'Yes, it is really great,'" she recalled. "Ilya is just a beautiful name, first and foremost. We were really excited about finding a name that, I think both of us being musicians, had a musical sound to it — and you imagine saying it sweetly, and you imagine saying it like they got in trouble, like, 'Ilya.' It's good both ways! I like it."
Jepsen and Cole, real name Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, confirmed they were expecting their first child together in November 2025, one month after their intimate New York City wedding. The Canadian singer revealed in March that she had given birth by sharing a mirror selfie of her holding her newborn.
"Last 2 weeks have been the best of my life," she captioned the snap. "Welcome to the world little one."