Cheryl and Liam Payne's real reason for choosing name for son Bear

Cheryl and Liam Payne welcomed their son Bear in March 2017 and the former Girls Aloud star has now revealed the real reason behind the unusual name choice

Cheryl Tweedy and Liam Payne turned heads when they named their son Bear Payne. The couple, who had been together for a year at the time, welcomed their boy in March 2017.

The name Bear has seen a rise in popularity among celebrities, with the likes of Kate Winslet and Alicia Silverstone also choosing it for their offspring. It's believed to be a modern take on classic names such as Theodore and Edward, which have the affectionate nickname "Teddy", and possibly influenced by the celebrity status of survival expert Bear Grylls.

However, Cheryl explained on RuPaul's What's The Tee podcast that she had personal reasons for picking the name. In 2019, she revealed that Bear was not named immediately after birth.

His name was chosen five weeks later, according to Mirror US. The former Girls Aloud singer remembered: "When I was in the hospital, he used to make these noises."

"We had specialists come in to see what was going on, he was breathing like quite cute but nothing worrisome. It was just him. The midwife used to come in and say: 'How's the little bear? ' I didn't have the name prior.", reports Birmingham Live.

She ended by sharing her desire for her son to have a distinctive name: "I couldn't get the nickname out of my mind. We toyed with others but I didn't want him to be the third and such and such in his class. I wanted him to have a unique name."

Cheryl shared her joy on Mother's Day, issuing a touching message just days after the arrival of her son Bear: "Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts. We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever."

Echoing her sentiments, Liam Payne took to social media posting the same photograph alongside his own heartfelt words: "My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless... wow! " He continued with words of admiration for Cheryl and their son, saying: "I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favorite memory I have so far. I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true," as reported by the Mirror.

He also mentioned the profound effect of their child on him, adding: "We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed."

Despite their separation in July 2018, Cheryl and Liam have maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship. Liam opened up about the special bond with Cheryl to Ant Middleton, stating: "They're so important to me Cheryl as well. She's one of the most, if not the most, important people in my life."

"Even though we're not together, Cheryl's always there for me. I'm lucky I have someone who understands what I'm going through. The one thing I was missing as a man in the relationship I had, was a level understanding about what she was feeling about stuff."