Amber Heard welcomes baby via surrogate—and her unique name is gorgeous

On Thursday, Amber Heard revealed she’s a proud new mama to a baby girl, who she welcomed via surrogate back in April. She shared a photo of herself on Instagram, where she’s cradling her sweet babe, and wrote a powerful caption explaining her intentional decision to have a child as a single mom. She also shared the baby’s unique name, which also honors Heard’s late mother.

“I’m so excited to share this news with you,” Heard writes. “Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child. I wanted to do it on my own terms.”

Heard is best known for her roles in Aquaman and The Rum Diary, where she met and starred with her now ex-husband, Johnny Depp. The two have been involved in a years-long legal battle after Heard filed allegations of abuse against Depp in 2019.

But it looks like life is full of sunshine and rainbows for Heard now, and she delivered her exciting news in such a powerful way.

“I now appreciate how radical it is for us as women to think about one of the most fundamental parts of our destinies in this way,” she continues in her caption. “I hope we arrive at a point in which it’s normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib.”

Let that last part sink in, because it’s brilliant: normalizing not wanting a ring in order to have a crib. Can someone put that on a t-shirt? Being a single parent is absolutely one of the hardest journeys a person can experience in life, no doubt. But it’s also amazing that Heard was able to choose her path as a parent with intention and conviction (and, of course, the privilege of being able to afford a surrogate and provide for a child) without wanting a partner first.

“A part of me wants to uphold that my private life is none of anyone’s business,” she says. “I also get that the nature of my job compels me to take control of this. My daughter was born on April 8, 2021. Her name is Oonagh Paige Heard. She’s the beginning of the rest of my life.”

Beautifully said. And in case you’re not sure how to pronounce the baby’s name, it’s just like “Oona” in Puffin Rock, one of the dozen or so children’s shows that play over and over again in the homes of parents everywhere. It means “pure, holy” and it’s gorgeous. “Paige” is after Heard’s mother, who died last year.

Congrats to the new mother and her beautiful baby girl!