It would seem that celebrity baby announcements have been popping up quite frequently over the past year. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner and Aquaman alum Amber Heard are only a few stars to have confirmed that they’ve either had or will have a sweet bundle of joy. Many were surprised when hearing that Scarlett Johnasson and Colin Jost were among those who were blessed with a child this year, as Johansson gave birth to a baby boy named Cosmo. The name took a number of people by surprise and, as it so happens, the Saturday Night Live star’s mother was apparently among those that wasn’t too thrilled with it.
In most cases, new grandparents typically check in with their children and/or in-laws following the birth of a baby, mostly to ask if anything is needed for the little one. But in Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson’s case, many of the check-ins pertained to the child’s name. Jost recently explained that his mother had a slightly difficult time understanding Cosmo. This led to some pretty humorous exchanges between mother and son:
My family is supportive always, my mom, I would say was slightly thrown by it and didn’t quite understand it. I don’t know if she thought it was kind of like a hippie thing, like a dirty hippie thing [laughs]. … But she would call us, and say, like after three or four days, she’d be like, ‘Cosmo....’ She’d be like, ‘A now, is it final? Like, did you submit the birth certificate?’ I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, we did that at the hospital.’ And she’s like, ‘OK, interesting, because I was reading there’s also a name Cosimo with an i.’ … She was like, ‘Maybe you call him Cosimo, that’s his real name, and then you could call him, still Cosmo.’
During his recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Colin Jost recalled being puzzled by his mother’s suggestions. He did, however, go on to mention that his mom is acquainted with members of the Italian community and learned that many of them have relatives with variations of the name Cosmo. Apparently, mother Jost even suggested that the baby could be named after the patron saint Cosmos.
But her son made it clear that the baby’s name was definitely locked in by that point. You can check out Colin Jost’s full interview with Seth Meyers, complete with “the first image of the baby,” down below:
At the very least, you have to admit that Cosmo is indeed a unique name. I personally only know two people with that name, one being the wacky neighbor of Jerry Seinfeld and the other being a delightful green-haired fairy godparent. And for those who still think it’s an odd moniker for an infant, it’s definitely not the most unusual.
Cameron Diaz And Benji Madden named their daughter Raddix, with the baby’s nickname simply being “Rad.” Some were likely also taken aback when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West confirmed that their youngest son’s name would be Psalm. And do we even need to bring up Elon Musk and Grimes’ son, X Æ A-Xii?
Baby names typically hold a special meaning to the parents, so I’m sure Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson were very purposeful when they gifted their son with Cosmo. Jost’s mother now seems to be at peace with the decision, but I’m sure the name will still come up quite frequently in general conversations amongst the public. Jost may even name drop his new baby during the season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Live returns for Season 47 tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and be sure to check out our 2021 fall TV schedule for more info on new and returning shows.
