Christina Ricci Says Husband Mark Hampton Chose Baby Cleo's Full Name Without Telling Her

The Addams Family actress gave birth to the couple's first child in December

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Published on January 13, 2022 11:09 AM

In a sneak peek of Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Christina Ricci revealed that she and her husband Mark Hampton miscommunicated when naming their now-1-month-old daughter.

According to the actress, 41, the discussion began as she prepared to deliver her baby via cesarean section on Dec. 8, when the topic of the birth certificate came up. At the time, Ricci said, the couple had simply landed on calling their newborn daughter Cleo, but nothing more.

"My husband was like, 'Well, we're going to give her a full name right? And the nickname is Cleo?' And I was like, 'Cleopatra?' And he was like, 'Yeah, the full name's Cleopatra.' And I was sort of like, 'Fine, whatever. We'll talk about this later,' " she recalled.

After giving birth, however, Ricci realized she and Hampton weren't exactly on the same page. "He got so excited he put it on Instagram, and media outlets picked up that her name was Cleopatra Ricci Hampton, and I was like, 'Oh, I guess her name's Cleopatra,'" she told host Ellen DeGeneres.

Christina Ricci — Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.

"I just thought it would be Cleo," Ricci added before conceding that Cleopatra is a "great name."

In the caption of his Instagram post, Hampton gushed over his wife and newborn daughter: "My heart has exploded. @riccigrams and baby Cleo are doing fantastic, we're all resting after such an eventful morning," he wrote. "Welcome to the world baby Cleopatra Ricci Hampton ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️."

Ricci and Hampton wed in October 2021, two months after the Matrix Resurrections actress first revealed that the couple was expecting their first child together. (Ricci is also a mother to son Freddie, 7, whom she shares with ex-husband James Heerdegen.)

Christina Ricci and Mark Hampton. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

For the August announcement, Ricci and Hampton shared a photo of an ultrasound on their respective Instagram accounts with the phrase "Life keeps getting better" in the caption.

Four months later, the couple welcomed Cleopatra into the world. Hampton called it "a truly emotional morning" on his Instagram Story, adding that he had "never cried as much" as he did that day.

But Ricci is no stranger to the parenting game, having seven years of experience with Freddie prior to having her second child.

One year before giving birth to Cleo, Ricci said in an interview with PEOPLE that she made sure to prioritize time with her son when she was off the clock.

"Usually when I'm off, I'm with my son," she explained as the time. "When I'm not working, I try to be as full-time with him as I can be. Taking him to his play dates and nursery school."