Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon settled on calling their newborn daughter Monroe because the actor/rapper refused to be a "cliche" and name the tot Marilyn after the famous blonde bombshell.
The pop superstar gave birth to twins on 30 April (11) - the date of the couple's third wedding anniversary - and subsequently revealed they had called their daughter Monroe, after actress Marilyn Monroe, and their son Moroccan, after the north African-themed room in their home where Cannon proposed.
Cannon has now opened up about the naming process, revealing Carey picked Monroe very early on in her pregnancy because she has always been inspired by the actress.
He tells Aol, "I heard the names have been causing quite the controversy... It's funny, I always say we had our names picked out very early on... Monroe, obviously, my wife has always been inspired by Marilyn Monroe... she bought her priceless piano and all that stuff. And I just like the idea that is was more than just naming our daughter Marilyn. I think that would've been a little too cliche. Monroe is a very strong name - it sounds really elegant."
Cannon reveals he came up with his son's name, although the boy will be nicknamed Rock.
He says, "Moroccan was kind of more my pick. When you think about Moroccan, it's kind of both of our names together - Mariah and Nick together. And I always like the name Rock. Rock Cannon. It sounded like a strong name."