Heidi Klum and Seal welcome baby boy: Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo
Update: We’ve learned the meanings of Johan’s names, thanks to RTL. Johan is a Nordic and German version of the name Johannes, a Hebrew name that means, "The Lord is gracious." Riley is traditionally Irish in background and means "small stream or creek," Fyodor is Russian and means "God’s gift," and Taiwo means "to smell/taste the world" in Yoruba. In twin births in Africa (Seal is English with a Nigerian/Brazilian background) the first twin in a set is often called or nicknamed Taiwo.
RTL also confirms that Leni’s name is simply ‘Leni Klum’ – she has no middle name, unlike her brothers’ multiple ones!
Also, RTL reports that Johan’s birth was Heidi’s first Cesarean section. No reason was given, but we assume it was not elective due to Heidi’s quote from a year ago after Henry’s birth - "Henry’s birth was easier than Leni’s, because I knew what to expect. I would never consider an elective c-section for a few reasons – because I like the experience of a vaginal birth, and also I am scared to have my abdomen cut open!"
Seal has also posted a new blog – it reads, "Mama and baby are doing great. She is so good at having babies, I feel so blessed and fortunate to have a wife like her, they are both so beautiful. Leni and Henryboy were both so excited seeing him yesterday. It’s amazing how much he looks like Leni when she was born. I mean, he is completely different looking from Henryboy so as Lauren put it, he will surely look more like HK as he grows. He is so precious and really hasn’t been that noisy on his first night spent on earth. Wow! what an amazing experience to have been a part of.
Thanks for all the kind wishes that you guys keep sending us. You’re all the best fans anyone could ever have….. I really mean that."
Originally posted November 23rd: Heidi Klum, 33, and Seal, 43, welcomed their third child and second son yesterday at 5:01pm in Los Angeles. Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. Their two other children are Leni, 2 1/2 and Henry, 14 months. Seal posted the following message on Heidi’s official website:
To our children, a brother
To our parents, a grandson
To my wife and I, a son
To our family, a blessing.
He is healthy, beautiful and looks just like his mother.
Source: Heidi’s Official Website and Seal’s Official Site
Thanks to CBB readers Alexandra, Tracey, Danielle, Boulder, Magda, Jennifer, and Babs.
Tags: Heidi Klum, Henry Samuel, Johan Samuel, LA, Leni Klum, Seal
- Posted on Nov 23, 06 at 6:21AM
- Permalink
- 73 Comments
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:09 am
Congratulations to this wonderful family!
I’m loving the name. I guess they’ll pronounce it the German way (YO-hahn)?
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:17 am
What wonderful news!
Congratulations to Heidi, Seal, Henry & Leni on the birth of their new family member!
I love his name, it sounds very distinguished. I am anxious to find out the meaning behind it like we did with Henry’s.
Does anyone know what Leni’s middle name(S) is?
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:24 am
Aww, I think it’s nice that they chose a german name for their newest arrival!
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:35 am
Congrats!! I love this couple and family and I am soo extremely happy for them! I like the name as it reflects both their backgrounds. I can’t wait to see this little one.
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:55 am
Another boy!!! Congratulations to Heidi and Seal, they are such a lovey couple.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:00 am
Congrats to them and their family. Love the name too.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:03 am
Congrats to them and their family. Love the name too.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:08 am
Heidi has always referred to Leni, as “Leni Klum” so as far as we know she does not have any middle names and goes by Heidi’s last name.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:16 am
Yayyyy!!! Congrats! I bet he’s gorgeous!
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:25 am
she had the baby on my mom’s birthday. That is so cool. LOL. I can’t wait to see the baby. I’m glad she gave birth to a healthy baby. Congrats to them.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:27 am
happy happy joy for them….is baby black or white….i wonder is baby boy cuter then Henry he’s soo cute
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:31 am
Isn’t Seal incredibly romantic and sweet? The message he posted oozes love for his special family…. Congratulations to one of my all time celeb families!!!!
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:53 am
love the name and congrats to them!!! can’t wait to see him!!
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:26 am
congratulations to Heidi and her family, yes Johan (YO’HANN) is a common name in Europe
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:33 am
Congratulations to them. It’s a big baby boy.
I agree with Drysdale that I really want to know the meaning behind the names of Johan. Hope they’ll release it very soon. And I wish they will release pictures of Johan, like what they did when Henry was born. Very cute and warm family pictures.
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:51 am
Does anyone remember how much Leni & Henry weighed when they were born?
Congrats- they are such a sweet couple!
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:02 am
Rumor was right back in the summer, when it slipped Seal said a boy in concert. I bet they knew it was a boy, because I kept hearing those rumors all along. Anyway cute name, and that’s cute he looks like Heidi. Leni now has two brothers.
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:40 am
Congrats Seal and Heidi!
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Henry is a little Seal, so I can’t wait to see Johan’s resemblance to Heidi. I’m shocked, though-I would’ve lost money betting there was a little girl in there!
Congrats to the family!
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Congratulations!
So now Heidi has a German-Italian daughter, and two German-Nigerian (I once read Seal is Yoruba) sons – what a beautiful family!
And I like Johan’s name.
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:31 pm
You’re right. They pronounce german. It’s a wonderful name.Love it just i love henry and leni
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:48 pm
i wanted the baby to be a girl!!!
good luck to Leni!
by the way Johan is not a german name.
Anyway, i’m so HAPPY for them, and i can’t wait to see a picture of little Johan!!!!!!!!!!!
November 23rd, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Congrats to the family. Johan is a nice name. I can’t wait to see the pics. I bet he’s a cutie.
November 23rd, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Love the name! Congats and well wishes Heidi and Seal…
November 23rd, 2006 at 2:03 pm
I’m so happy for them! The boy has such a long name! I like Johan, and yes, it’s spelled YO-hahn. Congrats Heidi and Seal
November 23rd, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I’m pretty sure that Leni’s full name is Helene Kaffes Klum.
November 23rd, 2006 at 3:42 pm
I was secretly hoping for a girl but I’m happy for the couple. 3 kids under 2 ….wow! good luck 2 them.
November 23rd, 2006 at 3:47 pm
WONDERFUL!!! Congrats to them!! Love the name! =)
November 23rd, 2006 at 3:56 pm
@Helene:
Yes, it is. It’s just that the spelling is a little more common in the Netherlands and in Belgium. In Germany, people usually spell it “Johann”. However, you’ll also find Johan with one ‘n’ in Germany, especially in the North.
November 23rd, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Awwwwwwwwwwwww congrats, I’m really happy for the little family!
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Johan IS a German name aswell as a Swedish name.
I like the name…the full name is a mouth full but it’s cute.
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Taye Taiwo is a Nigerian-born soccer player who now plays for Marseille. Maybe Seal and/or Heidi are soccer fans?
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:31 pm
danielle are you sure or are you speculating on leni full name???
well congratulation i can’t wait for see baby pics
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Congratulations to them! I love the names, I bet they have good meanings like Henry’s. If there will be CBB awards, I would vote for this family as my favourite family! I’d love to see a photo of all of them.
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Lynn: Leni weighed 7lbs. 14oz. and Henry weighed 8lbs. 9oz.
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:44 pm
Aww! Another boy! I was one of the ones hoping for a girl this time, but I’m already in love with this baby. I’m not the least bit surprised at his mouthful of a name. But it’s a great name. Can’t wait to see him.
♥
There’s always hope for a girl later on down the road…if they ever decide to have another.
November 24th, 2006 at 2:09 am
hi on seal’s web site there are more things writes about his new son so visit
November 24th, 2006 at 2:27 am
This is such wonderful news! Congrats to them!
It must be nice for them that one of their (bio) children together looks like him (Henry) and one like her (Johan). It’s the same for my sister and me. I look like my dad but she looks like my mom. In any event, they have a beautiful family and I can’t wait to see the new addition!
November 24th, 2006 at 3:07 am
Congratulations Seal and Heidi!!!! Welcome to the world Johan!!
November 24th, 2006 at 8:08 am
In reference to the above, according to Seal’s official bio, he is of Nigerian and Brazilian ancestry, so that makes the boys 1/3 each of Nigerian, Brazilian, and German – nice!!!!!
November 24th, 2006 at 8:56 am
Seal is from from the UK. His father was from Nigeria but Seal is not from Nigeria.
November 24th, 2006 at 9:22 am
I think they are a lovely family but just to be a pedant I always thought Seal was English.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:09 am
I’m from Holland and Johan (with one ‘n’) is a common name in the Netherlands, but these days it’s very old-fashioned. I did a little research and last year only 15 babies were given this name.
November 24th, 2006 at 11:43 am
“Johan IS a German name aswell as a Swedish name.”
No, Johan is not specifically a Swedish or German name. It’s very common in the entire Scandinavia area as well as Finland, Germany and in Czechoslovakia.
Congrats to Heidi and Seal!
November 24th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Johan is a nordic and german version of the name Johannes, a hebrew name that means “The Lord is gracious”. In englishspeaking countries it’s more common to use John og Johnny, both names are versions of Johannes.
Hope you find this useful
November 24th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
who made fun of the name “helene”, it’s a beautifu name and i hope that it’s Leni real name, but i still really love the name LENI, IT’S THE CUTEST.
do you think Leni’s father sees her sometimes?
he’s such a jerkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, Seal makes a better FATHER to Leni
November 24th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
Heidi and Seal are by far my favorite celebrity mom and dad! I had a feeling it was another boy. Congrats to this beautiful family of FIVE!
November 24th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Johan(n) is of German origin.
November 24th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Oh my goodness-I posted a comment on Seal’s blog yesterday saying that since Henry is Seal’s mini-me, I can’t wait to see how Johan resembles his mother, among other things. I think I am the “Lauren” Seal is referring to in this post! Aaaagh!!
November 24th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Actually, I have friends in Germany and they all say the name is spelled “Johann” (pronounced “Yohann”) there, and it’s the German form of “John”. Or in the north of Germany they sometimes use the nordic variety “Jan” (pronounced Yahn). Johan with only one “n” is def. scandinavian or czech…
November 24th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Okey, why does my comments always get postet under someone elses name? I wrote about the name Johan, not Hea.
Tuva
November 24th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Another son has arrived for the Klums!!! Makes it to two little boys and one girl. Cute!!! I really didn’t care if it was a boy or girl, at least having a baby is all that matters. Now Leni has two little brothers to have little “pep” fights with! Good luck and congrats!!!
November 24th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Hi, I have just found this site today, I think it’s great. I have a baby name website wwwbabynamefinder.blogspot.com where you can find name meanings and origins
Thanks
Sam
Bookmarked!
November 24th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Heidi’s said her grandmother’s name is Helene with the nickname Leni so I always assumed Leni’s real name was Helene.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Fyodor = Theodore
November 24th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Leni’s name is Helene, so I don’t think that is it for her name; it’s not just Leni Klum. UNLESS Klum was her middle name and Britorre (or however you spell it) was supposed to be her last name.
Anyway, congrats to the happy family! I am thrilled for Heidi, Seal, Leni and Henry. I am sure Johan is adorable! And that’s a whole lotta name!
November 25th, 2006 at 5:15 am
“Okey, why does my comments always get postet under someone elses name? I wrote about the name Johan, not Hea.
Tuva”
Eh, yes I did so… what’s the problem?
November 25th, 2006 at 8:56 am
Seal’s sweet comments have me crying, what a wonderful dad he is! So nice for Henry to have a little brother.
November 25th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
i’m so glad!
my name is Helene (helen) and i never thought that a celec mon will name her childl like that!
now i LLLLOOOOOVVVVEE my name as long as it’s leni’s name!
I WANT TO SEE A PICTURE, PLEASE!! IT’S BEEEN 3 DAYS SINCE THIS LITTLE BOY WAS BORN !!!!!
November 25th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
I wish the family much happiness and success. I am curious though why some other families get criticized about their family size and the closesness of the children’s ages. You see posts saying certain couples shouldnt adopt more or have another baby yet cause they need to spend time with the ones they have and yet, here is Heidi with three babies in less than three years. Dont get me wrong, I think it is up to the family what size family they have and when to add to the family. I just wonder why the double standard.
November 25th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
I wonder with the twin name if she was pregnant with twins early on and lost one?
Congrats to the beautiful family.
November 25th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
The c-section might have been because of the baby’s size. A close to 9 pound baby would have been awfully hard for that tiny woman to birth.
November 25th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
That name is DEFINITLY unique, but nice. Heidi is so pretty anyways it wouldn’t matter what she named her kids.
November 26th, 2006 at 12:36 am
Mo, I doubt Heidi’s c-section was due to an 8 lb baby. This was her third and an almost-9 lb baby isn’t really that big anyway. I suspect that since she went past her due date she chose to be induced which is a leading cause of c-sections.
Whatever the reason, it’s got to be hard to have your third child be surgically delivered after having two vaginally, both the physical recovery and psychological recovery from that is going to be rough.
November 26th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Just to speak again about the name of that new (wonderful I’m sure) baby ; Johan is just like John in english, Jean in french, Juha (or Juhani) in finnish, Giovanni in italian, Juan in spanish ; but in german is alaways written with 2 “n”, with 1 “n” it’s more in danish, dutch or swedish…
November 26th, 2006 at 11:47 am
She didn’t go past though – she was due Friday and the baby was born Tuesday, so three days early. She was early with Leni too, and late with Henry.
November 26th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Yogadaisy, for what it’s worth, I had both a vaginal delivery and a c-section, and at least in my case, the c-section experience and recovery were much, much better.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:20 am
Congratulations Heidi, Seal, Leni and Henry!! I love your family and wish you all well. God Bless
November 27th, 2006 at 2:22 am
Leni doesn’t have a middle name.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:10 am
I don’t know if it is the case or not, that Leni’s name is JUST Leni Klum- but with my experiences living in Germany, it is much more common than not for german children to only have a first and last name ( no middle) So much so that on the birth certificate application ( at least here in Bavaria where my daughter was born) there is no place to fill in for a middle name- just first and surname…
November 27th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Heather: That´s not true. Most German people I know have middle names, but it´s true, it´s more common to not have one than in the US.
Danielle: Even if Lenis middle name is not Kaffes, what does the Kaffes mean? Is that a surname or a firstname? I have never heard it.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I am very curious about the NAMING (IF YOU WILL)… Leni, Suri, and I’m sure there are MANY MANY other children…. Anyone have any insight why one child may have 5, 4, 3, 2, or just 1 name?
November 29th, 2006 at 2:18 am
Congratulations to both Heidi and Seal. I love them as a couple i really think they are wonderful for each other. Just a note though to those who do not know that Johan is quite a popular name from where I am from. (South Africa) I recently watched e news where I heard them pronounce it incorrectly. You pronounce the name like YOU-HUN thats what johan sounds like. It is popular here as an Afrikaans name which is a language here that is very similar to Dutch and German.