Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron HowardIt's a girl for Bryce Dallas Howard. Proud grandpa Ron Howard Tweeted the news yesterday that the star of The Help and her husband, Seth Gabel, welcomed their new daughter on January 19.

Bryce told Jay Leno in August that their son, Theo, had predicted they'd be seeing pink, and he was right. Among the other details Ron shared in his Tweet were the baby's weight (8 pounds, 6 ounces) and an update on the family's excitement. "Baby B are spectacular Daddy Seth & brother Theo are beaming ear to ear :-)" Also included was the baby's name, which almost made me squeal. Any guess as to the what the "B" stands for?

Beatrice. Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel. It's perfect, and IF I was going to have any more children, I would be insane with worry right now that everyone else would see the beauty of this seldom-used name and send it soaring on the popular baby names lists.

Beatrice is the name I desperately wanted to name my daughter, but my husband wouldn't have it. I begged and pleaded, but he wouldn't be swayed. I'm happy with the name we settled on -- Lila Claire -- but I will always regret not being able to use Beatrice. I think it's adorable for a little girl, strong for a woman, and there are plenty of cute nicknames to be derived from it. So I'm glad to see someone so lovely use it.

Name aside, it's great to hear the happy news for the family, and hopefully Bryce's experience with little Beatrice will be much easier than the one she had with her son, who is now 4 1/2. She has been very outspoken about her struggles with breastfeeding and postpartum depression, and I imagine it's frightening to go into it again after that. Hopefully she will have a much easier experience this time, but if she does encounter some of the same problems again, I imagine all that sharing and openness will serve her well and she'll be much better prepared to face them. Congrats to the family!

Do you like the name Bryce Dallas Howard gave to her baby girl?


Image via Splash