Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean says it was his 9-year-old daughter's 'personal choice' to change her name to Elliott: 'It is her body, it's her name'

• AJ McLean discussed his daughter's decision to change her name from Ava to Elliott.
• McLean told People that it was not "a transgender thing" but a "personal choice" by his daughter.

The Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean opened up about his 9-year-old daughter's decision to change her name from Ava to Elliott.

McLean told People that he'd support his daughter's name change regardless of the reason.

"When my daughter asked to change her name to Elliott, initially, I didn't know if it was a transgender thing, which it is not, but it is a personal choice," McLean said. "It is her body, it's her name, it's her everything."

Elliott's mother announced her name change in a back-to-school post on Instagram in August.

"She's still Ava. She'll always be Ava to me," McLean told People, adding: "But at the same time, whatever reasoning it is, that's hers, and I'm going to support it a million percent, my wife will [too]."

McLean added that Elliott picked her new name over a year ago. He recalled his daughter saying, "Dad, I just feel like my name is not that unique and not that original, and there's a lot of Avas at dance and a lot of Avas at school."

On her Instagram Story in August, McLean's wife, Rochelle, addressed questions about Elliott's name change, People previously reported.

"Not that it's anyone's business but Elliott's name change is not a gender thing," she wrote, adding that her daughter had wanted to change her name for a long time and that the name Elliott "stuck."