Anderson Cooper picked a name for his baby that's a special tribute to his late parents

• Anderson Cooper welcomed his first child, Wyatt Morgan, on Monday via surrogacy.
• The CNN anchor shared the news on the air on Thursday, and explained the significance of his baby's name.
• Wyatt is for Cooper's father, who died when the journalist was 10, and Morgan was a family name on his mother's side.
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Anderson Cooper welcomed his first child on Monday and the baby's name — Wyatt Morgan— is a special tribute to the CNN anchor's late parents.

At the end of his news segment on Thursday, Cooper announced the birth of his son, and explained the significance behind the baby's name. He chose "Wyatt" to honor his father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, a writer who died when Cooper was 10 years old.

"I hope I can be as good a dad as he was," Cooper said.

The baby's middle name honors Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who was a socialite, heiress, and fashion designer. While going through his parents' things recently, Cooper found a list of baby names his mom and dad came up with 52 years ago when Vanderbilt was pregnant with Cooper.

Morgan, which was a family name on his mother's side of the family, was one of the choices on that list, Cooper said.

Cooper, a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, grew up in the public eye because of his family's prominence.

After Cooper's father died in 1978 while undergoing open heart surgery, he and his brother, Carter, began attending events with their mother.

Carter died by suicide in 1988. He was 21.

Cooper said that his brother's death brought him and his mother closer. When his mother died last year at 95, Cooper reflected on how it felt to be the last living member of his immediate family.

"They're all gone, and it feels very lonely right now," Cooper said last year after his mother's death.

Cooper said on Thursday that the birth of his son has brought him comfort and a renewed connection to his family.

"I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him," Cooper said. "I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues."

• Read more:
• Anderson Cooper opened up about having a baby: 'As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child'
• Kristen Bell said that homeschooling her children has been 'absolutely miserable'
• Angelina Jolie said that when she was younger, she 'never thought I could be anyone's mom'
• Richard Gere just had his second baby at age 70 with his wife Alejandra Silva

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