The Meaning Behind Jessica Simpson’s ‘Macho’ Baby Name

Jessica Simpson in May (PacificCoastNews.com)There seemed to be no major surprises when Jessica Simpson welcomed her first son, Ace Knute Johnson, on Sunday. The baby was born during a scheduled C-section, the star knew she was expecting a boy, and she had the baby's name picked out.

It was first rumored way back in February that the "Fashion Star" mentor would name her baby Ace, which, by definition, is "a person who excels at something." It's possible that she and her fiancé, ex-NFL player Eric Johnson, even selected the name before they knew the gender of the baby because it wasn't until several weeks later, during a March 6 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," that the blonde let it "slip" she was having a boy. After all, the couple, who famously named their daughter Maxwell, is not afraid to bend the rules — or cross gender lines — when it comes to baby names.

However, Ace is a very macho, masculine name, name expert and author Laura Wattenberg from BabyNameWizard.com and NameCandy.com tells omg!.
"Ace has been a fast-rising name in the past decade, part of a new group of hyper-macho names like Cannon and Jett," Wattenberg explains. "Ace is set apart from the others by a slight retro vibe, a holdover from the days when it was an acquired nickname like Duke or Buzz. It's an interesting choice for parents who gave their daughter the traditionally male name Maxwell — it seems that they've shifted all their names over one notch toward the masculine."
As for Knute, it's pronounced "Ka-nute" and is also a muscle flexer of a name.
"Knute is a Norwegian name that also comes across as 'macho' to Americans because it's strongly associated with football legend Knute Rockne, immortalized in film as 'Knute Rockne, All American,'" Wattenberg says.
Simpson and Johnson with Maxwell, who is 14 months old today (PacificCoastNews.com)According to Us Weekly, Ace's middle name honors dad Eric's Swedish paternal grandfather, Knute Johnson. So while perhaps going against the grain in some ways, they've again showed they're traditional in that they've incorporated a family name in the mix. (Maxwell was the surname of Eric's grandmother while middle name Drew is the maiden name of Simpson's mom, Tina.)
While Jessica hasn't spoken out yet about her new addition — we're sure she's getting some much-needed rest to recover from her surgery — her father, Joe, has spoken out about the exciting news.
"Very blessed to celebrate the birth of my new grandson," he tweeted on Sunday.
And Simpson's former assistant and best friend, CaCee Cobb, who very soon is expecting her first baby with husband Donald Faison, gushed, "<3 <3 <3 <3 IN LOVE <3 <3 <3 <3."
Speaking of "in love," how do you feel about the name? Let us know if you love it or could leave it below in the comments.