India inspired, and how! AB de Villiers to name his third child Taj
The beauty and magnificence of the Taj Mahal is such that almost every celebrity (or tourist) who visits India has it on their itinerary. For South African cricketer AB de Villiers, the ivory mausoleum synonymous with love, holds a special place in his life.
The cricketer had popped the question to his then girlfriend Danielle Swart there, before marrying her in 2013. Now, since the monument is so close to his heart, he has decided to name his yet to be born third child Taj, something he revealed recently.
Both de Villiers and Swart are proud parents to Abraham de Villiers Junior born in 2015 and John Richard de Villiers born in 2017.
However, this isn’t the first time that a celebrity has been so enamoured by our country that they decided to name their children after it. Former cricketer Jonty Rhodes named his 2015-born daughter ‘India Jeanne Rhodes’. Rhodes had spent a lot of time in India, and had said that he fell in love with its rich mix of culture, heritage and tradition. He also found the country to be very spiritual and forwardthinking, and wanted the same balance in his daughter’s life. Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth had also named his daughter India, something that he felt ‘just seemed to fit’. So did British actor Emma Ferguson. She chose the name India Fox Owen for their third daughter born in 2012. Also on the list is Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. Earlier married to Indian-Canadian drummer Ashwin Sood, she chose India Ann Sushil Sood and Taja Summer Sood as the names for her daughters born in 2002 and 2007, respectively.