by Rumer Willis says her dad, Bruce Willis, had a special influence on the name she chose for her 9-month-old daughter.
On Dec. 19, the “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” actor hosted an Instagram Q&A in her stories and spoke about being a new mom. In addition to opening up about her life these days and sharing an old photo of her and her father, Willis shared how she settled on the name Louetta Isley Thomas Willis for her daughter, who was born in April.
“Her name is a mix of things I love,” Willis wrote in response to a question about the name. “I have always loved the name Lou so was thinking of that for both a boy or a girl but then when we found out she was a girl we came up with Louetta. We wanted to give her options, and me and my dads favorite signers are Lou = Louie Armstrong, Etta = Etta James, Isley — Isley Brothers.”
The portmanteau of the names “Lou” and “Etta” combines the names of the two Black solo musicians who once sang alongside one another for the song “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” Meanwhile, The Isley Brothers — who inspired Louetta’s middle name — popularized the song “Twist and Shout” in 1962.
In April 2023, Laura Wattenberg, founder of Namerology.com, spoke to TODAY.com about Willis’s baby name for her daughter.
“Louetta is an unconventional choice today, a genuine throwback,” Wattenberg said at the time, noting that in the early portion of the 20th century, it was in vogue to add “Etta” to the end of a name.
