Red Carpet Confidential: Why Giuliana And Bill Rancic Named Their Son Edward — And Not “Blue Coffee Table”

Hint: She wasn’t inspired by the hero in the Twilight series!

“My dad’s name is Eduardo, and Bill’s dad’s name was Edward,” the E! hostess tells me while promoting ChapStick Fresh Effects. “We’re thinking maybe Edward, and we’d call him Eddie. We’re thinking about that, because Bill’s father passed away ten years ago, and they were best friends. There’s a very special connection there still, and my dad and I are very close.”

She adds, “Definitely nothing too weird and Hollywoodish. Something more classic, for sure.”

Why does she prefer the traditional name?

“Even though we work in Hollywood, Bill and I are very traditional at the core, and that started even when I changed my last name. A lot of people were telling me ‘you shouldn’t change your last name, you should keep your name, you’re on TV.’ I thought  ‘I’m not gonna let Hollywood dictate that.’ That’s what I believe in. I always thought when I got married, I would change my name to my husband’s name, and so just because I work here – if I were a nurse or a secretary, I would change my name, so just because I work in Hollywood, I didn’t want that to dictate anything.”

She adds, “That goes for all of our values, and that includes kids’ names. Just because everyone names their kids a wacky name in Hollywood, doesn’t mean I’m going to be doing that, too. I won’t be calling it Blue Coffee Table, or something odd like that.”

Ooh, hear that, Beyoncé and Jay-Z? Their daughter, Blue Ivy, was born in January. (Take no offense, though — Giuliana whipped up that name two years in advance!)

He adds, “Our parents were very involved in our lives. I’d like to be the coach of the teams. I want our house to be the house where all the kids come over, hang out and have fun. That’s the place where they’ll spend their time. I want to be as active and as involved in their lives as much as I possibly can. Hopefully as much as my dad was with me.”

Giuliana agrees.

“Even the closer we get to the reality of a baby, and having to juggle career and motherhood, the more I think — ‘wow, this is gonna be tough,’” she says. “You want to be with your baby. You don’t want to miss out on special moments, like when your baby takes its first steps, you don’t want it to be with a nanny, while you’re off in New York, interviewing George Clooney. As fabulous as it is to interview George Clooney, there are more important things in life. That’s where it gets a little tricky, but I know he’s going to be an amazing dad. I’m sure the baby will be just fine.”

She continues, “I love the idea of having a big family, because I grew up with a big family, and a big extended family. My sister has four kids. She just had her fourth. She has three little girls and a boy, like Bill’s family, so I’d love a few kids to be able to play with my nieces and nephews, and Bill also — together, we have 14 nieces and nephews.”

Still, they feel grateful for their only child.

It’s two years later — and that moment is finally here!

Wondering what kind of baby gift she prefers?

“Something monogrammed,” Giuliana says. “I think that’s the best gift you can get a new mom.”