Beyoncé and Jay-Z Big Q's About Baby Blue Ivy: What's Her Name Mean? How Long Until a Photo?

Theories have abounded in the wake of Blue's birth as to the meaning of her moniker—we break down the possible theories, from Roman numerals to Lucifer's daughter to a link with the Illuminati

By Gina Serpe Jan 09, 2012 5:08 PMTags
Beyonce, Jay-ZSplash News

Say her name, say her name. And then wonder what it could possibly mean.

Well, proud new parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z may have yet to comment on the origins of their daughter Blue Ivy Carter's moniker, but fans and theorists have picked up the slack, and the hunches all seem to point to one numerically surprising name-inspiring direction...

Their mutual and notorious love of the number four.

The couple have made no attempt to hide their obsession with the number and its significance to their relationship in the past—Beyoncé's birthday is Sept. 4, Jay-Z's is Dec. 4, they married on April 4 (the fourth day of the fourth month) in 2008, B's latest album is entitled 4, and they even have matching Roman numeral tattoos on their wedding fingers of—what else?—the number 4.

Which is where their daughter's name seeming comes into play. The Roman numeral four is, of course, IV. Hence, Ivy.

Overly simplistic and reductionist? Possibly. But you can't deny that there certainly seems to be something to it.

As for Blue's color-coded first name, the jury is still out on the meaning behind that one, though fans have naturally pointed out the coincidence (or not?) of the rapper papa's series of heralded Blueprint albums, and in a now much trotted-out lyric on "Go Crazy," he even raps, "My favorite hue is Jay-Z blue."

And the parents may even have selected the name some time ago, as they reportedly received blue-themed gifts (rather than the traditional baby girl pink) over Christmas.

There are also some naming theories that we can safely rule out.

One particularly persistent line making the rounds this morning is that "Blue Ivy" backwards is "Elub Yvi." Per the theory, those nonsensical letters translate into Latin as "Lucifer's daughter." In actuality, those letters joined together mean absolutely nothing, and certainly not Lucifer (as it happens, that is already a Latin word, so any translation would be redundant and result back in...Lucifer. Not "Elub." Fun with facts!)

The other minor and fairly creative theory making the rounds is that Blue Ivy is a tenuous nod revealing a link between Beyoncé, Jay-Z and the Illuminati. Not seeing the connection? Well, conspiracy theorists claim that Blue is an acronym for "Born Living Under Evil," while Ivy stands for "Illuminati's Very Youngest."

Though unless no Illuminati members ever plan on procreating again, that name also doesn't seem to hold much sway. Also: Put down the Dan Brown, people.

And unless B. and Jay thought particularly highly of a certain Boston event planning company (presciently enough, named Blue Ivy), then we think the fan theories are, so far, the best bet.

Meanwhile, though the name may remain something of a mystery, what about the baby's adorable mug?

Fans and media are already clamoring for the first shot of Blue—not only have they mocked up a disturbing and hilarious image of the babe several weeks before her birth, but over the weekend a new fake photo made the rounds on Twitter of Beyoncé purportedly holding her new day-old daughter in the hospital. In actuality, the picture was simply a grainy Photoshopped snap of Beyoncé's head on another woman's body.

So can we expect a real shot anytime soon?

Nope. Sources tell E! News that the famous 'rents—who've never flaunted their private lives in the past, so no real surprise here—are not even considering releasing a photo of their newborn. "Right now, they're focused on enjoying their baby," the source said.

We'll leave 'em to it, then! Congrats.

—Additional reporting by Ken Baker