People have been left mindblown after learning why Will Smith‘s kids are named Jaden and Willow.
Smith is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, known for his roles in blockbuster films like Men in Black, Independence Day, and Aladdin.
He also won an Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.
However, Smith’s Oscar win was overshadowed when he slapped host Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Since then, Jada has revealed that they are no longer romantically together. In a revealing interview with Today, the Girls Trip star shared that she and Smith have been living “completely different” lives since 2016.
Jada explained, “Why it fractured… that’s a lot of things. By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted from trying. I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”
“I promised there would never be a reason for us to divorce—that we’d face whatever challenges came our way together. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
Smith and his wife, married since 1997, have two children together: Jaden and Willow. The Emancipation actor also has a son, Trey, from his previous marriage to Sheree Zampino.
Trey, along with Smith’s other children, has built a successful career in the public eye.
Jaden appeared alongside his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth, but he’s perhaps best known for his role in The Karate Kid.
In addition to acting, he’s also made his mark in music, releasing his debut album Syre in 2017.
In 2022, Jaden earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year as a featured artist on Justin Bieber’s album Justice.
Willow has also established herself in the music industry.
Willow launched her music career in 2010 with the hit track “Whip My Hair,” which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her 2015 song “Wait A Minute!” gained popularity on TikTok and received positive praise.
Throughout her career, Willow has been open about her personal struggles, including the moment she shaved her head as an act of rebellion.
“It was the perfect way to rebel,” Willow told People magazine. “I was super young, and I had a dream, but all I really wanted to do was sing. I didn’t realize that it came with all the business and stress that ended up following.”
She continued, “I was just like, ‘Whoa, this is not the life that I want.'”
Smith revealed that this moment shifted his approach to parenting, explaining that his daughter “saved” him.
During a conversation for Will Smith: An Evening of Stories with Friends, the Bright star reflected on his parenting journey, saying (via People), “I was like, ‘I am parenting the s*** out of these kids.’ I felt like I was doing really, really well.”
But when he saw that Willow had shaved her head, he recalled, “It was terrifying. I felt like I had been looking at my phone, texting, and then stepped out into the street in front of a bus—and Willow snatched me back.”
He went on to explain, “As strange as it sounds, in that moment I discovered feelings. Because of my childhood, and the way I was raised… I didn’t care about how I felt, so I damn sure didn’t care about how somebody else felt. My feelings didn’t matter in my childhood home. You did what you were told to do.”
“I had to really think about the question she was asking me,” Smith continued. “The question she was really asking was, ‘Daddy, does it matter to you how I feel?’ It was so explosive in my mind. That was like a deep, existential question.”
While the Smith family is known for being open about their lives, the topic of Jaden and Willow’s names has never really come up—until now, with the internet buzzing about it.
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared an intriguing theory about the names of the Smith kids, explaining that they are actually clever variations of their parents’ names. The user pointed out that “Willard Oliver Smith Jr.” and “Jada Naomi Pinkett Smith” sound like “Will O” and “Jada N.”
The post quickly went viral, with many people commenting in disbelief. “Please, I’ve just realized after your tweet omg. I thought they were just random names,” one person wrote.
Another user chimed in, saying, “Coworker: ‘Jaden and Willow Smith’s names are like their parent’s names, Jada and Will Smith.’ It took me until NOW to realize this.”
Seeing the humor in it, a third person joked, “Wait, Jada and Will Smith really named their kids Jaden and Willow… Just said, ‘I don’t know, I can’t think of anything, let’s just add some letters to our names.'”
