Hugh Grant reveals his bizarre middle name given by his 'unkind parents' on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
Hugh Grant made quite a mark on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' once, where the interview ended up straying from his new movie, Heretic, into something much more personal than that—his strange middle name. Jimmy Kimmel set the tone by asking, “I must ask you about your middle name.” He further added, “I don’t know how it slipped past me the last time, but Mungo is one of your middle names, yes?” to which Grant replied with a “yes.” Not that Kimmel could resist poking fun, asking if 'Hugh Mungo' was a name reserved for a giant baby. “Hugh Mungo? Were you a giant baby?” the host joked. “How did this happen?” The British actor, after a laugh, confirmed it was his full name: Hugh John Mungo Grant, adding, “I don’t know how it happened, I had very unkind parents!”
But the conversation turned hilarious when Hugh shared stories about naming his own children and how he might have passed on his love for quirky names. He revealed that as a last-minute thing, he and his wife have given their daughter the middle name “Danger.” “I was in a bit of a panic with my wife on the day we named [our daughter],” Hugh recalled. “We thought it might be nice for her when she was older if she could say in bars that her middle name is Danger. So, her name is Lulu Danger Grant. Austin Powers, you know?” Hugh also shared how they named their eldest daughter. Having a hard time deciding on a name, they asked their son for suggestions. His first? “Kevin,” after his favorite Minion.
While Kevin didn’t quite make it, his second suggestion, 'Blue,' after his favorite color, did. “And we did think about calling her Kevin, but then we said, ‘you’d better think of something else’, and he said ‘Blue’, because that was his favourite colour,” he said. Kimmel and the audience were sent into stitches throughout as the actor’s stories rarely gave such a glimpse into the fun and chaos in the Grant household.
The proud father of five children, Hugh Grant has welcomed three kids with his wife Anna Eberstein, and two with his ex Tinglan Hong. Meanwhile, the names of his other kids are equally unique. Tabitha Xiao Xi Grant, 13, is Hugh’s first child from his previous relationship with Tinglan Hong. Hugh named her 'Tabitha,' while Tinglan named her 'Xiao Xi,' which translates to “happy surprise.” Later on, Hugh and Tinglan welcomed their second child, Felix Chang Hong Grant, 11. But after his split with Hong, Hugh and his now-wife Anna welcomed three kids together, aged 12, 8, and 6.
Despite his busy career, Hugh loves spending time with his kids and has often said that having a family has brought him happiness. He admits that while raising young children can be tough at times, looking back at family memories makes him realize just how joyful parenthood can be. In an interview with PEOPLE, he admitted, “I think it’s always amusing to put your underpants on your head.” He also added, “I made the mistake of showing one of my sons my ass all the time. ‘Hey, look at this!’ Then he got the habit and taught every single child in west London to do the same.”
Despite all the happy moments, the ‘Heretic’ actor admits that becoming a father at 64 has its own downsides. He regrets having them late, but also how it has helped him evolve as an actor. “But I had them much too old in life, you know — I started when I was 52,” he said once on The Smartless podcast. “Now I’m 64, you know, and the youngest is 6, and I need a long stint in a sanatorium or an abbey,” he added. “I think I was a dried-up, middle-aged, golf-addicted Englishman. Then I had children, and suddenly I had heart, and I think I had more layers or something,” he admitted.