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Rihanna's son's unique Wu-Tang Clan-inspired name divides fans

For several months, they shielded the child from the public until Rihanna uploaded a video of her son on Instagram

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After being held a secret for almost a year, Rihanna has finally revealed the name of her son. On May 13, 2022, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child into the world. For several months, they shielded the child from the public until Rihanna uploaded a video of her son on Instagram.

The singer announced that she and the rapper are having a second child during the Super Bowl Halftime Show in February 2023. Ronald Fenty, Rihanna's father, revealed to Page Six in the same month that the musicians had considered "a few names" for the child. He joked at the time, "She’ll have my head if I tell you."

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What is the name of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's son?

Daily Mail, which obtained the child's birth certificate, reported that RZA Athelston Mayers is the name of the child born to Rihanna and her rapper partner. The pop star's son, whom she had with her current partner, A$AP Rocky, is reportedly named after producer and rapper RZA, the head of the hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. Although there were few clues as to the child's real name, fans recently speculated that he might have been named Noah.

Notably, RZA was given his father's middle name, Athelstan, according to the certificate of live birth. Rocky's middle name, however, has previously been given as "Athelaston" by a number of publications. Additionally, RZA was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, per the certificate of live birth.

After giving birth to her son on May 13 of last year, Rihanna may have given away the name already because she frequently used Wu-Tang Clan-inspired attire afterward. On April 5, Rihanna was spotted carrying her son while donning a baggy black Wu-Tang Clan shirt as she left after a meal at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. This was one of her most recent indications about her son's secret name.

What does the name RZA mean?

RZA is one of the members and producers of the Wu-Tang Clan, hip-hop group. The name 'Wu-Tang' means 'Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game', according to Highsnobiety. There are ten people in the group. Three cousins, the de facto leader, and producer RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, as well as Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Masta Killa, U-God, and Inspectah Deck, formed the group in 1992. They named themselves Wu-Tang Clan, after the 1983 film 'Shaolin and Wu-Tang', and their sound was innovative since they were ardent martial arts lovers. It was gritty and unpolished, with samples from kung-fu movies and obscene lyrics over distorted, dusty soul music.

It is unclear how much Rihanna adores RZA and the other members of the Wu-Tang Clan. However, Rocky is undoubtedly a fan, as he previously worked with the rap group member Raekwon on the 2015 song Fly International Luxurious Art. Early on in its existence, 'A$AP Mob' the collective to which Rocky belongs, attracted similarities to the legendary hip-hop band. Similar to Wu-Tang, it has a long list of prominent core members as well as less prominent associate members. RZA nearly got the chance to work with Rihanna, but onscreen rather than in the studio.

'Somebody was watching a lil bit too much vikings'

Fans were shocked as well as ecstatic over Rihanna's son's name. Some fans took to Twitter to gush over the innovative name of the child. One such fan tweeted, "Salute and congrats to ASAP Rocky & Rihanna. Its dope seeing their clan grow. It's only right to drop a classic Wu-Tang freestyle. GZA & ODB." A second fan wrote, "I love Rihanna’s baby name cause it sounds like mine." Another fan tweeted, "I hate that they leaked it but I love Rihanna baby’s name." Another fan exclaimed, "Rihanna and ASAP baby name is Dope."

There's another set of fans who were left baffled by the name and took to social media to quip over the same. One of them wrote, "Rihanna gave baby fenty such a grown man name idk he’s so tiny and his name sounds so grown." A second Twitter user tweeted, "Rihanna baby name Athelston, somebody was watching a lil bit too much vikings." A third follower wrote, "I hope he changes his name to Bobby Digital Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's baby boy's name revealed." Another social media user snarked, "Robyn, why is your precious son's birth certificate circulating on the goddamn internet how was it exposed :( i wish i knew your name from you ;( @rihanna u should sue them for high compensation, it's against privacy and that little baby never deserves it !! #rihanna"

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