Why did Kathryn Dennis chose the names Kensington and St. Julien for her children?

During a new interview, the Southern Charm star, who has been involved in an on-and-off relationship with Thomas Ravenel for years, opened up about her unique name selections.

"I like different names. I don't want a name like Jo and Ashley, just like regular names," Dennis told The Daily Dish on Monday while chatting about the inspiration behind her two-year-old daughter Kensington's name. "I want something interesting with power, and I feel like Kensington had power. I just have always loved that word, for some reason. Kensington Palace [the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge] was really what it was inspired from."


As for Kensington's middle name, Calhoun is the maiden name of Dennis' mother and Dennis' middle name, as well.

For Dennis and Ravenel's second child, the reality star said a lot went into the name St. Julien.

"The name came from a relative of Thomas', and we visited the house that my father grew up in. It's at a park in the town that I'm from. And there's, like, his whole house still there and everything," Dennis explained. "And before he lived there, there were two famous residents that they say resided there, and one was my grandfather [long-time State Senator Rembert C. Dennis, whose first name inspired St. Julien's middle name] and one was his relative [well-known Charleston physician] St. Julien Ravenel. So when Thomas saw that, he was like, 'That's it.'"

"In the South, we try and keep family names around. It's important to us, and we just kind of went with it," Dennis said. "I kind of was hesitant until I gave birth and then I was like, 'He looks like a St. Julien.'"

Months after Dennis and Ravenel chose the name St. Julien for their son, another famous couple, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, chose Saint for their own second child.

"[St. Julien] was such a peculiar name to choose. It's a family name. It's very important to Thomas and even to me," Dennis said of her reaction to the news. "But it's kind of cool, I guess. I guess the South is rising."

Tags
Thomas ravenel, Kathryn dennis, Bravo, Reality TV, Southern charm