Ferne McCann explains how her newborn’s unique name Finty was inspired by Dame Judi Dench

The TV star welcomed her and fiancé Lorri Haines’ first child together in early July

Ferne McCann has opened up about why she and fiancé Lorri Haines chose to give their newborn daughter the unusual name of Finty.

The baby girl, who is the couple’s first child together, was born on 6 July. The former The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) star announced in an interview with OK! that her full name is Finty Francis Haines-McCann.

McCann, 32, said that the unique first name had been on her list of potential baby names since she welcomed her elder daughter, Sunday, in 2017.

“I don’t know where I got it from, but when I typed it in [on Google], I saw Judi Dench’s daughter’s nickname is Finty,” she said, explaining how she was inspired.

“I’ve always loved it and never heard it anywhere else before. I just feel so connected to the name – she came out and she was just Finty. I think she sounds like a character out of Bridgerton,” the TV personality added, referring the hit Netflix period drama series.

As for the baby’s middle name, McCann explained: “Francis is my grandad’s name – it’s a nod to Grandad Frank.”

She voiced her hopes of having “two more” children and joked that she views herself as the “Essex Kris Jenner” with an “army of girls”, referring to the world-famous “momager” and her Kardashian-Jenner brood. Jenner has six children, including Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob Kardashian, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner.

McCann also opened up about her plans for a home birth, which she said “went out the window”. Finty’s birth was filmed for her reality show First Time Mum and McCann said she “just can’t wait to share” the moment with her fans.

However, she revealed that her water birth was “nothing like how I imagined and it didn’t go to plan”.

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“My life never goes to plan, so you’ve just got to go with it,” she joked. “I filmed it all for the show, which I’m so excited about. I just can’t wait to share that. But she’s perfect and she’s here.”

Haines described McCann as a “warrior” and said she “made the birth look easy”.

Announcing Finty’s birth on Instagram earlier this month, McCann shared a black-and-white video on Instagram showing her baby’s tiny hands and feet. At one point in the clip, Haines places his hand on Finty’s stomach, followed by McCann placing her hand on top of her fiancé’s.

She wrote simply in the caption: “It’s a girl. 06.07.23.”

McCann and Haines, a businessman based in Dubai, got engaged in July 2022 after six months of dating. She shares five-year-old Sunday with ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins, who is currently in jail after he was found guilty of carrying out an acid attack in a nightclub in 2017.